Review of Current and Planned Adaptation Action in Tanzania

As explored in this review of current adaptation action in Tanzania, climate change presents a very real challenge to this country’s continued development and relative prosperity.

Rising temperatures, rising seas and changes to where, when, and how much rain falls threaten to overwhelm the population’s already low adaptive capacities and reverse the country’s recent development progress. Central to the population’s vulnerability is a widespread reliance on climate-dependent livelihoods, as well as high levels of poverty; both mean that climate change must be considered a high priority for the government. The government has identified a number of key sectors in need of adaptation action: water, coastal and marine environments, forestry, wildlife, agriculture, health, tourism, energy, industry, livestock, fisheries, infrastructure, human settlements and land use. The state has made some headway on developing climate change strategies and action plans, and setting up the institutional structures that are required to meet the challenge of climate change. However, more needs to be done to implement these strategies and to integrate climate change into the policies of key relevant sectors, including water, health, agriculture and disaster risk reduction. Encouragingly, there is a relatively high level of adaptation action currently underway in Tanzania. This report explores these issues in greater depth. It is one in a series of country reviews prepared by IISD to provide the Collaborative Adaptation Research Initiative in Africa and Asia (CARIAA) with a snapshot of adaptation action in its countries of engagement.