Sokoine University of Agriculture
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Towards a climate smart
No full textThis report considers how issues related to climate change can be incorporated into the third phase of the Tanzania Social Action Fund (TASAF III). By linking social protection (SP) , climate change adaptation (CCA) and disaster risk reduction (DRR), the report identifies how TASAF can be made ‘climate smart’ by enabling it to better withstand the pressures from a changing climate while at the same time strengthening people ’s resilience , and maximising opportunities for climate finance. A roadmap is presented that identifies opportunities to incorporate these findings into TASAF III in a systematic, comprehensive and realistic wa
Monitoring and evaluation framework for climate change adaptation in Tanzania
No full textAvailable in print and electronic formatClimate change is now a global issue posing challenges to the survival of mankind and
sustainable development. The adverse impacts of climate change are now evident
almost everywhere. It poses a serious risk to poverty reduction efforts and threatens to
undo decades of development efforts.The impacts of climate change are, and will
continue to be more pronounced in the least developed countries. These countries have
contributed the least to the problem and are the ones least able to cope with the
impacts.
In Tanzania the impacts of climate change are already vivid affecting local communities
and all sectors of the economy. In recent years we have witnessed extreme weather events such as severe floods and recurrent droughts in many parts of our country triggering food shortages and power crisis. Since our economy continues to depend heavily on climate-sensitive sectors, Tanzania will further be exposed to the adverse impacts of climate change.
Cognizant of the fact that adaptation to the adverse effects of climate change is vital for
Tanzaniaandin order to reduce vulnerability to the impacts of climate change, the
Government has put in place a number of initiatives to address the challenges of
climate change. Some of these initiatives include enactment of the Environmental
Management Act, 2004; development of the National Adaptation Programme of Action
(NAPA), 2007; mainstreaming of climate change into the National Strategy for Growth and Reduction of Poverty Phase II(NSGRP-II, 2010 -2015); National Climate Change
Adaptation Strategy and Action Plan, 2009; and National Climate Change Strategy
(NCCS), 2012. There are also various sectoral initiatives that aim at addressing the impacts of climate change and strengthen resilience of communities. In addition, a number of programmes and projects have been formulated all aimed at strengtheningthe adaptive capacity of our communities to the adverse impacts of climate change. ii More adaptation related policies, plans, strategies and projects are expected to be formulated to address the impacts of climate change.
In order to effectively and efficiently implement all these initiatives at all levels, a
comprehensive Monitoring and Evaluation Framework need to be in place so as to
assist responsible authorities to track progress and evaluate the impacts of the
envisaged adaptation initiatives in addressing the impacts of climate change.
It is against this backdrop that, I am honoured to avail to you this Framework which will
provide guidance for undertaking monitoring and evaluation of adaptation initiatives.
This Framework will enable stakeholders to monitor and evaluate progress and
performance of climate change adaptation initiatives in the country.
I call upon all stakeholders to make use of this Framework in monitoring and evaluation
of the impacts of adaptation initiatives in your areas of jurisdiction with the aim of further
improving their implementation.Government of Japan and United Nations Development Programmes country offic
A Review of Agricultural, Food Security, Food Systems and Climate Change Adaptation Policies, Institutions and Actors in East Africa
No full textAgricultural production systems in East Africa are mainly rain-fed and highly vulnerable to
climate change and variability. Moreover, the smallholder subsistence production base
increases the vulnerability of the agricultural sector in East Africa to climate risks. The
frequency and severity of climate shocks such as drought, heat and cold stress as well as
floods are increasing and likely to lead to major food crises. Governmental and non-governmental actors in East African countries have instituted policies and programs aimed at increasing agricultural productivity, improving food security and enhancing adaptation to climate change. This paper examines the various policies, institutions and actors related to climate change adaptation, food security, food system and agricultural development in East Africa—focusing on Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. The paper combines a review of literature with key informant interviews from various actors in the four countries. Governmental and non-governmental institutions are actively involved in the formulation of food security, food systems and climate change adaptation policies in East Africa. Several policies related to agriculture, food security and climate change already exist. Majority of the institutions interviewed had made progress in implementing climate change adaptation and mitigation projects. The most common mitigation projects undertaken relate to Clean Development Mechanisms (CMD) and Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+). The challenges in implementing agriculture and climate change related policies include limited technical capacity, program funding and infrastructure. Previously, efforts