Urban Poverty & Climate Change in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania:

Municipal officials were interviewed from the Dar es Salaam City Council, including the
City Drainage Engineer, the Waste Management Officer, and staff from the City
Infrastructural Upgrading Programme (CIUP). Officials interviewed from the Municipal
Councils included the CIUP coordinators, Community Development Officers,
Environmental Management Officers, and Planning and Health Officers. Interviewees
discussed ongoing and planned future CIUP efforts in solid waste management and
carbon trade. Annex 2 provides information on the administrative structure of Dar es
Salaam, i.e., how the City Council and Municipals relate to each other.
In addition to Government representatives, members of community-based organizations
(CBOs) and non-government organizations (NGOs) were interviewed, as were members
of the Mtaa 1 (sub-ward) administration, some of whom participated in the Mtaa level
focus group discussions. Annex 3 provides a full list of people interviewed and their
departmental/institutional affiliations.
Flood modeling exercise
A flood modeling exercise was undertaken by Ardhi University to map potential changes
in rainfall regime and sea level rise on the flood extent and depth in the at-risk areas that
were covered in the socio-economic surveys. A combined 1D-2D hydrodynamic model
known as SOBEK was used (developed by Delft Hydraulics Software). The flood
propagation model required spatial data (including a digital elevation model (DEM) and
surface roughness estimates) and temporal data (such as initial water level, and
downstream and upstream boundary conditions).
2 Geophysical and Climatic Background of Dar es Salaam
2.1 Geographical Location and Geophysical Characteristics
Dar es Salaam is located in the eastern part of the Tanzanian mainland at 6 o 51’S latitude
and 39 o 18’E longitude. With an area of 1,350 km 2 , it occupies 0.19 percent of the
Tanzanian mainland, stretching about 100 km between the Mpiji River to the North and
beyond the Mzinga River in the South. The Indian Ocean borders it to the East.
The beach and shoreline comprise sand dunes and tidal swamps. Coastal plains composed
of limestone extend 10 km to the west of the city, 2-8 km to the north, and 5-8 km to the
south. Inland, alluvial plains comprise a series of steep-sided U-shaped valleys. The
upland plateau comprises the dissected Pugu Hills, 100-200 m in altitude. Dominated by
limestones, sandy clays, coarse sands and mixed alluvial deposits, the soils of the Dar es
Salaam region are not particularly fertile (Dongus, 2000).
The City is divided into three ecological zones, namely the upland zone comprising hilly
areas to the west and north of the City, the middle plateau, and the lowlands, which
include Msimbazi Valley, Jangwani, Mtoni, Africana and Ununio areas. Figure 1(a)
1 Mtaa is the word for sub-ward; Dar es Salaam’s administrative structure has four levels: city,
municipality, ward and sub-ward.
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