Socio-ecological resilience of people evicted for establishment of Uluguru Nature Reserve in Morogoro Region, Tanzania

Abstract

Eviction of people for establishment of protected areas is often accompanied with negative consequences to the livelihoods of the evicted. This study assessed the eviction process and its effects on the socio-ecological resilience of the evicted, examined coping strategies for the evicted and analysed socio-economic factors that affected socio-ecological resilience of people evicted in 2008 for establishment of the Uluguru Nature Reserve in Morogoro, Tanzania. The results show that most of the evicted did not receive eviction notice prior to eviction nor proper training on how to cope with the eviction. There was also low involvement of the evicted in planning the eviction. Most of the evicted had low ability to reorganise themselves after the eviction. Following the eviction, the most frequently adopted coping strategy was the provision of casual labour. This resulted in reduced income and certainty of livelihood. Male respondents were better informed and better able to reorganise than female respondents. It is recommended that eviction planning should be participatory and include provision of appropriate prior information to the to-be evicted in a gender-considerate manner in order to enhance their socio-ecological resilience in the face of eviction.