Human-nature relationships and its implications on the management of eastern arc water catchments of Tanzania

ABSTRACT This study is aimed at understanding the Human–Nature Relationships (HNRs) in the Lower Mngeta and Upper Zigi catchments, as parts of Eastern Arc water catchment areas, in the United Republic of Tanzania. This study employed the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and Norm-Activation Model (NAM) to understand the position of humans in the two catchments’ ecosystems. The study design involved Focus Group Discussions, Key Informant Interview, and Household Questionnaire Surveys. A total of 310 (185 males and 125 females) villagers were involved in this study. Furthermore, four HRN typologies, master over nature, partner with nature, a participant in nature, and steward of nature, were adopted. The study findings indicated that there was no significant difference (X2 test, p > 0.05) in HNRs between the two catchments. Moreover, master over nature typology was dominant in both catchments, with values of 59.4% (n = 200) and 59.5% (n = 85) in Lower Mngeta and Upper Zigi, respectively. The main reason is that HNR is dependent on the nature of the livelihood activities and the mode of subsistence of a particular community. It was also found that the communities in Lower Mngeta and Upper Zigi catchments are mostly dependent on agricultural and hunting activities that highly depended on the two catchment resources. This study, therefore, recommends an increase in the level of community participation in all decision-making activities, as well as an increase in environmental education for sustainable utilization and management of the two catchment resources.


Introduction
The relationships existing between humans and water catchments have co-evolved over time and are complicated in nature (Klaver, 2011;Sivapalan, Savenije, & Blöschl, 2012;Troy, Pavao-zuckerman, & Evans, 2015;Van Meter, Basu, McLaughlin, & Steiff, 2015).This natural complexity is influenced by catchment hydrology, socio-economic and cultural systems, as well as climate patterns (Klaver, 2011;Van Meter, Basu, McLaughlin, & Steiff, 2015).It is well understood that catchment ecosystems provide biotic and abiotic resources that support human life, all over the world (Krause & Strang, 2016;Troy, Pavao-zuckerman, & Evans, 2015).Despite the importance of catchment resources to human life, it is universally acknowledged that humans have been modifying the catchment ecosystem in various ways, altering the catchment system's ability to provide relevant goods and services to humans (Klaver, 2011;Krause & Strang, 2016;Sivapalan, Savenije, & Blöschl, 2012).Overexploitation of the catchment resources by humans is one of the major processes that negatively affects the catchment resources' ability to provide goods and services (Troy, Pavao-zuckerman, & Evans, 2015).
The Eastern Arc Catchments of Tanzania are among the most threatened habitats in terms of extinction of potential species and environmental degradation, in the world (Ricketts et al., 2005).The forests from which catchments are originated are recognized as of global importance in terms of carbon sequestrations and being centers for species diversity and endemism (URT United Republic of Tanzania, 2016).Apart from being the main source of water for economic production and hydropower generation, the catchments support rural livelihood by providing goods and services such as timber, fuel (wood and charcoal), wild resources (bushmeat and medicines from plants), cultural and spiritual materials and sites (Muhar et al., 2017).
Understanding human-nature relationships (HNRs) in catchment areas offers an avenue for the elucidation of man's behavior and actions toward conservation practices (Muhar et al., 2017;Yoshida, Flint, & Dolan, 2018).The HNR has been studied extensively in developed countries with a view to understanding the dynamics of the management of natural resources.HNR refers to how individuals or groups of individuals conceptually relate to nature such as catchments (Yoshida, Flint, & Dolan, 2018).According to Van den Born (2008) and Van den Born and de Groot (2009), there are four types of HNR, namely, master over nature, steward of nature, partner with nature, and a participant in nature.The "master over nature" typology refers to the belief that people have power and the right to alter nature.The "steward of nature" typology refers to the belief that people have a moral obligation to care for and conserve nature.The "partner with nature" typology refers to the belief that people have equal value with nature and have mutual benefit from the other.The "participants with nature" typology refers to the belief that people are a part of nature and have a strong physical and spiritual bond with it.
Several studies that were conducted in the European countries on the HNR show that "master over nature" was the least preferred typology of HNR (Braito et al., 2017;De Groot, Drenthen, & de Groot, 2011;Flint, Kunze, Muhar, Yoshida, & Penker, 2013;Yoshida, Flint, & Dolan, 2018).According to Braito et al. (2017), "partner with nature" and "participant with nature" were the dominant typologies in the United States of America (USA) and Europe.De Groot, Drenthen, and de Groot (2011) concluded that the general public in Western Europe agreed with the "partner with nature" and "participant with nature" typologies while rejecting the "master over nature" typology.Similarly, results from Yoshida, Flint, and Dolan (2018) show that 83%, 80.2%, and 63.4% of the USA mid-western farmers had a positive attitude toward "steward of nature," "partner with nature," and "participant with nature" typologies, respectively.The "master over nature" typology had lower acceptances of about 22.7%.
It must be well understood that most of the existing HNR studies were conducted in developed countries where environmental awareness is high compared to the actual situation in developing countries.Meanwhile, several studies conducted in developing country, i.e., Tanzania have identified a high dependence of people on natural resources for their livelihoods (Bhorat, Chelwa, Naidoo, & Stanwix, 2019;Muhar et al., 2017).In a study by Bhorat, Chelwa, Naidoo, and Stanwix (2019), it was revealed that Tanzania was among the 14 countries in sub-Saharan Africa classified as natural resourcedependents, which means more than 25% of the country's export revenue is derived from natural resources.Therefore, due to differences in natural environmental setup, livelihood activities, and economic opportunities between the developed and developing countries, this study seeks to understand HNRs in sub-Saharan Africa with the eastern arc catchments of Tanzania serving as a proxy for the developing countries.

