Community perception on climate change and usage patterns of non-timber forest products by communities around Kilolo District, Tanzania

Climate change is currently one of the greatest environmental challenges facing humankind; where increased temperatures and changing rainfall patterns are predicted to impact upon livelihoods in Tanzania. This paper highlights the current use pattern of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) by forest-dependent communities as a strategy to cope with the impacts of climate change and variability around the New Dabaga-Ulongambi Forest Reserve (NDUFR) in Kilolo District. Specifically, the local peoples’ perceptions of climate change and the change in use pattern of NTFPs as a response to perceived change were investigated. Participatory Research Approaches mainly focus group discussions and household questionnaires were the methods used to collect data. The Statistical Packages for Social Science (SPSS) and content analysis were tools used to analyse data. Further, the Community-based Risk Screening Tool for Adaptation and Livelihoods (CRiSTAL 3.0) was used to synthesize information on the link between climate change, NTFPs and livelihoods. The local people perceived changes in climate based on rainfall and temperature in line with the available climatic data records from 1980 to 2011. Temperature has increased for the past 30 years; while rainfall is characterized by large inter-annual variability, with the heaviest rains in 1997 and 2010. Communities living around NDUFR are increasingly relying on NTFPs for food, health and income security among the strategy to cope with change in climate compared to the situation 30 years ago. In conclusion, climate has been varying around forest communities in Kilolo affecting their livelihood. At the same time, NTFPs seem to play safety roles by assisting communities to cope in adverse situations. There is a need for training communities on climate change issues to enhance the adaptive capacity of communities and in turn improve their livelihood. Sustainable harvesting of NTFPs is crucial so as to reduce overexploitation of forest resources. Key words : Climate change; adaptation; NTFPs; Tanzania.