over what happens to the water that is left. “People should be responsible for protecting water resources,” emphasizes Chande. She has been around long enough to see the water levels fall; she wants to know that her grandchil- dren will one day be able to swim in the local rivers. “Human ac- tivities should be environmentally friendly so that we can reduce the effects of the changes that result in the decrease in water.” “I have been living here since
1965,” says Anthony Mogella, who lives just outside of Morogoro on the slopes of Mount Uluguru. He explains that much like Hamza Chande, he spent much of his youth in the area enjoying the abundance of fresh water. “When I was young we used to have many sources of water, particularly in these areas which is the source of water for the whole region from the mountain.” “At that time we experi-
enced heavy rains, but not any- more,” says Mogella. The weather patterns have changed over the last few decades, according to his memory, and the result has been less water all around. “Actually, it is the overall climate that has changed, nowadays we experience drought most part of the year.” The multifarious impact of
climate change on inland fresh wa- ter sources is slowly coming to be understood, although cases like Morogoro, which contain large, mountainous catchments, may re- quire quite separate models for ac-
curate forecasting.
Volume I Issue 2 In 2009, it was
determined that climate change affects fresh water availability in two ways: first, as the temperature increases, crops consume more water; second, changes in precipi- tation patterns in many areas will lead to net decline in rainfall. According to a 1998 report
by the Ministry of Natural Resourc- es and Tourism, environmental is- sues of immediate concern in Mo- rogoro include the management of natural resources like water sourc- es and river basins, as well as the management of open spaces and urban agriculture. Most of the wa- ter sources in the municipality of Morogoro have been faced with a variety of environmental prob- lems: climate change, environmen- tal degradation, conflicting users, reduction of water depth due to siltation, water sources becoming seasonal, and pollution in terms of solid and liquid waste being dis- posed into the water sources. It is worth recalling the song
that was once sung by young peo- ple like Costa Kifimbo from Mo- rogoro as they bathed in the rivers and streams that tumbled down the slopes of Mount Uluguru: “Mo- rogoro is very beautiful/it is full of water/when you look around the slopes of the mountain/you can see a lot of water/flowing from the top of it.” If the water of Morogoro is protected, perhaps songs like these will be sung again.
Email Amani Uisso
amani.uisso@dispatchesinternational.org 71
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104