Performance of the Commission
The performance of the Commission in the above listed function so far has mostly been limited to functions (h), (m) and (o).The other functions have not been fully undertaken due to various problems which are beyond the Commission's capability.However, with the ongoing Government restructuring it is expected that the Commission will perform all the functions efficiently and effectively.The problems notwithstanding, the Commission has carried out the following activities since its establishment.

Completed Activities:

Plans already prepared
- Northern Zone Regional Physical Plan.
- Southern Zone Regional Physical Plan
- Nzega District Framework Plan
- Loliondo Land Use Plan
- Kiteto District Land Use Plan
- Urambo District Land Use Plan.
- Tabora Rural District Land Use Plan
- Kondoa District Land Use Plan
- Dodoma District Land Use Management Plan.
- Lituhi Division Land Use Plan

Researches
- Wetlands 1995-1996
- Coastal resources management 1993-1997
- Development of Land Use Planning and Land Tenure Systems in Tanzania 1995
- Large Scale Farms Standards in Tanzania 1997-1998
- Rural Land Quality Values in Tanzania 1998

Other Activities
- Preparation of Village Land Use Planning Guidelines.
- Preparation of guidelines on environmental management of areas prone to environmental hazards such as floods, draughts, fires, land sliding etc.
- Preparation of land use management plans for buffer zone areas of wildlife conservation areas i.e. Ngorongoro and Serengeti Conservation Strategy.
- Mkwaja Ranch conversion to a Game Reserve
- Technical advice to the Minister for Lands on various issues on land use planning for sustainable development.

Ongoing Activities:
Determination of Agro-Ecological Zones of Tanzania
This is a scientific study and research whose main aim is to establish the agro-ecological zones of Tanzania. It's purpose is to improve the work carried out by De Paw in 1983.The Commission started to work on the study in 1993.But due to the prevailingeconomic strain facing the country, the work performance has not been going on as expected.The methodology applied in the study is to determine land suitability using indicators like physical features, climate, rainfall, soil capability and land based natural resources.Expected results from the study include a national land use plan, handbooks and maps on the various land use activities practiced in the country, that is, farm management, forest management, wildlife management, etc.

Information Documentation Centre
The Commission is now establishing an information documentation centre for land use information systems in the country.Existing land use reports, maps, satellite imageries, aerial photographs and other documents like policies on agriculture, Livestock, Forestry, Fisheries, Wildlife, Environment Management, Land, etc. will be compiled, analysed and disseminated to all stakeholders for land use planning purposes.

Sanya Plains Land Use Plan
The Commission is now reviewing the Sanya Plains Land Use Plan prepared in 1985 by a Team from various ministries. The Sanya Plains now face land issues of overstocking in all villages, conflicting use of the Ex-Somali ranch and a large land of the privatised Kilimanjaro International Airport which has taken large tracks of land from villages around it.Data collection in the field has been concluded and the information is now being documented in proper reports and maps.

River Basin Drainage System Land Management Plans.
The Commission hasrecently started to prepare plans interns of River Drainage Basin System other than administrative boundaries.The drainage basin is the best planning unit of a land parcel because of the following:-
- It is a geomorphologic unit.
- It is a hydraulic and hydrological unit having a unifying factor in water as a natural resource.
- It is an open physical system with inputs and outputs of both energy and mass.

Thus, the river basin drainage system provides a convenient and natural unit area within which natural resources and hydro-meteorological data is collected, analysedand the details of hydrological cycle and other physical processes can be meaningfully studied.Because of the systematic attributes of the drainage basin, the land parcel is now increasingly being adopted as a suitable area unit for development planning.

(Note:A river basin drainage system comprises the area drained by a river and its tributaries.It can be demarcated accurately on a topographic map or aerial photograph or through direct field survey).
Through this methodology, the Commission has started working on the Great Raha River Drainage System Land Use Plan.This has been prompted by the existing land and water resources use conflicts between the various land use activities going on in the basin; which on one hand has resulted in to serious environmental issues of water shortage and land degradation.On the other hand the conflicts are causing social disharmony among the different users and threatening the sustainability of natural resources.It is expected that the plan will overcome the environmental issues,bring harmony and guarantee sustainable utilisation of the natural resources.

The Commission will prepare similar land use plans for all major drainage regions of the country which are:-
- Wami, Ruvu, Coast
- Pangani, Coast Rufiji, Great Ruaha
- Southern Coast and Ruvuma
- Lake Nyasa Internal (to Lake Eyasi, Manyara, Natron and Bahi Depression)
- Lake Tanganyika
- Lake Victoria
- Lake Rukwa
- Ruvu River Basin Regional Physical Plan

The Commission is now preparing a Resource Based Physical Plan for the Ruvu River Basin.The Project area embraces the entire land parcel covered administratively by Kibaha, Kisarawe, Bagamoyo and Morogoro Districts. Ruvu river is the main source of water supply for Dar es Salaam City Region.

Accordingly, the area is endowed with a high potential of various natural resources which at present is not fully utilised in the nation's development efforts.The plan under preparation stands as the basic tool, which will enable the resources in the area to be sustainable, utilised for the nation's development and raising the living standards of the population living in area.

