Community Perception of Land Degradation Across Maasai Landscape, Arusha Tanzania: Implication for Developing Sustainable Restoration Strategy

In Tanzania, smallholder farming systems experienced land degradation due to soil erosion which contributes to the decline in crop and livestock productivity. Community perception of land degradation has not been reported adequately, despite the fact that its causes and effects are site-specific and occur over time. This study aimed to assess the community's perception of indicators, causes and land degradation management practices in the Maasai landscape. A total of 240 farmers from six villages distributed within three landscape zones differentiated by their altitudes and contrasting adoption of soil conservation practices were involved in the study. Farmer's plots, observations, discussions, and questionnaire interviews were used for data collection. Data analysis performed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20.0 were descriptive statistics, and comparison tests done using the Chi-square test. According to the results, 75% of the respondents identified land degradation as a problem in their cultivated land. About 60% of farmers cited anthropogenic degradation as dominant across all landscape. Soil erosion was reported as the main indicator of land degradation accounting for 74.1%, 61.3%, and 44.4% in upper, middle, and low landscape respectively. The study found that communities perceive the trend of land degradation as increasing in the landscape, with soil erosion and nutrient depletion being the major indicators. The study recommends that the government and other soil conservation organizations in the Maasai landscape of Arusha and related areas consider community perceptions in the planning and implementation of interventions meant for sustainable land use and restorations.