Establishing the Derema Corridor in the East Usambara Mountains, Tanzania: A Study of Intentions versus Realities

Abstract

By using the Derema corridor as a case study, this paper explores three overarching objectives. The first is to discuss the narratives used by various actors to frame the argument for establishing a forest corridor. The second is to examine how the compensation process for the creation of the Derema forest corridor played out, who were the winners and losers, and was it perceived as participatory by local people. The third is to study the restoration plans for the Derema corridor, and in general for the East Usambara Mountains. The results indicate that although the ecological benefits of the Derema corridor are understood and appreciated by farmers, the compensation payments were insufficient to ensure a secure livelihood and strengthened local wealth differentiation. Participatory decision-making approaches that were mentioned in the conservation plans for Derema were not used or were insufficient in including the farmers from five villages surrounding the corridor. There is also an indication that the defined threat to the corridor, cardamom farming, needs more thorough research of its impact on biodiversity and sustainability, from a wider pool of researchers.