Community Initiatives in Water Quality Management in Simiyu Wetland in the Lake Victoria Basin, Tanzania

Abstract

The quality of drinking water is critical for human health and well-being. Quality is assured by treatment, but also by the quality of the source. The lower the quality of the source, the higher the treatment costs. As natural ecosystems, wetlands provide social and economic benefits to human life. These benefits include, among others, irrigation agriculture, fishing, water supply, groundwater recharge and discharge. Discussions and Participatory Rapid Appraisal (PRA) activities were widened in scope to investigate community initiatives in water quality management in Simiyu wetlands of Lake Victoria basin, Tanzania. Key findings showed that community initiatives in water quality management include education programmes, monitoring of water hyacinth, catchment examination and evaluation, forestation, well fencing environmental management, prohibition of cutting down tress along the water basins, influencing drilling and using toilets, cleanliness, avoiding construction of wells in flooded lowlands, and buffering water courses for irrigation and for livestock. However, these initiatives are constrained by little awareness, less enforcement of laws, poor governance of local government, inadequate capital, poor capacity of institutions and negligence that reflect low sense of ownership.