LAND SUBDIVISION AND LAND USE CHANGE IN THE FRONTIER SETTLEMENT ZONE OF MOUNT MERU, TANZANIA

Abstract

Taking an example from the frontier settlement zone of the mountainous areas in Arusha Region, Northeastern Tanzania, this study examines whether and how far land subdivision information can illuminate the way in which rural livelihood transformation has been refl ected in land use at the local, land parcel scale for the period from 1962 to 2008, with a general scarcity of longitudinal information on the livelihood of rural households. It combines the reconstruction of the land subdivision process by way of Differential Global Positioning System land parcel measurements and interviews with smallholders on changing land ownership on the one hand, and the land cover/use analysis of aerial photo/satellite images on the other. Employing remote sensing and Geographical Information System techniques, the study identifi es the land use patterns of particular households in particular years and examines the changes in relation to land subdivision, which is central to livelihoods. This study confi rms that the initial expansion of home garden has stopped and that the land use pattern has begun to change in the reverse direction toward enlargement of cultivated open spaces, as previous studies have reported in an aggregated manner for the neighboring Kilimanjaro area. The present study also demonstrates that this process has developed along with land subdivision and is to be understood with the distinction between resident and non-resident use of the frontier zone.