Community Perceptions on Environment in Tanga Municipality

It is undoubted there are numerous environmental issues that exist in the Municipality. However, more precisely, the leaders were asked to each mention the services that they thought women and men in their Municipality would like improved. This was done so, in order to get them thinking of gender needs of women and men and perhaps distinguish these accordingly. Female leaders scored insufficient access to piped water as the most important environmental problem that women in the Municipality would like addressed immediately. This observation tallied exactly with that of the male leaders. Therefore addressing piped water is thought by both male and female leaders as being the most crucial environmental problem required to be addressed immediately.

The second problem identified by the female leaders was, distances to dispensaries, and third was inadequate knowledge on environmental issues. As for the male leaders, they had poor health education and or services, as the second problem, followed by inadequate rubbish collection and disposal. In a way there is similarity in the second problem in the sense that, it is health issues that require immediate attention after water. Concerning the third problem, environmental matters feature in both sexes. But while women were on the problem of inadequate environmental awareness/knowledge, the men were on the question of poor environmental practices. In a way, a combination of the observations is called for.

Table 1. Eight Environmental Services that Women would like to be improved in Tanga Municipality (ranked views from male & female leaders)

  

Type of environmental problem/issue	Ranking of problems by
	Female leaders	Male leaders
Inadequate rubbish collection/disposal	5	3
Poor use of toilets	6	-
Insufficient access to piped water	1	1
Distant Dispensary	2	-
Inadequate environmental knowledge	3	4
Poor environmental cleanliness	7	-
Poor sewage system	8	8
Poor health education/services	4	2
Inadequate tree planting	-	5
Poor access to improved technology	-	6
Poor access to electricity	-	7

  

On what problems men would like to be addressed immediately, female leaders thought inadequate loans to the youth was the main environmental problem men would like to be addressed immediately. On the male leaders side, they thought inadequacy of the sewage system was the issue that men would like to be addressed immediately. It is obvious there is a major difference between these two leaders on what should be addressed first, perhaps female leaders see the relative lack of capital and unemployment of the youth as major environmental factor than addressing the infrastructure. The second problem suggested for immediate action by the female leaders was addressing the ineffective enforcement of environmental laws, while on the male leaders side, they suggested addressing the problem of inadequate farming methods and inputs. The third problem for immediate action as concerns female leaders was the sewage system (which the male leaders had as the first concern for men), while the male leaders, suggested tree planting.

Table 2. Eight Environmental services that Men would like to be improved in Tanga Municipality (ranked views from male & female leaders)

Type of environmental problem/issue	Views from
	Male leaders	Female leaders
Inadequate farming methods/inputs	2	7
Inadequate access to electricity	-	-
Poor roads	4	8
Poor fishing methods	-	-
Inadequate garbage collection/tools	8	-
Poor access to piped water	-	5
Absence of public  toilets	-	4
Inadequate access to loans by youth	-	1
Insufficient access to electricity	-	6
Inadequate sewage system	1	3
Ineffective enforcement of environmental laws	-	2
Poor tree planting	3	-
Inadequate environmental knowledge	6	-
Poor dispensary/health services	7	-
Improper excavation	5	-

 Aggregating the environmental problems as above denied us a view of the specific preferences for each Division. Disaggregation of the problems shows that, insufficient access to piped water was suggested as the main concern  for women inhabitants in the Municipality as identified by most of the male and female leaders from Pongwe and Chumbageni Divisions, as well as the female leaders of Ngamiani Kati Division. Male leaders in Ngamiani Division thought the sewage system was more important, while female leaders from Ngamiani Kaskazini identified distances to dispensaries as the main concern for women. Male leaders from Ngamiani Kaskazini saw inadequate collection and disposal of rubbish as the main concern for women in their Divisions. Perhaps it would be logical to suggest for the Municipality to address the first mentioned problem in each Division in accordance to the gender preferences of the women or men in that respective area.

