Power Relations Between Upstream and Downstream Common Pool Resource Users: Winners and Losers in The Uluguru Mountains, Morogoro Tanzania

Abstract

Power relations often determine who manage resources, who have access to and who makes important decisions. Understanding power relations is important considering its importance in mitigating resource use conflicts as the result of power imbalance. This study was conducted to analyse power relations between upstream and downstream Common Pool Resources (CPR) users in Uluguru Mountains (UMs), Morogoro Tanzania. The study was conducted in Ruvuma and Peko Misegese villages representing the upstream communities and Mafisa and Mlali Streets representing the downstream communities. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected using Participatory Rural Appraisal and structured questionnaire. Content analysis was used to analyse qualitative data while descriptive and inferential statistics were employed for quantitative data analyses using SPSS. Findings show that, strategic, institutional and structural powers embody people’s livelihoods in UMs. Strategic power was found to be dominant in the upstream while institutional power in the downstream. Furthermore, the results showed that conflictive power relations created winners and losers, whereby upstream dwellers were considered to be the winners due to virtue of their position and weakness of existing institutions in enforcing rules and regulations governing CPRs. To have a win-win situation, the study recommends the need of improving institutional arrangements.