towards addressing climate change in East Africa by the different actors were largely uncoordinated. In order to improve coordination of climate change issues in the region, climate change coordination units (CCCU) have been set up across the four countries. In Ethiopia, the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) coordinates climate change initiatives in the country. In Kenya, a CCCU was set up at the Prime Minister’s office. In Tanzania, a CCCU exists at the Vice President’s Office, while in Uganda a similar CCCU has been set up under the Ministry of Water and Environment (MWE). These findings give credence to calls for increased funding for climate change adaptation and mitigation in East Africa. Other alternative policy options emanating from the study include 4 increased investment in human capital development to enhance policy formulation and implementation, investment in agricultural infrastructure and markets and partnerships between local and international institutions to enhance the capacities of the local institutions
Impacts of deforestation on sustainability in Tanzania
No full textThe aim of this thesis was to summarize and analyze some of the main causes and consequences of the rapid and continuing deforestation in Tanzania, and to illustrate the impacts of the problem on the social, economic and environmental systems of the country. It also suggests the best methods for overcoming deforestation in Tanzania. The thesis is structured to critique previous methods proposed in other research studies, mainly those conducted by the Tanzania National Forest Programme. The issue of deforestation in Tanzania is a long debate between the country’s desire for
economic growth on the one hand, and environmental protection on the other. Multiple
conflicts exist in policy-making and decision-making, which account for the difficulties
in solving the problem. Activities undertaken by individuals and corporations concerned
about their own financial gain bring a huge cost to the environment, to today’s society,
and to the future generations. This paper provides a critical analysis of data from previous research studies and information published by the forestry sector in Tanzania. Failure to overcome deforestation up until now suggests a failure of previous methods to sufficiently address the problem. For this reason, a further assessment is provided in this thesis to highlight suitable approaches that might improve the situation. Adoption of affordable technologies could serve as a solution to deforestation in Tanzania. The findings of this thesis expose the poor leadership and management in Tanzania, which gives rise to numerous problems, mainly poverty. This poverty in turn is a major contributing factor in the current levels of deforestation and the social, economic and environmental unsustainability of the country
National climate change communication strategy (2012-2017)
No full textAvailable in print and electronic formatClimate change has the potential to impact negatively on almost all sectors of the
economy. Tanzania like other African countries has been experiencing impacts of
climate change which includes severe floods, frequent and prolonged droughts, sea
level rise, declining crop yields, loss of livestock, decreased water availability as well as
increase in vector and water-borne diseases.
In recognizing the devastating impacts of climate change, the Government has put in place a number of initiatives in order to address the challenges of climate change. Some of these initiatives include enactment of the Environmental Management Act, 2004; development of the National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA), 2007; MKUKUTA II; National Adaptation Strategy and Action Plan (NASAP), 2009; and National Climate Change Strategy (NCCS), 2012. There are also various sectoral initiatives that aim at addressing the impacts of climate change and strengthen resilience of communities.
Despite these initiatives, the level of awareness and understanding of climate change issues among stakeholders is still very low at all levels.One of the major reasons for this is the absence of national climate change communication mechanism to enable effective communication of climate change knowledge.
This National Climate Change Communication Strategy is intended to enhance climate
change awareness in the society. It focuses on six thematic areas namely,general
knowledge on climate change, adaptation, mitigation, climate change research, gender
and financing. The Strategy provides a framework for generating and delivering key
climate change messages to targeted audiences within the context of the national
communication channels and procedure.
I therefore call upon all stakeholders at all levels in the country to use effectively this
Communication Strategy in climate change. The effective use of communication
strategy will ensure a better understanding of the implications of climate change to the
Tanzanian community and how best to benefit from the initiatives related to mitigating
climate change at national level and globallyGovernment of Japan and United Nations Development Programme country offic
Improving the knowledge base for policies, planning and management
No full textTanzania hosts a variety of ecosystems, including mountain, dry lands, wetlands, coastal and marine ecosystems, many of which are trans-boundary (e.g. the Lake Tanganyika ecosystem, which is shared between four countries). These ecosystems directly support the livelihoods of many Tanzanians and much of the country’s economy as a whole, providing goods and services including food, water, medicine, building materials, fuel and numerous natural attractions that support tourism.