 Table 3. Environmental services that women would like to be improved in Tanga Municipality’s Divisions (ranked views from male & female leaders)

  

Type of environmental problem/issue	Pongwe Division		Chumbageni Division		Ngamiani Kati Division		Ngamiani Kaskazini Division
	Female leaders	Male leaders	Female leaders	Male leaders	Female leaders	Male leaders	Female leaders	Male leaders
Inadequate rubbish collection/disposal	-	3	-	-	3	-	2	1
Poor use of toilets			3	5	-	5	3	-
Insufficient access to piped water	1	1	1	1	1	3	4	5
Distant dispensary	2		2		4	-	1	-
Inadequate environmental knowledge	3		4	2	2	-	5	4
Poor environmental cleanliness	4		-			2	-	-
Poor sewage system	-		-		5	1	-	-
Poor market services	-	2	-		-	-	-	-
Inadequate tree planting	-	4	-	3	-	-	-	-
Inadequate health services	-	5	-		-	4	-	2
Poor access to electricity	-	-	-	4	5	-	-	-
Poor access to improved technology	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3

Concerning environmental problems that men would like to be addressed first in their respective Divisions, Female leaders from Pongwe Division suggested that men in their Division would like the problem of inadequate farming methods or inputs to be addressed first, this opinion was similar to that of Male Leaders from Chumbageni Divison. They too proposed for addressing farming inputs and methods in order to facilitate for improved environmental management by men. The male leaders in Pongwe Division, and those from Ngamiani Kati Division, suggested addressing the sewage system as a first priority for men in their Divisions.

Access to piped water was seen as a first environmental priority for men by the female leaders from Chumbageni Division. Loans to the youth was prioritized as a main environmental intervention for men by female leaders from Ngamiani Kati Division. Female leaders from Ngamiani Kati thought the men in their Division were more interested in addressing the inadequate enforcement of laws, while their male compatriots thought gender sensitization on women’s workload as the key environmental problem to be addressed in Ngamiani Kaskazini Division. All in all, it seems that farming methods & inputs, and sewage systems as problems that were shared between some of the leaders as being main concerns for men in their respective areas.

Table 4. Environmental services that Men would like to be improved in Tanga Municipality’s Divisions (ranked views from male & female leaders)

Type of environmental problem/issue	Pongwe Division		Chumbageni Division		Ngamiani Kati Division		Ngamiani Kaskazini Division
	Female leaders	Male leaders	Female leaders	Male leaders	Female leaders	Male leaders	Female leaders	Male leaders
Inadequate farming methods/inputs	1	3	5	1	-	-	-	-
Inadequate access to electricity	2	-	- -	-	-		-	-
Poor roads	3	-	-	-	-	2	-	3
Poor fishing methods	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Inadequate garbage collection/tools	5	-	-	-	-	-	-	4
Poor access to piped water	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-
Absence of public  toilets	-	-	2	-	-		3	-
Inadequate access to loans by youth	-	-	3	-	1	-	-	-
Insufficient access to electricity	-	-	4	-	-	-	-	-
Inadequate sewage system	-	1	-	5	2	1	2	2
Ineffective enforcement of environmental laws	-	-	-	3	3	-	1	-
Improved management of sand mining	-	-	-	-	4	-	-	-
Distant markets	-	-	-	-	5	-	-	-
Absence of playgrounds	-	-	-	-	5	-	5	-
Improper excavation	-	2	-	-	5	4	4	-
Access to fishing nets	-	4		-	-	-		-
Poor tree planting	-	5		4	-	3		-
Poor environmental knowledge	-	-	-	2	-	5	-	-
Poor gender sensitization on women’s workload	-	2	-	-	5	-	4	1
Inadequate street lights	-	2	-	-	5	-	4	5

It is obvious that the management of the environment requires wider involvement of various actors and stakeholders in the Municipality. The profiling exercise identified a few stakeholders that are already involved one way or the other in management of the environment in Tanga Municipality at the moment. These stakeholders who are directly involved in environmental activities include: the Municipal Council, Tanga Coastal Zone Conservation & Development Programme, Urban Sectoral Rehabilitation Programme, Tumaini Environmental Conservation Group, DAWASA, Mkwakwani Secondary School, Sigi River Conservation Society, TENDWA (Tanga Environmental & Development Watch), 4H, TCCIA (Tanga Branch), Mangrove Conservation & Development Project, MASCO, FOMA, Poverty Africa, Pride, Tanga Fresh, environmental committees in each of the 34 villages, the 24 Ward and 34 Village executives, environmental teachers in schools, students, etc.

Stakeholders who are currently involved in environmental activities indirectly are: TANESCO, MEUSTA, KEPA, Roman Catholic Diocese of Tanga, Buhuri Livestock Institute, Tanga AIDS Working Group, AFRIWAG, POVATA, SWAAT, African Muslim Agency, ShellCraft, TAFECO, TFA, TEKAI, Animal Clinics, Neem Botanical Association, etc.

