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Tanzania, officially known as the United Republic of Tanzania, is a mid-sized country in southeastern Africa bordering the Indian Ocean. It is home to a population of about 43.1 million people.〔U.S. Department of State: Background Note: Tanzania. http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2843.htm.〕 Since gaining its independence from the United Kingdom in 1961, Tanzania has been continuously developing in terms of its economy and modern industry. However, the country’s economic success has been limited. Environmental obstacles, such as the mismanagement of natural resources and industrial waste, have been contributing factors and results of the relatively low economic status of the country. Tanzania’s annual output still falls below the average world GDP. In 2010, the GDP for Tanzania was US $23.3 billion and the GDP per capita was US $1,515. Comparatively, the GDP for the United States was $15.1 trillion and the GDP per capita was approximately $47,153. Eighty percent of the workers accounting for this annual output in Tanzania work in agriculture, while the remaining 20% work in industry, commerce, and government organizations.〔 Such a heavy reliance on agriculture has placed a huge amount of strain on an already limited supply of viable land. ==Land use and degradation== Land in Tanzania is a valuable resource. Since most of the country is dry and arid, the wetlands surrounding Lake Victoria are the most fertile and consequently, in high demand for farming. These areas have been thoroughly evaluated to determine their potential and abundance of natural resources.〔Hongo, H and M. Masikini. 2003 Impact of immigrant pastoral herds to fringing wetlands of lake Victoria in Magu district Mwanza region, Tanzania. Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, Parts A/B/C 28(20-27): 1001-1007.〕 The results have shown that these wetlands are indeed very productive ecosystems, rich in nutrients and capable of sustaining crop growth. However, the natural resources of the wetlands are being exhausted due to a lack of regulation over the use of the land. Long term sustainable practices have not been implemented to preserve the limited area available.〔 Consequently, the parts of Tanzania around the wetlands are densely inhabited while much of the rest of the country is sparsely populated. The nutrient rich land is overused, overgrazed, and will slowly be depleted of its natural resources. Land degradation is one of the leading environmental problems resulting from a mostly agricultural nation. Tanzania among other states in southern Africa is being adversely affected by DONKEY inappropriate farming methods and overgrazing.〔Dahlberg, Annika. 1994 Contesting Views and Changing Paradigms: The Land Degradation Debate in Southern Africa. Uppsala: Reprocentralen HSC.〕 Most of the eastern region of Africa, of which Tanzania is a significant part, gets less than 600 mm of rainfall each year.〔 Regions with an average rainfall of 500–1000 mm are classified as semiarid climates. Achieving a high level of crop production with such a limited amount of rainfall is not wholly practical, leading many pastoral farmers to focus on raising livestock.〔Ellis, Jim and Kathleen A. Galvin. 1994 Climate Patterns and Land Use Practices in the Dry Zones of Africa. BioScience 44(5): 340-349.〕 There are many economic benefits for raising livestock in developing countries. Typically, the monetary value for raising cattle and other associated animals is higher than the income potential from producing crops. Additionally, less manual labor is involved. However, there is a danger in becoming too reliant on livestock over crop production. Producing crops such as wheat, beans, and grains generates more food for large populations than does raising livestock. These vegetative food sources can be made to feed a much larger group of people than slaughtering individual animals. Not only that, but crops are also necessary to feed livestock which further limits the food supply. It has been projected that there will be a great food shortage in sub-Saharan Africa in the coming years resulting from decreased crop production.〔 Solutions are being proposed to solve the problem, but they do not come without problems of their own. Suggestions for increased integration of crop and livestock production have been put forth in an attempt to maintain a balance between the two methods. However, increasing integration of these two products will lead to an overall intensification in agriculture, advancing the already permeating problem of land degradation and diminution of resources.〔 A different, possibly viable, solution has also been proposed: sustainable agriculture. The concept of sustainable agriculture is one that is not fully understood throughout the world and has many definitions.〔Schaller, Neill. 2003 The concept of agricultural sustainability. ''Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment'' 46(1-4): 89-97.〕 These can range from the idea of producing strictly organic crops to instituting fertilizing practices which better the environment rather than deplete it. However, the overarching concept of this new farming method implies shifting modern conventional agriculture away from focusing so much on generating capital.〔 The desire for economic success is important, yet the heavy use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers in raising crops and livestock is not eco-friendly. However, there are several concerns raised with this approach. First, some farmers argue that as the world population continues to increase, sustainable agriculture will not be able to support the necessary amount of food production.〔 Conventional farming’s heavy reliance on chemicals is believed to produce a much higher overall output than alternative farming methods. On the opposing side, supporters of agricultural sustainability argue that sustainable yields have the potential to exceed those of conventional agriculture.〔 The crops produced would be less exposed to chemical toxins and better able to feed the human population. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Natural resource and waste management in Tanzania」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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