WWF: Participatory Land Use Planning is a Tool for Community Empowerment!

The Village Assembly at Makatapola Village of  Migoli Ward, Ismani Division in Iringa District, Iringa Region which was gathered recently to approve the village land use plan (VLUP), that will be implemented for ten years (2016-2026). The Participatory Land Use Planning (PLUP) is funded by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) through Ruaha Water Program (RWP) in collaboration with Iringa District Council.

Migoli Ward Executive Officer (WEO) Bosco Mwiyowela addressing the Village Assembly at Mbweleli Village in Migoli Ward of Ismani Division during the formulation of the village land use planing. The Participatory Land Use Planning (PLUP) was funded by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in collaboration with Iringa District Council.

The Iringa District Council (IDC),  Forest Officer Joachim Mshana  is collecting data  during the formulation the village land use planning team at Mbweleli Village.The Participatory Land Use Planning (PLUP) 2016-2026 was funded by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in collaboration with Iringa District Council.

Iringa District Council (IDC) Town and Village Planner, Zahor Mwalongo preparing the sketch map for land uses during the formulation the village land use planning team at Mbweleli Village.The Participatory Land Use Planning (PLUP) 2016-2026 was funded by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in collaboration with Iringa District Council.

The Village/Town Planner Zahor Mwalongo and the Principal Cartographer  Geoffrey Mwanga recording points from their GPSs for zone land use between individual and the communal areas at Mbeleli Village.

MIGOLI: World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in collaboration with Iringa District Council has funded the implementation of 'The Participatory Land Use Planning (PLUP)' in two pilot villages of Makatapola and Mbweleli in Migoli Ward of Ismani Division in Iringa District Council, Iringa Region. 

The statement was made recently by WWF-Ruaha Water Program (RWP) Community Development Office (CDO), Martha Sanga during the village assemblies at Makatapola and Mbeleli villages respectively.

She said participatory land use planning is a too for community empowerment hence reduction of village land conflicts.

Participatory land use planning (PLUP) in Tanzania is grounded in the national policy and legislative framework governing land tenure and local government. 

The legal basis for village land use plans is found in Tanzania’s local government legislation (mainly the Local Government Act of 1982), which enables village governments to pass local by-laws. 

Village by-laws are a central component of the PLUP process because they give the land use plans a legal basis for enforcement. 

The by-laws must be passed by the two main organs of village government, the Village Assembly and the Village Council. 

The Village Assembly comprises all the adults resident in the village, and the Village Council is the main executive body of the community, and is elected by the Village Assembly every five years. 

The Village Council is headed by a Village Chairman, and has numerous sub-committees such as finance, development, environment and natural resources, education, water, and so forth. 

Village by-laws must also be approved by the elected District Council for them to come into force. Once the District Council approves village by-laws, they have legal force equivalent to any other law in Tanzania and violators can be charged in courts of law. 

The Village Land Act requires villages to allocate lands between individual and communal categories, as well as designating some lands as areas set aside (akiba) to be allocated to the individual or communal areas at a later time. 

The Village Land Act thus provides a relatively secure tenure framework for communal land uses such as grazing pastures and forests, as well as specific requirements for basic land use planning and zoning. (Additional information: International Institute for Environment and Development-IIED)