The Multi Enviromental Society (Meso)

THE MULTI-ENVIROMENTAL SOCIETY (MESO)

Description and Evaluation of Activities

Based on a Ten Day Tour ofKaratu and Mbulu Districts.

By Petro Ahham –Arusha, Tanzania

Sarah Hecox – Colorado, U.S.A.

Introduction

The Multi-Environmental Society (MESO) is an Individual-Community-Environment based Non-Governmental Organizationoperating in the United Republic of Tanzania. It was established toaddress and tackle problems and issues pertaining to environmentaldynamics and their socio-cultural, economic and ecological implicationsfor humankind. By participating in, organizing and supporting localinitiatives in co-ordination with other concerned individuals and organizations, MESO strives to fill some of the gaps left by large scaledevelopment projects.

Goals and Objectives

MESO’s activities are carefully planned to fulfill the following goals and objectives:

To promote environmental awareness as a means towards sustainable development.
To promote awareness of and preparation for environmental hazards, natural as well as social, particularly those occurringwithin the spheres of education, health, religion, politics, economics, and environment.
To promote awareness, utilization and conservation of cultural and natural resources.
To enhance participation through multi-faceted educational campaigns, seminars, workshops, news programs and cultural events.
To conduct and publish research and distribute literature which will increase environmental awareness.

Projects

MESO is in various stages of planning and implementing the following projects:

Land reconstruction and natural vegetation rehabilitation.
Management of uplands and fragile resources in Northern Tanzania.
Support to institutional and individual tree nursery developers and distributors.
Mbulumbulu information and documentation center.
Individual and community management of river ecosystems.
Ecotourism projects for environmental conservation and improving the well-being of local people
Social and cultural research pertaining to the peoples of Northern Tanzania.
Educational campaigns aimed at schools and other community groups.
Research and publications activities in Dar es Salaam and Arusha.

Field Activities

The following descriptions and evaluations of some of the people and activities, which are relevant to MESO, are based on a ten-day trip around Karatu and Mbulu Districts, two of MESO’s primary areas of operation.

The project of visiting and evaluating these areas was undertaken by Mr. Petro Ahham and Ms Sarah Hecox from 29 Augustto 7 September 1997. Petro Ahham holds the positions of MESO President and Programme Officer for the Resource Development and Environment Management Department. Sarah Hecox is the International Co-ordinator for MESO and Programme Officer for the Community Participation and Education Department.

Before going to Karatu, we attended a meeting at LakeManyaraNational Park.The meeting was hosted by Tanzania National Parks for the purpose of assembling NGOs which operate in Karatu and discussing ways in which we can work together. In addition to MESO and TANAPA, the meeting was attended by representatives from TAF, COMECA, Mazingira Bora, NCAA, HIMAKA and the District Commissioner of Karatu. The meeting presented a good opportunity for participants to discuss ways in which NGOs can work together and support each other, as there still seems to be a general feeling of competition between NGOs. MESO plans to continue actively working towards supportive relationships with other NGOsthat have similar goals and objectives.

The majority of our time in Karatu was spent in the village of Kambi ya Simba, where the Karatu-branch MESO office is located and several projects are being initiated. Upon our arrival in Kambi ya Simba, we were hosted by and had the opportunity to talk with several MESO members and other concerned village residents. The following is a list of these people:

Mr. Michael Daata – Chairmanof MESO, Karatu Branch

Mr. Albini Paulo –Coordinator of MESO, Karatu Branch

Mr. Paulo Sylvester –Kambi ya Simba, Village Executive Officer

Mr. Patrice Mattay

Mrs. Yohana Clement

Mr. Hubert Paulo Slaqwe

Mr. Firmin Hayshi

Mr. Faustin Kalwa

Mr. Ernest Kalwa

Mr. Leonce Paulo

Mr. Lazaro Gidri

Some of the issues that came up through discussions with these people included:

The types of resources to put in the documentation center and whatpurposes they should serve (Mr. Albini Paulo).
The need to increase support for and participation by women in MESO’s activities (Mrs. Yohana Clement).
The problem of herding cattle, goats and donkeys through Rivers Seay and Harroo, which erodes soil on the river banks and contaminates the water (general).
The problem of planting crops in valley bottoms and on riverbanks, therefore replacing the natural vegetation which establishes secure roots in the ground preventing erosion (general).
The advantages of combining trees, shrubs and bushes with cultivated crops (general).
The necessity of co-operation between local communities and the National Parks (Mr.Patrice Mattay).
Strategies for convincing individual community members to preserve resources on both public and private land (general).
The role of the government in enforcing environmental preservation (Mr. Petro Ahham).
Possibilities of implementing alternative development programs such as ecotourism as a means towards sustainable development (general).

In order to promote environmental awareness as a means towardssustainable development, MESO has started work on several projects inand around the village of Kambi ya Simba. We visited and evaluatedthe site of several of these projects.

