Interplay of formal and informal grassroots institutions for land management in the Uluguru Mountains, Morogoro, Tanzania

A THESIS SUBMITTED IN FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY OF SOKOINE UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE. MOROGORO, TANZANIA

Despite various interventions geared at countering land degradation in the Uluguru Mountains, the problem has persisted.Institutions have an instrumental role in land management. However, the question of compatibility between formal and informal institutions and hence the effectiveness of the institutions in governing land management is yet to be adequately addressed. This study assessed how the interplay of formal and informal grassroots institutions determines their effectiveness in governing land management in the Uluguru Mountains.Data collection involved administering an interview schedule at a single point in time and conducting in-depth interviews as repeatedly as deemed necessary. Qualitative data were analysed using content analysis.Institutional effectivenesswas measured on a five-point Likert scale and conditions for institutional effectiveness evaluated using multinomial logistic regression.Inclusively, the formal and informal grassroots land management institutions were effective in that their ultimate effect was more of fostering actors' land management behaviour. The outcome of formal and informal institutional interactions was largely one of inter-institutional conflict which, the study argues, is not necessarily undesirable. The study also uncovered that,besides sanctionsagainst non-compliance and individual benefits,ecological concerns motivatedadherence to land management prescriptions.Thus, land management actions are not guided by individual rationality alone; they are also guided by social rationality. Therefore, the influence of institutions on land management in the Uluguru Mountains is not adequately explained by the property rights theory since the theory rejects rationalities for actions other than that of maximizing individual utility.It was evident that actors' propensity to apply a particular practice is institutionally dependent and hence the social constructivist perspective of the theory of human actionsupported.Land ownership security, awareness of institutions and market access were significantly important conditions for institutional effectiveness and hence ought to be policy priorities.The study advocates for individual land property regime and establishment of institution(s) to regulate opportunistic behaviours on farmland water sources. Formulation of land management institutions should be location specific and informed by existing institutions because people's perceptions, preferences, motivations and land resource problems are location specific. It is important to promote land management enhancing informal institutions.