Browsing by Author "Cosmas N. Munga"

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    A Regional Assessment of Seasonal-to-decadal Changes in estuarine Socio-ecological Systems in the Western Indian Ocean. Published in Western Indian Ocean Journal of Marine Science
    (WIO Journal of Marine Science, 2021) Jorge Santos; Johan C. Groeneveld; Fiona MacKay; Cosmas N. Munga
    Abstract Estuarine socio-ecological systems (SES) in the Western Indian Ocean (WIO) region face mounting pressures from overexploitation, habitat degradation, impacts of climate change and governance inadequacies. A regional assessment of seasonal-to-decadal change in SES of three estuaries (Bons Sinais in Mozambique, Ruvu in Tanzania and Tana in Kenya) was undertaken along 2000 km of tropical coastline (3°-18°S), using a systems-oriented approach and information collected during the Estuarize-WIO project (2016-2019). All three estuaries were open and tidal, but differed along gradients of geomorphology, annual precipitation, exposure to tropical storms, drought, sea level rise, and rural to urban development. Despite physical differences, similar marine species, mangrove assemblages, seasonality in fish-based farming systems and cultivated crops, and fishing methods were apparent across the region. Key differences were related to the scale of anthropogenic disturbance, discerned from land use / land cover (LULC) change analysis, which showed decadal increases in developed-, cultivated- and grasslands, at the expense of wetlands and forests, and seasonal transformation of wetlands to agriculture and grasslands. The three estuaries represented a gradient along urban-production-conservation dimensions, brought about by rural to urban transformation, and by freshwater and sediment diversion for economic development in upstream catchment areas. Household surveys indicated strongly seasonal livelihood strategies, with highest diversity in peri-urban settings, and reliance on different combinations of ecosystem goods and services in coastal and upstream rural settings. Estuarine fisheries ranged from unselective, low trophic-level fisheries using fine-mesh nets at the urbanized and most-disturbed Bons Sinais Estuary, to a more complex organized fishery at the least-disturbed Tana. At Ruvu, fisheries and agriculture production exit the system to distant markets. The systems-oriented approach demonstrated that human-induced processes affected WIO estuaries and dependent livelihoods more deeply than inherent physical differences. A key conclusion is that research, management and governance will benefit from regional cooperation, given the similarities of the systems and the different levels of disturbance.
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    Natural Resource-use in the Lower Tana River Delta Based on Household Surveys and Remote Sensing of Land Cover and Land Use Patterns
    (Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association (WIOMSA), 2021) Hamadi M. Mwamlavya; Cosmas N. Munga; Bernerd M. Fulanda; Johnstone O. Omukoto; , Pascal Z. Thoya; Fiona MacKay; Fatma H. Manyenze; Johan C. Groeneveld
    Abstract Household survey data and spatially explicit Sentinel-2 satellite images of land cover and land use during the dry and wet seasons were used to investigate livelihood strategies in the Lower Tana River Delta in Kenya, where food security and economic activity rely almost exclusively on ecosystem goods and services. Land cover classification of satellite imagery successfully showed seasonal changes to estuary-related vegetation and habitats from which land use cycles could be inferred. Flood-recession agriculture and part-time fishing were the most common activities at Ozi village, some 10 km upstream from the estuary mouth, whereas full-time fishing dominated activities at Kipini town, where the Tana Estuary discharges into Ungwana Bay. Seasonality of fishing at Kipini depended on favourable sea conditions, arrival of migrant fishers and peaks in shrimp abundance. Seasonality of agriculture at Ozi depended on the freshwater flooding regime, visible in satellite images as an inverse relationship of areas covered by wetlands and cultivated lands. The predominance of fishing assets at Kipini indicated specialization, which underlies a socio-economic network of fish processing, marketing, distribution and logistical support services. In contrast, mixed farming assets and traditional fishing gear at Ozi reflected more diversified farmer-fisher livelihoods, as a risk avoidance strategy. Key outcomes of this study were that land cover and land use were strongly seasonal, that coastal and upstream communities in the Tana Estuary relied on different combinations of ecosystem goods and services, and that livelihood strategies at the two locations differed fundamentally. Combining social, spatial and ecological data to describe socio-ecological systems typical of the Tana Estuary provided a broad platform for shared resource management strategies.