Current World Environment

Feedbacks from stakeholder consultations build and maintain a constructive relationship between project implementers and project-affected parties. However, information on multi-stakeholders’ reactions on regularization projects in Tanzania is not documented with certainty. This study aims at showing how incorporating environmental and social considerations can help aligning stakeholders’ perspectives and improve the implementation of land tenure regularization, using Mbarali District as a case example. The study employed key interviews, focus group discussion, public meeting, and feedback meeting to collect data. Twelve environmentally sensitive sites were identified with the help of stakeholder inputs; of these, 75% were set aside as no-build zones, 16.67% for controlled alternative usage, and 8.33% for future development. Additionally, a structured grievance mechanism was used to record and handle 179 claims, of which 54.75% had to do with border issues, 21.23% with encroachment, and 19.55% with regularization procedures.The study revealed that stakeholders’ feedback on regularization process helped planners, surveyors, environmentalists, hydrologists, disaster risk managers, researchers and land valuers to conduct objective, and transparent regularization process. Thus, the multi-stakeholder consultations played a proactive role in supporting regularization process hence contributing to sustainable development. Surveyors, planners, valuers, policy-makers and practitioners should look beyond land certification and consider an effective management of environmental and social risks. It is therefore, the Mult-stakeholders’ views and observation can shape a way of thinking about the aims and scope of regularization. The study recommends the need for engaging the environmental and social stakeholders to enhance the quality of land regularization processes in Tanzania.

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