Theories and models governing HNRs
In this study, the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and Norm-Activation Model (NAM) have provided the basis to understand the position of humans in the catchment ecosystem (Ewing, 2001;George & Dane, 2016).According to NAM, people's norms regarding consumption behaviors, which are related to the environment, are derived from the individual's awareness of the impacts of performing or not performing a certain action and the feeling of moral obligation for performing or not performing a specific action (Ewing, 2001).The expected pride or guilt is what makes an individual behave in accordance with personal norms (Onwezen, Antonides, & Bartels, 2013).The TPB states that an attitude toward certain behavior, subjective norms, and perceived behavior controls and shapes an individual's intentions and behaviors (George & Dane, 2016).Thus, an individual's intention and behavior are determined by, among other things, the degree to which the individual has a positive or negative feeling of the behavior of interest (attitude); the social pressure from friends, parents, elders, and teachers to engage or not to engage in a behavior (subjective norm); and the individual's perception of how easy or difficult it is to express a behavior (perceived behavior) (George & Dane, 2016).
Furthermore, this study adopted four typologies of HNR from Van den Born (2008) and Van den Born and de Groot ( 2009): master over nature, partner with nature, a participant in nature, and steward of nature.These typologies assist in elucidating the relevance, thematic, and spatial factors that might contribute to the understanding of environmental behaviors in social systems.

Site description
This study was conducted in two famous catchments, located in the eastern arc water catchment areas of Tanzania.The first is the Lower Mngeta catchment, located on the footslope of Udzungwa Mountains, Kilombero District, in Tanzania's Morogoro Region; and the second is the Upper Zigi catchment, located on the upper slope of East Usambara Mountains, Muheza District, in Tanzania's Tanga region.The Upper Zigi catchment is situated approximately between Latitudes 4° 48" and 5° 13" S, Longitudes 38° 32"and 38° 48" E, and covers 2080.13 square kilometers.On the other hand, the Lower Mngeta catchment is situated approximately between Latitudes 8° 0' and 6° 77' S, Longitudes 37° 45' and 12° 59' E, and covers 515.22 square kilometers (Figures 1 and 2).Table 1 describes the total population as well as sample sizes for the two catchments.
These catchments originate from the forests which are recognized to be of global importance in terms of carbon sequestrations and being centers for species diversity and endemism (Iddi, 1998; URT United Republic of Tanzania, 2016).Despite their importance, the catchments are one of the world's most threatened in terms of the extinction of potential species and environmental degradation (Ricketts et al., 2005).The Lower Mngeta catchment was selected because it generates ecosystem services that support livelihood that attracts people from different cultural backgrounds including non-Tanzanians to settle and invest.On the other hand, Zigi Catchment was selected because the place is covered by natural forests and plantation forests (Fadhilia, Liwa, & Shemdoe, 2016).The cultivated land includes small-scale farming and large-scale estate farming.According to NBS (2012), the total  estimated population in the catchment was 204,461.The population growth rate was estimated to be 2.2% per annum (NBS National Bureau of Statistics, 2012).The main drivers of population growth include natural growth along with migration from other parts of the country (Fadhilia, Liwa, & Shemdoe, 2016).The massive immigration to these catchments makes the places suffer from serious deforestation and land degradation caused by timber production, farm expansion, livestock grazing, as well as a diversity of cultures that influences diverse resources utilization.The sampled villages were Mngeta, Mofu, and Mchombe from Lower Mngeta catchment; and Sakale, Kisiwani, Bombani, and Nkumba from Upper Zigi Catchment.Both catchments originate from rainforest mountains, and the weather of both areas is influenced by both the Indian Ocean and the rainforest (Iddi, 1998).The annual rainfall of the areas is 1780 mm and 1910 mm, for Lower Mngeta and Upper Zigi catchments, respectively, while the average temperature is 27.3°C for Lower Mngeta and 20.2°C for Upper Zigi (URT United Republic of Tanzania, 2010).

