FOR THE DEGREE OF

Acknowledgements This is a great opportunity to express my respect to the subsequent agencies and people, who in numerous ways, assisted in the course of producing this dissertation. I thank God for providing me with the strength I needed to start my PhD program a few weeks after my mother passed away. I owe my gratitude to the Fulbright Junior Staff Development program, the Interdisciplinary Center for the study of Global Change (ICGC)-Compton Peace Fellowship, the Department of Geography at the University of Minnesota and the University of Dar Es Salaam for their generous fiscal support. Thanks to both the Uluguru Nature Reserve Chief Conservator‘s Office and the Catchment Forestry office in Morogoro, Tanzania, for allowing me to use their office facilities. I am greatly indebted to my advisors Katherine Klink and Susy Svatek Ziegler who gave me their precious time and lavish encouragement that no words can express. Committee members, Steve Manson, and Lee Frelich provided significant contributions during conception, planning and writing stages of my project. I also want to thank Bonnie Williams, Abdi Samatar and staff of Department o