Abstract:
The current study was conducted in Kilosa REDD+. pilot area to determine the land usefire
tradeoffs and implication to livelihoods. In this study, fire regimes, uses of fire in landuse
practices as a management tool were assessed and the opportunity cost of fire as a
land-use management tool was determined. Data were collected through the use of
household questionnaire survey, focus group discussions and in-depth interviews.
The collected data were analysed using SPSS and inferential statistics. Net Present Value
was used to determine profitability of land use practices with a discount rate of 10%.
The findings showed that fire usually OCCUlTed twice a year specifically in late August and
early November and these fires were reported as severe causing great loss of ecosystem.
On average, approximately 4ha of forest land was reported to be destroyed in each fire
incidence. Most fires were caused during farm preparations or hunting and there were no
reported cases of fire originating from pastoralists although they have been implicated in
other studies. Regular and intense fire in the area could impact some livelihood strategies
such as fanning and grazing. Economic assessment showed that some land-use practices
such as agriculture, livestock keeping, pit sawing, charcoal making and hunting can be
profitable without using fire as a management tool. On the contrary, profitability from
honey gathering increased with fire. It is recommended that communities have to be
encouraged to engage in modem land use practices that are sustainable and abandon the
conventional practices that demand an input of fire in operation. However, there is a need
of more emphasis on conservation education particularly fire suppression strategies at
community level but also communities in collaboration with the District government
should implement sustainable land management practises and lastly further economic
valuation of environmental aspects in relation to livelihood strategies is necessary.