It is inevitable that there are several other organizations, especially, women based groups or other specialized groups, NGOs or CBOs that could be listed and involved effectively at the community level. These should be compiled continuously during the duration of the programme support. The immediate objective should be to increase the number of CBO and NGO based groups that are managed and operated directly by community members rather than the present trend of involving Municipality staged and formed Working Groups (these appear to be too much influenced and managed by Municipal staff rather than being community based and organised).

Environmental management activities.

Environment activities performed by men and women were identified through asking the participants at the one day workshop to mention such activities by distinguishing what was done by women and men. It is interesting to note that, the initial trend was on mentioning activities that were destructive to the environment rather than mentioning both  those which are destructive and those that rehabilitate, improve or maintain the environment.

On activities that women and men in the Municipality do in order to reduce poverty, the participants mentioned the following for women and men: 

Women:

Small businesses; knitting or weaving; food sales; cooking; gardening; poultry keeping; pottery; farming; tailoring; hair making; upatu; seeking loans; creating groups; dairy cows; goat keeping; educating children (nursery schools); performing or theater arts; fetching water at construction sites; decorations; embroidery; secretarial services; renting cutlery and utensils for weddings or funerals; food conservation; and, sale of used clothing.

Men:

Commercial activities; fishing; crafts; building; hiring bicycles; selling charcoal; and, setting up of kiosks or shops.

  

Strategies on specific environmental issues and management

Although the NGOs and other groups that were visited were all asked to mention whether they had strategies that address environmental and gender issues, it appeared that those which answered affirmatively did so to provide an enhanced or environmental and gender friendly image. In other words, most of the strategies were not genuinely original. Nevertheless, it should not be neglected that they did have statements that indicate an intention to address environmental and gender issues. Environmental strategies mentioned by the various interviewed groups were:

Strategies on training.

§  Community education through health programmes;

§  Providing health education;

§  Teach environmental education in schools combined with awareness creation among parents;

§  Study tours to various regions where farmers have applied better farming methods;

§  Creating a training center where students could meet and debate, hold seminars, and exchange ideas on environmental management;

Strategies on conservation techniques & methods.

§  Training farmers in good farming methods;

§  Facilitate schools to improve their environment through competitions and awarding winners;

§  Involvement of stakeholders in all stages of the programme;

§  Making improved stoves and using them (e.g., Buhuri Group, Central and Mwambani groups);

§   establishing demo plots;

Strategies on sensitisation.

§  Sensitizing the community on safeguarding the streetlights project;

§  Sensitizing the community on contributing direct or indirect towards the development of the streetlights project;

§  Sensitisation of the community on good use of roads;

§  Providing seminars on efficient utilization of water to all executive leaders and professionals at village levels

Strategies on plants related interventions.

§  Encouraging planting of trees;

§  Establishing alternative environmental conservation activities;

§  Establishing tree nurseries where seedlings are sold at concessionary rates;

§  Encouraging planting of trees;

§  Supplying tree seedlings;

§  Every youth or student to plant trees;

§  Supplying tree seedlings;

§  Planting local tree species along Sigi River;

§  Encouraging people to keep the environment clean through planting trees;

§  Encouraging zero grazing;

  

Strategies on regulatory & administrative actions.

§  Setting license fees at affordable ranges;

§  Privatization of parks and gardens;

§  Providing advisory services to traders;

§  Dialoguing with industrialists to ensure environmental standards are followed;

§  Including environmental issues in all meeting agendas;

§  Strengthening patrols in mangrove growing areas through environmental committees, and re-enforcing by-laws;

§  Departmental meetings on how to improve working environment;

§  Creating health boards to improve preventive and curative health care;

§  Identifying unplanned settlements and developing action plans;

Strategies on infrastructural interventions.

§  Preservation of coastal areas;

§  Safe disposal of solid waste and safe disposal and management of liquid waste;

§  Rehabilitating the water system;

§  Building new dumping sites (e.g., at Mwan’gombe).

§  De-silting and cleaning of drains and roads;

§  Annual repairs on Municipality buildings;

  

Strategies on specific gender issues.

