THE IMPACT OF POPULATION INCREASE AROUD LAKE BABATI HONGOA, PIUS SIMON THE DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTERS OF SCIENCE IN ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES OF THE OPEN UNIVERSITY OF TANZANIA 2014 ii CERTIFICATION I have critically read the dissertation report and satisfied that it is in acceptable standard for a higher degree award. ------------------------------------------------- Dr. Makundi A.E. (PhD) (Supervisor) Date: -------------------------- iii COPYRIGHT No part of this dissertation may be produced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the author or Open University of Tanzania on that behalf. iv DECLARATION I, Hongoa Pius Simon, do hereby declare that this dissertation is my original work under the supervision and guidance of Dr. Makundi A.E and has not been submitted for a degree award at any other university. ……………………………. Hongoa, Pius Simon v DEDICATION To my beloved mother (the late) Doradine Emanuel Hongoa and My beloved father Col (Rtd) Simon Lali Hongoa, who laid down the foundation of my education and their tireless support. vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I extend my sincere gratitude to God for the blessings and good health. This dissertation would never have been in this shape, without the countless hours of discussion and unwavering commitment of my supervisor Dr. Makundi A.E of the Department of Life Science of Open University of Tanzania. His contribution and guidance throughout the study enriched and created the foundation of this dissertation, the support, assistance and professional inputs provided before and during the writing of this dissertation remain a permanent asset for reporting other scientific works in future. My father Col (Rtd) S.L Hongoa as well as brothers and Sisters – special thanks. My Mother “May her soul rest in eternal peace”. Special appreciation goes to Mr. Kasimu S. (The Director of Regional Center - Manyara) and all other Open University staffs at Manyara center. Also I extend my appreciation to the village leaders of Bagara, Ngarenaro, and Nakwa in Bagara ward in Babati district for their support in laying the foundation of this research. My appreciation and thanks should also go to the Babati town Council for their support during data collection. I am also indebted to my family for their prayer and moral support throughout the study period. To every one I say, thank you very much, you have been wonderfully to me. vii ABSTRACT Lakes are amongst the most productive ecosystems of the Earth. Despite its potential in supporting people’s livelihood in Babati, Lake Babati is being converted into other land uses due to ever increasing population in town. This work evaluates the impacts of population increase around Lake Babati in Babati Town Council. Primary data were gathered by administering the questionnaire to a sample of 100 households. Participatory rural appraisal techniques, participant observation and checklist were employed in data collection. The land use types and land use changes was examined through analysis of satellite imageries. This was attained by making use of ArcGIS10. The results from the present study showed that there was a strong relationship (p≤0.05) between education level, occupation and awareness status of respondent on environmental issues. Also there was a strong association between the anthropogenic activities in particular agriculture/brick making and lake degradation. Lack of awareness under the role of environmental sustainability on lake resources was found to hinder the involvement of local people to Lake Babati conservation. Thus, this study recommends that, natural resources management (including lakes) should be incorporated in the program of study of all education levels to foster awareness raising campaign on role of lake benefits to local people’s livelihoods. Also proper land use practices should be promoted so as to reduce the impacts that has been caused on the lake Babati due to poor land use practices in the study area. viii TABLE OF CONTENT CERTIFICATION ....................................................................................................... ii COPYRIGHT ............................................................................................................. iii DECLARATION ........................................................................................................ iv DEDICATION ..............................................................................................................v ACKNOWLEDGEMENT .......................................................................................... vi ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................. vii TABLE OF CONTENT ............................................................................................ viii LIST OF TABLES ...................................................................................................... xi LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................... xii LIST OF APPENDICES ........................................................................................... xiii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ................................................. xiv CHAPTER ONE ...........................................................................................................1 1.0 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................1 1.1 Background Information ....................................................................................1 1.2 Statement of the Problem ...................................................................................3 1.3 Significance of the study ..................................................................................5 1.4 Objectives of the Research ................................................................................6 1.4.1 Specific objectives were ....................................................................................6 1.5 Research question were .....................................................................................6 CHAPTER TWO ..........................................................................................................8 2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW ..................................................................................8 2.1 Water Resource, Human Settlement and Development. ...................................8 2.2 Human land use and Land degradation ...........................................................10 ix 2.3 Urbanization and Solid Waste Disposal ..........................................................12 2.3.1 Types of solid wastes .......................................................................................13 2.4 Population Expansion around Lake Babati ......................................................14 2.5 Resources and Environmental Management....................................................16 2.6 Knowledge gap ................................................................................................18 CHAPTER THREE ....................................................................................................19 3.0 MATERIALS AND METHODS ....................................................................19 3.1 The study area ..................................................................................................19 3.2 Methods ...........................................................................................................21 3.2.1 Data Collection ................................................................................................21 3.2.2 Household Survey ...........................................................................................21 3.2.2 GIS Arc view and remote sensing ...................................................................24 3.3 Study Design ....................................................................................................24 3.4 Data Analysis ...................................................................................................25 3.5 Data Presentation .............................................................................................27 3.6 Validity and reliability .....................................................................................27 3.7 Limitations of the study ...................................................................................28 CHAPTER FOUR ......................................................................................................29 4.0 RESULTS ........................................................................................................29 4.1 The influence of demographic variables on awareness status of local community on environmental management of Lake Babati ...........................29 4.2 Human activities responsible for degradation of Lake Babati .........................31 4.3 Changes in the Physical Features of Lake Babati ............................................38 CHAPTER FIVE ........................................................................................................42 x 5.0 DISCUSSION ..................................................................................................42 CHAPTER SIX ...........................................................................................................53