The Social Dimension of Water Management in an Era of Increasing Water Scarcity in Tanzania
Tanzania has vast water bodies and rivers as well as substantial underground water reserves. Yet, the country has an inequitable distribution of this vital resource. This calls for a better understanding of the nature of water distribution and use by soci
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The Social Dimension of Water Management in an Era of Increasing Water Scarcity in Tanzania Zebedayo S.K. Mvena
Abstract Tanzania has vast water bodies and rivers as well as substantial underground water reserves. Yet, the country has an inequitable distribution of this vital resource. This calls for a better understanding of the nature of water distribution and use by society both in the short and long term. The paper, therefore, begins by providing an assessment of the water situation in the country, including documentation of the different water sources, namely, rivers, lakes, and underground water. The paper highlights major factors contributing to a decline in water availability, such as inappropriate farming practices and misuse of irrigation waters, extensive or grazing livestock systems, and the domestic use of water. The open violation of government regulations in many areas in Tanzania inhibits the rectification of the water problem in the country. Human activities require a sustainable use of water, including behavioral changes, such as changes in cropping patterns and livestock options, as well as major shifts in eating habits. The paper concludes by highlighting some options for the future as humanity struggles to adapt to climate change. These options include enhanced water use efficiency and climate smart agricultural research to produce outcomes that are better adapted to climate change. Finally, that fact that little attention is given to climate change issues and their impacts on water supply is acknowledged. It is recommended that the government and the scientific community give more attention to these pertinent issues.
Keywords Water scarcity Water management Water harvesting resistant crops Water withdrawals Water use efficiency
Drought
Z.S.K. Mvena (&) Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania e-mail: [email protected] © Springer International Publishing AG 2016 R. Lal et al. (eds.), Climate Change and Multi-Dimensional Sustainability in African Agriculture, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-41238-2_11
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Introduction
Optimum management of global water resources presents a crucial challenge in the twenty-first century. The global population will increase by three billion or more over the next 50–75 years, and the number of people living in urban areas will more than double. Most of the world’s population growth will occur in developing countries where water is already critically short and many of the residents are impoverished (Jury and Vaux 2005). In spite of this wake-up call, water as an issue has not featured that well on the priority list for much of Tanzania’s development history since independence. In a historical perspective, national issues come and go because they compete for attention from policy makers, scientists, and even the mass media. These avenues for attention have limited carrying capacities, that is, they can accommodate only a limited number of societal problems at any given time. Thus, in the history of Tanzania, we have witn
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