Tools for data collection
In this study, three methods were applied during data collection, namely, Focus Group Discussion, Key Informant Interview, and Household Questionnaire Survey.Data collection was done in 2020, under the supervision of Dr Agnes Kapinga who happens to be one of the authors of this particular study.

Focus group discussion (FDG)
Focus group discussions were conducted by using a checklist.Two groups (comprising 10-15 members) were employed in each village, and each group had a good mixture of both male and female members.Participants were introduced to the four HNR typologies (i.e.master, steward, partner, and participant) as adopted by Van den Born (2008), and Van den Born and de Groot (2009).Upon thorough discussions, each group reached a consensus, and the agreed typologies were incorporated into the structured questionnaire.

Key informants interview (KI)
Non-probability sampling using snowballing was employed to select key informants (KIs) that are perceived to have good knowledge of the study area.Five interviewees were selected in each village.The interview was done with the help of checklists and a sound recorder.The length of interviews ranged from 1.50 to 2.00 hours, depending on a number of factors such as cooperation, understanding of the topic, and time availability for respondents.

Household questionnaire survey
Questionnaires were employed to capture human perceptions on the ethical position in relation to the catchment resources.Participants were subjected to a structured questionnaire whereby the HNR typologies were masked while the explanatory statements were revealed so that they choose from among them.The sample size was calculated using a confidence interval of 5%, a confidence level of 95%, and the formula shown in equation 1.
Where: N = Size of targeted population.n = sample size.e = confidence interval.

Data analysis
For the FGD, content analysis was conducted to preserve the meanings of phenomena as intended by the local community under study.The narrative statements were captured verbatim, paraphrased, and summarized.Data on HNR that were captured using the structured questionnaires were coded and analyzed in SPSS Statistics software version 25.0.0.To determine the homogeneity or independence, the chi-square test was calculated, and to determine the significant difference in the perceptions between the two catchments, t-test was calculated at a p < 0.05 significance level.

Main human activities
Through KII, it was revealed that agriculture is the main economic activity, employing about 80% and 75% of the study population for Lower Mngeta and Upper Zigi catchments, respectively.Both cash and food crops are cultivated in the study areas.

