Water Tenure and Conflicts in Tanzania

Water Tenure and Conflicts in Tanzania Institutional Responses to Changing Tenure Patterns Christopher Huggins Research Fellow African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS) PO Box 45917, Nairobi, Kenya [email protected] [email protected] Abstract This short document summarises some of the findings of recent ACTS research in Tanzania. It examines the current state of water availability in Arusha, Tanzania, and the conflicts which are emerging due to resource scarcity and other more complex factors. A full report on water policy issues in Kenya and Tanzania is soon to be published by ACTS. It includes a history of water development in both countries, a number of case studies, and policy recommendations. Ordering details will soon be available on this website. Introduction “The people from the government came and said, ‘The water belongs to the nation, and you must share it.’ But the villagers said ‘No, the water is ours’ and armed themselves in order to fight”. Anna Sembeo of Oldonyosambu village, Arusha Region, Tanzania This paper looks at the water policy of Tanzania, focussing especially on recent attempts to move towards a participatory, demand-management approach to rural water supply. This focus on rural water availability is motivated by the fact that approximately 80% of the population of Africa is found in rural areas, and only about 37% of these people have access to ‘safe’ water sources. 1 Part of the research included fieldwork conducted by ACTS 2 in the Arusha region of Tanzania, which highlighted a number of latent and manifest conflicts over water. Water availability is 1 World Health Organisation, 1998, Water Supply and Sanitation Sector Monitoring Report, 1998 2 Research included interviews with focus groups in villages around the town of Arusha, interviews and correspondence with Ministry of Water staff and other water specialists, and a three-day ACTS workshop on water policy in Kenya and Tanzania.

Water Tenure and Conflicts in Tanzania

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