Mbeya Region Website

 

The District has several rivers that pass through Usangu plain; originating from Iringa, Mufindi, Njombe, Makete, Mbeya and Chunya Districts that flow into great Ruaha. Most of these rivers became the main source of water for irrigation. However, the potential area that was used for fishing is Ihefu wetland, which is now annexed to Ruaha National Park where according to the rules and regulations fishing in the National Parks is not allowed.  Therefore fishing activities in the District is done under very small scale on few constructed ponds and in some portions of the rivers especially in open areas. 

Before expansion of Ruaha National Park, Mbarali District was rich in forests. About ½ of the District’s area was a forested land. The remaining area was wetland and flatland used for agriculture and livestock keeping. However, currently the District has remained with few forested areas; among them are community based forest reserves, which count for more than 20,000 ha. 

As it has been discussed earlier, the District has wildlife corridor where animals cross from the Park to the Reserve and vice versa and also Waga buffer zone which is managed by community as Wildlife Management Areas (WMA). Within this area there is different types of tree species, some have edible fruits like Sclerocarya birrea (Amarula tree), Uapaca kirkiana (Makusu), Adansonia digitata (Mibuyu), etc  

In the District, there are few Natural Forest that are under the Central Government such as Chimala Scarp (17,000 ha), Ikoga - Mapogoro (15,000 ha), Mwambalizi and North Usafwa forest Reserves. All these forests have tree species that have edible fruits

Investment opportunity in this sector is on 

 

Mbarali District is rich in different types of minerals. According to the survey, minerals that are found in Mbarali District include gold, granite, Marble,   phosphate, gypsum and ferrous.

Despite of the richness in minerals, which District has, only few and small-scale mining is taking place. 

As it has been noted that mining is mostly done in small scale or is underexploited, therefore, Investors are encouraged to invest on the following areas:-