Baseline information required in the plan preparation process is to be collected in October 1999.The maps for the area are currently being documented simultaneously with identification of the issues concerning the area.

The Commission will also conduct in the project area plan formulation exercise with the beneficiaries.

Participatory Land Use Management Project
Participatory Land Use Management Project (PLUMP) was born from Dodoma Land Use Management Project(DLUMP) who was implemented jointly by this Commission and the Netherlands Government from 1990 to 1996.Experiences from DLUMP led to a major shift in the style of land use planning in Tanzania.The Project implementation had to change the style from top-down planning to plan with the actors or stakeholders.
The National Participatory Land Use Management Guidelines were jointly launched in December 1998 by Minister for Lands and Human Settlements Development and the Minister for Regional Administration and Local Government.At present six pilot districts are implementing the Guidelines through donor funding.Masasi district is locally being funded by the District Council itself.Ward teams for Masasi district have been trained in September 1999.

Major Issues Justifying Land Use Planning in Tanzania
In 1995, the National Land Use Planning Commission in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme and the Food and Agriculture Organisations carried out a research on the following issues: -

- Land use conflicts between different categories of land users.The research found that land use conflicts are on the increase especially between traditional pastoralists, use of forests and woodland, and wildlife.Crop producers are expanding their farms which encroach the other land uses.

- Lack of progress in implementation of land use plans at different scales (national, subnational, village).The research found that land use planning has not achieved its goals because of lack of appropriate legislation in use for rural land use planning, top-down approach to land use planning, lack of institutional capacity, failure of the co-ordination mechanisms, lack of organising philosophy andlack of comprehensive guidelines.

- Insecurity of land tenure:Smallholder producers who own land under deemed rights were fairly secure in the past, but it is now characterised by growing insecurity of tenure because of growing population of human beings and livestock.The growing insecurity on land tenure to smallholder producers creates reluctance to invest in land improvements by majority of citizens in Tanzania.The land tenure system do not provide a demand driven exchange relations, do not guarantee equity as between competing interests and demands of various categories of land users, and is not sensitive to culture and ecology.

- Land degradation resulting from in appropriate land use.The research found that rainfall in most parts of Tanzania is not reliable year to year.Soil erosion is a common problem almost everywhere in Tanzania.Soil mining in semi arid areas is another problem of land degradation.

- The area suitable for livestock keeping is over 50% infested with tsetse flies.

- Forest and woodland clearing is at a speed of 2.5% per year, which is equivalent to the annual population growth rate of Tanzania.

- There is an increase in poaching and over harvesting of natural resources products.

- Rethinking land use planning by introducing new concepts of rural land use planning such as role and reflection, multiple use for dynamic land use changes, introducing participatory approaches and implementation oriented planning.

- Strengthening National Land Use Planning Commission as an intersectoral planning body by:-

- Upgrading the technical core to a Technical Secretariat.

- Reasserting the role of the Land Advisory Committees.

- Establish a multidisciplinary capacity for land use planning by strengthening capabilities in the fields of natural resources management, farming systems, and participatory development.

The Commission should not be a preparatory agency but should do the following activities:
- Preparing and maintaining the national land use plan.
- Co-ordinating the land use planning activities of sectional agencies.
- Assuring proper methodological approaches to land use planning by lower government echelons and support agencies
- Assuring that information flows on land use issues to/from lower government echelons through the Land Advisory Committees are optimised.
- Oversee capacity building in land use planning at lower levels.
- Ensure districts and regional development activities address vital land use issues.

Priority areas recommended by the Team is that the Commission should immediately deal with the preparation of national land use plan by identifying current land use types.It should also monitor trends and changes in land uses e.g. Area expansion, intensification, development plans land degradation, capability to support increasing populations and potential for future land use conflicts.

Strengthen the regions and district land use planning levels through full integration of land use planning into rural development planning.

The strategies at this level are:-
- Full incorporation of land use planning in regional and district development programmes. In the past land use planning has been sidelined.
- Establishment of multidisciplinary planning teams in all districts.
- In service training of existing planning teams.
- Curriculum development in training institutions for rural land use planning.Multidisciplinary teams should operate from the district headquarters and visit villages.The Commission will provide Technical support to the teams.Regional teams will mainly prepare resource based plans.

Reform land use legislation.The Town and Country Planning Ordinance Cap 378 of 1956, does not address issues of rural land use planning.Rural land use planning law intends to regulate and restrict particular land use types in rural areas.Ultimately have a bearing on the present and future value of land and the type of property and user rights that apply.Therefore, land use planning is not simply facilitating exercise for land use decision making but a property of property itself.

Land development and management in Urban areas is facilitated by the Town and Country Planning Ordinance.The Ordinance provides development conditions which are normally provided in the titles or property rights in urban areas.A similar regime is necessary for rural areas where the main land uses are agriculture, pastorals, wildlife and forest conservation, mineral mining, water resource conservation, tourism and many other overlapping land uses.