The pressure placed on Tanzania’s ecosystems has been steadily growing as the human population increases, the economy expands, and more ecosystem goods and services are appropriated, traded and consumed. Ecosystem fragmentation resulting from land use changes, overgrazing, artisanal mining, the destruction of watersheds through deforestation, extensive pollution, wildfires, and the inadequate levels of management capacity, institutional coordination and participation of key stakeholders are all contributing to the degradation and destruction of numerous ecosystems across Tanzania (NEMC, 2006). The result is declining soil fertility, reduced water flow and loss of biological diversity. Global anthropogenic climate change is placing additional strain on already degraded ecosystems, which in turn has consequences for human communities using, in various ways, the goods and services that these ecosystems offer.Stockholm Environment Institut
Spatial and Temporal Analysis of Rainfall and Temperature Extreme Indices in Tanzania
No full textThe paper is publishedClimate extreme indices in Tanzania for the period 1961-2015 are analyzed
using quality controlled daily rainfall, maximum and minimum temperatures
data. RClimdex and National Climate Monitoring Products (NCMP) software
developed by the commission for Climatology of the World Meteorological
Organization (WMO) were used for the computation of the indices at the respective
stations at monthly and annual time scales. The trends of the extreme
indices averaged over the country were computed and tested for statistical
significance. Results showed a widespread statistical significant increase in
temperature extremes consistent with global warming patterns. On average,
the annual timescale indicate that mean temperature anomaly has increased
by 0.69˚C, mean percentage of warm days has increased by 9.37%, and mean
percentage of warm nights has increased by 12.05%. Mean percentage of
cold days and nights have decreased by 7.64% and 10.00% respectively. A
non-statistical significance decreasing trends in rainfall is depicted in large
parts of the country. Increasing trend in percentage of warm days and warm
nights is mostly depicted over the eastern parts of the country including areas
around Kilimanjaro, Dar-es-Salaam, Zanzibar, Mtwara, and Mbeya regions.
Some parts of the Lake Victoria Basin are also characterized by increasing
trend of warm days and warm nights. However, non-statistical significant decreasing
trends in the percentage of warm days and warm nights are depicted
in the western parts of the country including Tabora and Kigoma regions and
western side of the lake Victoria. These results indicate a clear dipole pattern
in temperature dynamics between the eastern side of the country mainly influenced
by the Indian Ocean and the western side of the country largely influenced
by the moist Congo air mass associated with westerly winds. The results
also indicate that days and nights are both getting warmer, though, the
warming trend is much faster in the minimum temperature than maximum
temperature.The authors wish to thank The Tanzania Meteorological Agency for providing
data used in this study and WMO for providing guidance in the analysis of climate
extreme in climate time series
Land use change patterns and root causes on the southern slopes of Mountain Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
No full textThis study was undertaken as part of the project on land use change analysis as an approach for investigating biodiversity loss and land degradation, being implemented in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. A case study approach was adopted for the entire project to facilitate comparison of geographically different but analytically similar land use situations, taking into consideration the complex linkage and interactions between society and environment, reflecting the economic, social and political processes and the physical environment. The objective was to analyse the patterns and trends in land use change and to identify the root causes of land use change leading to changes in biodiversity and land degradation. Mount Kilimanjaro (Plate 1), specifically the southern and south-eastern slopes of the mountain, was selected as the case study site for Tanzania because of the extensive land use changes that have occurred there, particularly on the southern slopes since the 1900s. This paper describes the patterns of land use change and analyses the root causes or driving forces that underlie the changes in land use
Lessons from Tanzania’s National Strategy for Growth and Reduction of Poverty – MKUKUTA
No full textAvailable in print and electronic formatThe cause-and-effect relationships between environmental degradation and poverty
are now widely recognized. Environmental degradation leads to widespread poverty, as it reduces the availability of clean water, productive soils, and other goods and services upon which so many people depend for their health and livelihoods. Equally, poverty is a major cause of environmental degradation as it undermines people’s will and capacity to manage resources sustainably.
MKUKUTA (Mkakati wa Kukuza Uchumi na Kupunguza Umaskini Tanzania) or the National Strategy for Growth and Reduction of Poverty (NSGRP), which is the centre piece of development policy for Tanzania, explicitly focuses on sustainable development as the underlying principle and emphasises the environment as a foundation for sustainable growth and poverty reduction. MKUKUTA has specific goals on environmental sustainability and includes 15 environmental targets.
The Vice-President’s Office plays the lead role in mainstreaming environment into poverty reduction processes and into sector plans and budgets. As a background to this role, the Vice-President’s Office has a number of key accomplishments, as well as pursuing ongoing initiatives. These include the National Environmental Policy, the Environmental Management Act, and other associated regulations, programmes and plans
Barriers to and opportunities for improving productivity and profitability of the Kiwere and Magozi irrigation schemes in Tanzania
No full textThe article is publishedIrrigation is a key strategy for food security and poverty alleviation
among small farmers in Tanzania. However, the potential of irrigation
to improve food security is limited by multiple barriers. This article
discusses these barriers within the Kiwere and Magozi schemes.
Results indicate that water supply barriers are caused by poor irrigation
infrastructure and management. Lack of finance is also a critical
barrier to increasing overall productivity. Finance affects farmers’
timely access to adequate supply of quality inputs and machinery
and availability of transport to access inputs and profitable markets.
There is evidence that these barriers have to be addressed holisticallyAustralian International Food Security Research Centre of the Australian Centre
for International Agricultural Research and participating organizations [grant number FSC-2013-006]