7.2 Recommendations: Review of the Decentralization Process and it's Impact on Environmental and Natural Resources Management in Tanzania

Lawyers' Environmental Action Team (LEAT)
leat@mediapost.co.tz

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REVIEW OF THE DECENTRALIZATION PROCESS AND IT'S IMPACT ON ENVIRONMENTAL AND NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT IN TANZANIA

Introduction

Abbreviations

Legislation

PART I: Conceptual Framework and Rationale for Decentralization

	1.1 Conceptual Framework
	1.2 Background to the Environmental Problems Facing in Tanzania
	1.3 Major Environmental Problems in Tanzania

PART II: Tanzania's Experience with Decentralization: a Chronology of Events

	2.1 Introduction
	2.2 Decentralization Process (1972-1982)
	2.3 Decentralization Process (1983-1998)
	2.4 Local Government Reforms and Environmental Management

PART III: The Policy Reforms and Environmental Management in Tanzania

	3.1 Introduction
	3.2 National Forestry Policy
	3.3 National Environmental Policy
	3.5 National Land Policy

PART IV: Environmental Legislation Management by Local Government Authorities in Tanzania

	4.1 Introduction
	4.2 An Overview of Local Government Authorities
	4.3 District Local Government Authorities
	4.4 Urban Local Government Authorities

PART V: Factors Hindering Effective Management of the Environment by Local Governement Authorities

	5.1 Introduction
	5.2 Lack of Property Rights Over Natural Resources
	5.3 Weak Formulation and Implementation of Bylaws
	5.4 Poor Enforcement of Environmental Laws
	5.5 Weak Penalties and Incentives

PART VI: Practical Implications to Decentralize Environmental Management Structures

	6.1 Existing Interfaces and Linkages between Local Government Structures
	6.2 Capacity of Local Governments In Environmental Management

PART VII: Conclusions and Recommendations

	7.1 Conclusions
	7.2 Recommendations

References

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7.2 Recommendations

For effective environmental and natural resources management by local authorities, decentralization must ensure effective devolution of mandates from the centre to the local levels. An ideal decentralized system according to UNDP (1997) has the following main characteristics:

First, local units of government are autonomous and clearly perceived as separate levels of government over which central authorities exercise little or no direct control;
Second, the local authorities have clear and legally recognized geographical boundaries within which they exercise authority and perform public functions;
Third, local authorities have corporate status and the power to secure resources to perform their functions;
Fourth, devolution applies the need to "develop local governments as institutions" in the sense that they are perceived by local citizens as organizations providing services; and
Finally, devolution is an arrangement in which reciprocal, mutually beneficial and coordinated relationships between central and local government exist.

Review of the progress of decentralization in Tanzania indicates that UNDP goals the five have not been met. It is therefore recommended that the impetus of future local government reforms should be geared towards effective devolution of powers, clarification of mandates and giving ownership and access to natural resources as pre-requisites for empowering local governments to manage the environment and natural resources. Local governments should be allowed to hire and fire their own staff, plan their conservation programmes, control natural resources situated in their geographical boundaries and generate revenues from planned and sustainable utilization of natural resources in their areas.

Since, the success of environmental management depends on the involvement of local people, environmental programmes should ensure that local people benefit from such programmes. In addition, they must be empowered to undertake environmental management tasks through participatory approaches at the local levels. Environmental programmes should be tailored in a way that local people get immediate economic benefits by engaging themselves in conservation efforts.

The government should consider the need to involve and strengthen the participation of the private sector, NGOs and CBOs in the management of environment. The process of registration and regulation of NGOs and CBOs should also be devolved to the local level. Currently, the registration process of NGOs is too bureaucratic, cumbersome and done only at the national level. By encouraging the formation of NGOs and CBOs, plus the participation of the private sector in conservation efforts, the role of local governments in conservation of natural resources and the environment will be achievable and highly successful.

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