Name of Client : WWF /CARE Tanzania
Consultants: Prof PKT Munishi and Mr. Deo D. Shirima
Detailed Narrative Description of Project:
The objective of the assignment was to undertake detailed hydrological analysis of the Ruvu and Sigi River basins in relation to land use/cover change to provide guidance on what and where the Payment for Watershed Services initiative should be focused within the upper catchments based on maximizing the buyers’ return on investment in terms of their particular interests in improving watershed services providing technical recommendations for land use change to minimize negative impacts on the water quality and quantity in the two basins.
Detailed Description of Actual Services Provided by your Staff:
Review secondary literature to gather relevant information on changes occurring in the watersheds in terms of land use and river hydrology
Development of methodology for assessing the historical hydro-meteorological data coupled with the analysis of land use and land cover change on the Ruvu and Sigi River systems
Collection of time series data of runoff records on the Ruvu and Sigi Rivers, and the corresponding changes in land cover over a long span of time
Development of land cover change – runoff relationships for the Ruvu and Sigi Rivers’ Catchments and assessed the influence of catchment condition and land use types on water quality and indicated the extent of linkages between declining vegetation/forest cover with stream flow, water quantity/quality in the Ruvu and Sigi Rivers.
Identification of hydrologically related problems notably stream flow, water quantity and quality
Identification of areas that contribute significantly to the problem of deteriorating water quantity/quality in the Ruvu River and Sigi River (hotspots for interventions)
Assessment of the major human activities that contribute to the problem of declining water quantity and/or quality in the Ruvu and Sigi Rivers and the extent of contribution to the problems
Establishment of the size of the upper catchment that would need to be involved in the process of land use/NRM change to deliver the desired change in flows and/or sediment load within the Ruvu and Sigi Rivers.