RUVUMA, July 20 -- ALONG the Ruvuma River, vegetable farming represents both opportunity and environmental pressure. For hundreds of households living near its banks, the river provides food, income and a foundation for daily survival. Yet, beneath the productive farms lies a growing challenge: How can communities continue benefiting from the river while protecting the ecosystem that sustains them?

Many farmers cultivate within the legally protected 60-metre river buffer zone, explaining that they lack irrigation equipment that would enable them to move farming activities farther away from the riverbanks. Their situation reflects a wider challenge facing the Ruvuma Basin, where communities are struggling to balance economic needs with en...