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KILWA DISTRICT COUNCIL DISTRICT PROFILE

By Francis N. Kaunda

THE UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA

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Geographical location Kilwa District council is located in the Southern

of Tanzania in Lindi Region, Lying between south of equator 8º20' and 9º56' latitudes and 38º36' to 39º50' Longitudes East of Greenwich.

It borders Rufiji district, Coast region, Lindi and Ruangwa districts in the North, Indian Ocean in the East and in the west it borders Liwale district.

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Land area The total district area is 13, 347.50 square

Kilometers (1,334,750 ha) of which 12, 125.9 square kilometers is surface land and 1,221.52 square kilometers is the ocean.

Population The total population in 2012 National census

survey was 190,744 while 91,661 are male , 99,083 are female with average households size of 4.4.

Over view...Administrative units Administratively, Kilwa district is divided into six (6)

divisions, 21 wards and 97 villages registered (Masoko and Kivinje urban areas inclusive) and 286 hamlets as indicated in table below:-

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NA DIVISION WARD VILLAGE HAMLETS

1 PWANI 4 15 36

2 MITEJA 4 20 68

3 KIPATIMU 3 21 63

4 NJINJO 4 13 22

5 PANDE 5 25 88

6 NANJIRINJI 1 03 09

TOTAL 21 97 286

Over view...LAND USE, CLIMATE AND PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT

Land use

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Major class Ha %

Woodland 725,553 54.36Grass land 304,707 22.83Bush land 199,369 14.94Cultivated land 69,259 5.19Forest 31,247 2.34Land not in use 3,928 0.29Water area 529 0.04Other 158 0.01Total 1,334,750 100

Over view...Climate Kilwa district has a coastal climate which is hot and humid with the

average temperature range between 22ºC to 30ºC. Humidity is high, nearly 98-100% during the long rains. The district receives a total rainfall of 800-1400 mm/year and its distribution varies according to locality.

Vegetation Kilwa district falls under 2 major vegetation zones. Along the low

lying Coastal strip, the vegetation is characterized by the East Africa Coastal forest and thickets, which however much of it have been greatly reduced by human activities. The vegetation is thus predominantly deciduous scrub with scattered trees.

The uplands parts of Kilwa district is on the eastern edge of the central African Miombo belt; the vegetation is heterogeneous, with a variety of vegetation types associated with the miombo region and other types of vegetation associated with the coastal strip of East Africa. Most of the Miombo lies to the west of the coastal forest and is interspersed with bush land and seasonally flooded open areas of grassland.

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Threat to Forest Demand for agriculture land Pressure from migrating livestock keepers Demand for large scale commercial farm like High of firewood and charcoal for energy

Opportunities Programes such as PFM help reduce degradation Cooperation with partners Mpingo Conservation

Development Initiative (MCDI) and WWF

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Over view...Marine Resources Kilwa district is endowed with valuable marine resources

which include a variety of fish (350 species) including lobsters, mangrove Crabs, Prawns both belongs to crustacean family, whereas squids and octopus belongs to Cephalopods.

Furtherance to the above, the following are also grouped as part of marine sea products. These are Red cameo, Green snails, Sea cucumbers and good number of sea shells. The other marine resources include sea mammals e.g. whale, sharks, Dung -Gong, Dolphin, notably seaweed, coral reef, sea grass, beds and mangrove trees.

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Over view...Present use of marine resources  About 20% of Kilwa people depend directly on the use

of marine resources for their livelihood through artisan fishing, fish and sea weed farming, lime obtained from burning corals and harvesting of mangrove for business and domestic purpose apart from medicine.

The shrimp farming and fish cages have not yet started in Kilwa. Other things which are in progress include tourism development.

Demands of marine resources use have increased in recent years due to population increase. Illegal fishing and fishing mongers from Dar es Salaam, this has leaded to over harvesting and degradation of the marine habitats.

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Over view... Concerted efforts are required to protect the

marine environment and promote sustainable utilization of marine resources, some of these efforts are:-

Establishment of Beach Management Unit (BMU) currently 23 BMU have been established. Out of 23 BMU, 04 completed with complete By Laws, fisheries governance and action plan in place.

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