Human-nature relationships
Individual participants indicated their views, beliefs, and values in relation to catchment ecosystem goods and services.In both catchments, communities disagreed with the "steward of nature" typology as being an independent typology of HNR.The majority of the community members reported that the steward typology is already described within the other three typologies; master over nature, partner with nature, and a participant in nature typologies.Therefore, it was concluded that every member of the community takes care of the catchment resources, regardless of the level of care.For instance, a participant from the Lower Mngeta catchment was recorded saying: The land we are staying in is a place of our attachment and identity, regardless of someone's beliefs, attitudes, values, behaviours, lifestyle and traditional practices.We all care for the environment knowingly or unknowingly; although how we care for the environment, vary from one person to the other.
In the Upper Zigi catchment, the land was reported to be a core natural asset for sustaining their livelihood; for them, taking care of the land is not an option.The following statement is proof recorded from a participant from the Upper Zigi catchment: For instance, in the old days, we believed that shifting cultivation allows the land to regain its original fertility.Nowadays, on the contrary, we are informed that shifting cultivation destroys the environment.Moreover, we are frequently practicing hunting using our own local methods and materials, but under traditional norms and restrictions that we set; this is to say we have power over our catchment resources, but still, we are caring for the environment.
This study recorded further statements from respondents from the two catchments as follows: The truth is, God is above nature and we are created in God's image.God gave us power to control plants, animals and everything, in the earth.Therefore, we are superior to all other living things, including angels.However, being superior does not mean to abuse others.Frankly speaking, it does not make sense to me when someone tells me I have equal value with nature (from Lower Mngeta catchment).
Before Adam and Eve committed the sin, they were the only stewards of nature.After Adam and Eve ate from the forbidden tree, life changed.God punished the man and gave him the authority to be above nature so as he can sustain himself and his wife.This is written in the Holy Bible (Genesis 3:17-19) (Upper Zigi catchment).
Since we were young, we knew that our grandfathers, who protect us, live in the nearby forest, particularly in Mngeta River.In line with that, it is true that we are using the river and the forest the way we want to sustain our needs, but we are responsible for taking care of them (Lower Mngeta Catchment).
As illustrated in Figure 3, findings from the questionnaires indicate that there was no significant difference (X 2 , test, p > 0.05) in HNRs between the two catchments.Moreover, master over nature typology was dominant in both two catchments with values of 59.4% (n = 200) and 59.5% (n = 85) in Lower Mngeta and Upper Zigi, respectively.Apart from the master over nature typology; individuals who were perceived to be part of nature were found to be 14.8% (n = 50) and 22% (n = 31) in the Lower Mngeta and Upper Zigi, respectively.Individuals who believed to be in partnership with nature were 25.8% (n = 87) and 18.4% (n = 26) in Lower Mngeta and Zigi catchments, respectively.The difference in terms of percentage between participants in nature and partners with nature was found to be 11% (n = 37) and 3.5% (n = 5) in Lower Mngeta and Upper Zigi, respectively.These general community views toward HNR might be due to the source of livelihood activities and belief system.From FGD results, 84% (n = 282) and 88% (n = 125) of the respondents in Lower Mngeta and Upper Zigi catchments, respectively, are farmers who entirely depend on land for cultivation and livestock keeping.In addition, all the respondents depend on the forest as a source of energy for firewood and charcoal.Insufficient environmental education could be an additional factor for the study community to view themselves as superior to nature since all respondents had primary school education; which means they have to employ themselves in agricultural and hunting activities, as they are the only ways for their survival.Furthermore, during FGD, it was inferred that communities are not well involved in the decisions regarding catchment resources management including the formulation of laws and regulations.This reduces the community's passion and response toward the conservation of catchment resources.Insufficient awareness on environmental issues, especially sustainable utilization and management of the catchment resources, was also found to be a challenge, in the two catchments.
Results from both catchments are somehow similar to the findings of Muhar and Böck (2018) who reported that religions are positively correlated with mastery over nature.This belief influences attitudes toward the environment in a negative way, in that people think they are the master of nature, which creates a little sense of care to the natural environment.Botero et al. (2014) further reported that Christianity causes ecological crises since it spreads the idea of human dominion over creation (mastery).However, this study also found that in spite of humans being masters over nature, they are also both participants in nature, and partners with nature (Figure 3).This is supported by a study by De Groot (2012) who found Christians and Muslims as having the influence on stewardship and mastery over nature since it is the commandment of God for man to care for nature.Additionally, Walker, Loucks, and Carr (2015) reported that some participants believe in having both stewardship and mastery over nature typology.

Conclusion
Using the two main theories, Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and Norm-Activation Model (NAM), this study has concluded that the dominant HRN typology in both the Lower Mngeta and Upper Zigi catchments is mastery over nature typology.Furthermore, results from this study have shown that community members in the two catchments have rejected the stewardship of nature typology as an independent typology of HNR, arguing that it is already described within other types of HNR.The main reason for the dominance of the mastery over nature typology over other HRN typologies; participants of nature and partners with nature, is that HNR is determined by the nature of livelihood activities and mode of subsistence, in a particular community.Joseph and Majule (2010) documented that the livelihood activities of rural Tanzanians are similar and highly dependent on natural resources.It is also influenced by the level of community participation in the decision-making processes, the level of education of the community members, as well as the level of environmental awareness.This study recommends an increase in the level of community participation in all decision-making activities regarding sustainable utilization and management of Lower Mngeta and Upper Zigi catchments.Additionally, environmental education can be the best option in raising awareness on mutual benefits that exist between human and catchment resources for proper management of the two catchment resources.

Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Figure 3 .
Figure 3.The HNR in the two studied catchments.

Table 1 .
Sample size selection for the two catchments.
In the Upper Zigi catchment, the main and highest income cash crop is cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum).