Participatory Land Use Planning as a Tool for Community Empowerment in Northern Tanzania

This paper presents several case studies to show how the Ujamaa Community Resource Team (UCRT) has been working within Tanzania’s legal and policy framework to support a diverse range of pastoralists, agro-pastoralists and hunter-gatherers, all of whom face fundamental threats from external appropriation of, or encroachment on, lands and natural resources. The work also responds to local needs to rationalise resource use rights amongst competing local groups, such as farmers and livestock keepers. By using participatory land use planning, it is possible to balance the need to secure local tenure with the need management practices in semi-arid environments. It can also strengthen the voice of local groups in the face of external pressures.