The same departments and NGOs mentioned above were asked to mention whether they had strategies that addressed gender issues, three organizations Town Planning Department, Municipal Trade Department and the Transport Working group, did not provide any particular gender strategies. However, the remainder mentioned the following strategies:

Strategies on gender sensitive structures & services.

§  Establishing water committees, e.g., communal water sources with half of their members being women;

§  Using participatory methods and approaches;

§  Focusing preventive health services on women of child bearing age;

§  Creation of a standing committee on women and youth;

§  Empowering women in business leadership (e.g., FAWETA-Federation of Women Entreprenuers in Tanzania);

§  Providing free services to pregnant women and follow-up on development of infants; and,

§  Using special techniques to stimulate and encourage women to participate and dialogue without fear.

Strategies on women involvement/participation.

§  Encouraging women to participate in all extension meetings conducted by the agricultural department;

§  Each working group to have women because they are main actors;

§  Encouraging more girls to join groups;

§  Ensuring women participate in all health activities;

§  Giving priority to women in environmental activities and meetings; and,

§  Balanced involvement of girls and boys in membership of groups, in activities and study tours.

Strategies on women recruitment and employment.

§  Establishing larger presence of women in every department in the Municipality

§  Giving women preferences whenever qualifications tie up with men’s;

§  Retaining female employees at the expense of male employees;

§  Encouraging recruitment of more female staff in socio-economic and environmental impact studies; and,

§  Advise Council Reform Team to take more female staff in the Town Planning Department.

Strategies on economic empowerment.

§  Developing women commercially to eliminate poverty through provision of loans and training.

§  Provision of soft loans to women;

§  Providing loans to women; and,

§  Establishing centers for buying Neem seeds from women.

Strategies on gender sensitive conservation.

§  Facilitating tree planting at household level.

Strategies on sensitization and training.

§  Establishing primary school education network (PEN);

§  Gender sensitization at community level;

§  Establishing computer training for women;

§  Enrolling more female teachers in colleges such as Eckenford and TAI; and,

§  Encouraging women workers to learn skills traditionally dominated by men.

Strengthening local planning and management capacities

The most pragmatic strategy in strengthening local planning and management capacities should be through starting with the weaknesses that the leaders have identified during the series of one day workshops held in each of the four Divisions. According to those workshops, the overall weakness identified was that of “poor participation and cooperation among the Municipality’s inhabitants” in environmental and other development activities. This was the foremost observation made by both the female and male leaders. Therefore, mobilization and sensitization on the necessity of  people to involve themselves and perhaps own the process should be the first prerequisite for engaging the programme. As long as cooperation is poor and participation is faltering, nothing can be made sustainable nor long term. 

The second weakness seen by the female leaders was “inadequate tools and equipment for garbage collection”. Tools that were mentioned as missing included gum boots, gloves, patrol boats, motor cycles, dumper trucks, etc. Male leaders thought the second weakness as that of “poor environmental knowledge or awareness among the inhabitants”. This absence of knowledge was seen as a crucial link to improving people’s attitudes and practice. The table below shows the remainder of weaknesses that were identified by the leaders. It should be insisted that any strengthening of the planning and management capacities should address these weaknesses systematically, and perhaps in the ranking order.

Table. 5.5.

Weaknesses in environmental management that

Female  & Male Leaders have identified in Tanga Municipality.

(ranked views from female & male leaders)

Type of environmental weakness	Views from
	Female leaders	Male leaders	Overall ranking
Inadequate tools & equipment for garbage collection (e.g., gum boots, gloves, patrol boats, vehicles)	2	7	4
Inadequate dumper trucks	9	-	10
Poor environmental knowledge among inhabitants	3	2	2
Inadequate financial resources	7	9	9
Political indifference in addressing environmental issues among different party members and inhabitants in the Municipality	4	8	6
Poor participation and cooperation among Municipality inhabitants	1	1	1
Poor planning by Village leaders	10	10	13
Poor follow-up by Municipality staff on cleanliness	-	6	8
Excessive bureaucracy in implementation	-	4	7
Dirty and clogged storm drains and poor unblocking methods	8	-	11
Neglect of laws, poor enforcement of laws or absence of laws	5	3	3
Low self-help spirit among Municipality inhabitants	6	5	5
Excessive poverty	11	11	12

Taken from a Report by Edward Hiza Mhina, "Gender Profile of Tanga Municipality"