River Seay Biophysical Reserve

The River Seay flows out of Ngorongoro Northern Highland ForestReserve, through Kambi ya Simba and down the Rift Valley Escarpmentinto LakeManyara. Because the river system is not being managedproperly, the water is very dirty and the river is almost dried out inmany places. During the rainy season, silt and mud are washed downthe river banks, into the river and eventually ends up in LakeManyarawhich, for this reason, is also in danger of drying up. The land along the river banks is owned by individual village members who use it forfarming. Most of these individuals depend on the crops they grow thereto sustain themselves and their families. Many people in the villagealso own cattle which, due to lack of alternatives, they take back and forth through River Seay in order to feed and water them. Plantingcrops too close the river and walking cattle through the water bothdestroys the stability of the land on the river banks and carries soildirectly into the water.

In order to reestablish the flow of clean water through River Seayand stabilize the nearby banks, MESO has recognized the necessity of allowing natural vegetation to grow on the river banks and findingalternative ways to proved food and water for cattle in the area.

Several dedicated landowners, whose farms occupy land along RiverSeay as it flows out of the forest, have worked in co-operation withMESO to allow natural vegetation to regenerate on sections of their landnear the river. In addition, MESO has hired a guard to discouragepeople from taking cattle across the river in those areas. The result isthat clean water continues to flow through River Seay for one half of akilometer beyond the national forest.

MESO’s ultimate goal is to convince all members of Kambi ya Simba to adopt these practices and for the River Seay to carry cleanwater all the way through the village and into LakeManyara. During our visit to River Seay, we discussed several issues, which arecomplicating MESO’s ability to continue this project. One of these wasthat some landowners in the area are not willing to give up part of theirland to allow natural vegetation to regenerate. Moreover, MESO has beenunable to convince many cattle herders to find ways to feed and watertheir cattle that do not involve walking them across the river. Reasonscited for this unwillingness to co-operate were lack of education and lack of income generating alternatives. In order to combat theseproblems, MESO plans to use projects such as a library anddocumentation center to educate the community about environmentalissues and ecotourism programs to provide them with alternativesources of income. MESO also plans to encourage members of Kambi yaSimba to visit the River Seay project both to allow them to see the success of what has already been done and to provide further educationabout natural resources in the area. Ecotourism would provide a meansby which the River Seay project could become self-sustaining.

Despite MESO’s continuing efforts to convince people of thebenefits of preserving the environment, we feel that, in some cases, wemay need help from the government. Laws regarding crop planting and cattle herding in the area would support MESO’s efforts.Also, government recognition and support of MESO’s projects would helpus to build a stronger support network and allow our services to benefita larger portion of the community.

River Harroo

The River Harroo, which also runs from NgorongoroNationalForest through Kambi ya Simba, is about two kilometers west of RiverSeay. River Harroo ecosystem is experiencing the same dangers as thatof River Seay and the same actions need to be taken to preserve it.

MESO has only been able to work with one landowner to fight againstenvironmental degradation in and around River Harroo. At the presenttime, the water in the river is very dirty and, in most places, the river banks are unstable and soil is eroding into the water. MESO plans towork with the local community to restore Rivers Harroo and Sahhata,another river in the area, using the same program as we are using forRiver Seay.

Ecotourism has been identified as a way for people in Kambi ya Simba village to sustain themselves while preserving and promotingappreciation of natural attractions in their area. In addition to hikingand camping possibilities near River Seay, MESO has identified severalother natural attractions that, if protected, would be appealing tovisitors. Two of these are Kambi ya SimbaCaves and The Rift Valley Escarpment. MESO plans to develop these areas in a way that causes minimal impact to the environment and to encourage both local residents and outsiders to visit them. There are nine separatechambers to be explored in Kambi ya SimbaCaves, and a walk alongthe rim of the Rift Valley and down the escarpment wall provides a spectacular view.

MESO recognizes the possible drawbacks of introducing tourism into a community and plans to work with the localpeople to limit any negative consequences of our suggested ecotourism programs.

AwetSecondary School opened in Kambi ya Simba in 1995 andnow has about 300 students. The students recently participated in atree-planting project and have expressed interest in becoming involvedin other environmental projects. We visited the school and talked withthem about MESO programs. During a question and answer period,several students asked about the library and documentation centerMESO is opening. They were encouraged both to use the library and towrite their own articles, stories, letters and poems to display in the documentation centers. The Headmaster, Mr. T. B. Haali, and MESOPresident, Petro Ahham, discussed the importance of extra-curricularclubs and suggested forming an environmental club. MESO plans tocontinue working closely with AwetSecondary School by supportingprograms in the school and encouraging students and staff members tobecome involved in our programs.

From Kambi ya Simba, we traveled to Karatu and met with theDistrict Commissioner for Karatu and visited several officials of the District Council including Chairman John Z. Tippe. The purpose of thesemeetings was to share MESO’s programs with them and to ask forsupport. After spending the morning in Karatu, we left for Mbuludistrict where MESO has identified three historical sites, which we planto work together with local people to preserve.

In Dongobesh there is a set of ruins characterized by circularstone structures that are now buried underground. The ruins cover an area of about two acres and each structure contains two layers ofrectangular shaped stones that are believed to have been above groundat one time. In the center of each structure there is a round stone.

Local residents who have dug in the area in order to build houses havefound human and animal bones in addition to what they believe to be small pieces of cooking pot. Mr. Philip Wakari discovered the stoneruins in 1972 when he was building his house and is trying to preservethem and encourage his neighbors to do the same. MESO believes that itis important for people to recognize the stones as a historical site so thatthey will not dig them up to use for building.

In the village of Qandech, we visited several natural and historicalsites including rock paintings, rock kopjes and a set of eight verticalrectangular rock structures which sit side by side. Again, weapproached local residents and discussed with them the benefits ofpreserving these structures.

Our final visit was to another set of rock paintings in the village ofQamatananat. Some of the paintings were still visible, although a largeportion of the area was either washed away or written over. Therewere holes in the ground directly beneath the paintings that had beendug by local residents who believe that there is German money buriedsomewhere in the area. According to one local resident, people nolonger draw over the original rock art and the village authority isdemanding that the holes be filled in, but in order to maintain thehistorical value of the paintings, continuous action must be taken topreserve them.

One again, MESO believes that one way to convince local people topreserve natural and historical sites is to introduce Ecotourismprograms which will provide them with some income to replace thatwhich they must give up in order to conserve and protect these areas. These programs in addition to educational campaigns will provide localpeople with realistic tools to defend their environment againstdegradation and destruction.

Importance of Collaborative Work

MESO’s concept of environment is that it is a combination of bothnatural and social surroundings and, because we view it as a multi-dimensional entity, we see a need to involve local, national andinternational communities in addressing and tackling environmentalproblems. In relation to our target groups, other NGOs, donor agenciesand the government, MESO has had both positive and negativeexperiences. Through such experience we have realized theimplications of working in co-ordination with and independently ofthese individuals and organizations.

Target Groups

All organizations are built around individual philosophies, goals,objectives and approaches. It is important for each organization toexperiment with and use varying approaches and to find the ones thatwork for them in different situations. Although some organizations usetop-down approaches or reaches out to large quantities of people, MESOprefers a bottom-up approach which may reach fewer people, butincorporates them as active participants. MESO works directly withmembers of our target groups to ensure that they are aware of ourgoals, aims and objectives and individuals who are interested inparticipating in MESO programs are asked to share the responsibilitiesof implement and maintaining them.

Other NGOs

MESO believes it is important to have the freedom to operateindependently and without interference from other organizations, but,at the same time, we realize that it is impossible and unrealistic to workin total isolation from other NGOs. MESO is interested in networkingwith other NGOs, especially those who share similar aims andobjectives. We also believe that, because there are so many problemsand issues facing Tanzanian communities today, it is necessary to have a variety of organizations using different approaches to face these situations. We feel that it is unfortunate that, in so many cases, NGOs inTanzania find themselves working against each other rather thantogether. We strive to co-operate with other NGOs in any way we canwithout compromising the independence and freedom that we feel isso important to the operation of our organization.

Donor Agencies

MESO is a local NGO, which is financed primarily by its members.Although MESO is not against receiving external support, we currentlydo not depend on donor agencies to accomplish our goals. We stronglybelieve that our own programs as well as those of other NGOs should beindependent and geared toward implementing self-sustaining projects. We believe that too many NGOs in Tanzania have become dependent ondonor agencies to the point where they cannot exist without externalsupport. In order to promote independence among individuals andcommunities in Tanzania, MESO believes that it is necessary to breakthe habit of depending on others and to implement programs whichallow Tanzanians to support and sustain themselves.

The Government

MESO is prepared to co-operate with and work under all non-oppressivegovernment laws and regulations and we recognize the necessity ofmaintaining a supportive and harmonious relationship with thegovernment. However, it is our experience that NGOs are sometimeslooked upon by the government as opposition parties and,therefore, laws and decisions are often made without their involvementor participation. In order for NGOs to work effectively with thegovernment and for both parties to benefit from each other, MESO feelsthat we must work together and combine our interests, talents and abilities to build a strong support network.

MESO recognizes the importance of collaborative work with ourtarget groups, other NGOs donor agencies and the government. However, we fear that, in too many cases, these relationships havecreated a dependence that destroys the ability of individuals andcommunities to be self-reliant. By systematically monitoring the way inwhich our relationships with others affect our programs, MESO plans tocontinue building collaborative networks while also maintaining ourindependence and self-reliance