Land use change patterns and root causes on the southern slopes of Mountain Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

Abstract

This study was undertaken as part of the project on land use change analysis as an approach for investigating biodiversity loss and land degradation, being implemented in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. A case study approach was adopted for the entire project to facilitate comparison of geographically different but analytically similar land use situations, taking into consideration the complex linkage and interactions between society and environment, reflecting the economic, social and political processes and the physical environment. The objective was to analyse the patterns and trends in land use change and to identify the root causes of land use change leading to changes in biodiversity and land degradation. Mount Kilimanjaro (Plate 1), specifically the southern and south-eastern slopes of the mountain, was selected as the case study site for Tanzania because of the extensive land use changes that have occurred there, particularly on the southern slopes since the 1900s. This paper describes the patterns of land use change and analyses the root causes or driving forces that underlie the changes in land use.