BIOPHYSICAL SURVEY IN FOUR CLUSTERS OF KITETO DISTRICT
Tanzania Natural Resource Forum (TNRF) and partners under the technical guidance from International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and National Land Use Planning (NLUP) Commission (Tz) carried out ecological survey from 5th - 15th Feb, 2020 to collect data for purposes of feeding into the Management Plans for all the four shared grazing areas / clusters.
In each cluster (KIMBO, OLENGAPA, NAPALAI and ALLOLE), with support from the community members, sampling points were identified which will also act as monitoring sites for the rangeland investments projects to be rolled out after management plans.
Management plans as per the Participatory Rangeland Management (PRM) process in our local context, precedes rolling out of the Community Investment Funds and its development must take into consideration the current ecological status of grazing areas, proposed investments activities, simple monitoring strategies among others.
This activity was done in all the 15 villages as follows:
- OLENGAPA: Ngapapa, Enganguangare, Orkitikit and Lerug
- NAPALAI: Partimbo, Ilera, Laala and Namelock
- ALLOLE: Amei, Lembapuli, Lesoit and Lolera
- KIMBO: Kimana, Mbigiri and Orpopong
Data collection was done using the LAND PKS app which makes it easier to collect vegetation type, cover, density, soil characteristics, rangeland use and trend as well as identification of monitoring sites. Photos were taken in all sites for purposes of monitoring and GPS coordinates recorded. Vegetation data collection was done through transect walk in all directions at 25 meters; with data sampling at 5m intervals while soil characteristics were done by collecting sampling at different depths in 120m dug pit. Other data including land use plans, ownership were collected through interview with community members during the survey. The results including climatic information were then generated using the app immediately and shared with the community for concurrence before recording.
Survey team during vegetation and grass identification in EnguseroEkula-Enguangare village-Napalai cluster.
Soil sampling exercise in Ingoitikisho in Amei village of ALLOLE cluster.Photo courtesy: TNRF
A sample of vegetation data results of Ilaala village in NAPALAI cluster