Kambai Forest Reserve: A biodiversity survey. - Coastal Forests of ...

Kambai Forest Reserve
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7.0 SOCIO-ECONOMICS
7.1 Introduction
A socio-economic study was conducted in villages surrounding Kambai forest reserve to
assess the resource use of the reserve and to what extent that this is carried out. In addition,
attitudes and problems concerning the reserve were recorded.
7.2 Methodology
The techniques utilised were largely those from Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA): group
meetings, participatory mapping, preference ranking and historical time lines.
participatory mapping: mapping village resources to show how agricultural and forestry
systems interconnect.
time lines or chronologies of events, listing major remembered events in a village with
approximate dates. Every community has a heritage of experience and environmental
knowledge that influences present attitudes and behaviour (NES Government of Kenya,
1990). Time lines may be prepared through discussions with small groups of local residents,
with emphasis on community elders. These discussions aim at stimulating exchanges about
problems and achievements in agricultural and forest resource management as far back as
the oldest member can remember or were told by their parents and grandparents.
scoring and ranking: useful when discussing the importance of different forest products
and preferences for tree species for different uses. This may help to identify gender
differences in forest utilisation and also tree species which are important.
7.3 Results
7.3.1 The villages and the population
Kambai village and its sub villages of Msige, Miembeni, Kweboha, and Msakazi are located
in the lowlands between Kambai forest reserve and Semdoe proposed forest reserve.
Kwezitu village is located on the western ridge of Kambai forest reserve and Seluka and
Magati which are sub villages of Kuze village are located on the northern boundary of the
proposed Semdoe reserve.
Kambai has a heterogeneous population of approximately 2,000, including its four
subvillages of Kweboha, Msige, Miembeni and Msakazi. Kambai village is a relatively new
village, established in 1968 as a Julius Nyereres' Ujamaa villagisation programme. Previous
to this, the population was limited to only a small number of families farming in the area. In
addition to farming, many of the local people were also workers at the Sigi-Miembeni Sisal
Estate or the Mgambo Sawmills. Many immigrants came to work on the estate and the
sawmills and remained in the area after the closure of these work places. Hence the
population is made up of a great mixture of tribes; locals of the Wasambaa and Wabondei
tribes, Wangoni from Songea region, Wabena from Iringa, Wakinga from Mbeya, Makonde
East Usambara Catchment Forest Project Technical Paper 35