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

According to Norconsult Tanzania Ltd. (2002), it is important to remove misperceptions that
household consumers in Dar es Salaam have about liquefied petroleum gas appliances being
unsafe to use. The authors cite the example of Senegal, which actively promoted the use of
liquefied petroleum gas and thus succeeded in checking the pace of deforestation.
Important measures to encourage Dar es Salaam residents to switch from charcoal to other
fuels include subsidizing appliances that use gas or electricity and reducing tariffs, better
awareness-raising on the benefits of alternative fuel use, and more reliable electricity supply
during drought periods.
5 Policies, programs and institutions to address climate change in the
context of the urban poor
Reducing vulnerability to climate change among Dar es Salaam’s poorer residents will
require first addressing pressing needs of the present. Many of these relate to improvements
in urban planning and provision of basic infrastructure and services. In planning construction
or upgradation of infrastructure, city authorities must consider engineering design that can
handle changing climate regimes, as much of the water and sanitation infrastructure tends to
be long-lifetime and will witness some extent of climate change. Climate change may also
affect demand for services such as health and water. It is imperative that disaster risk
management approaches are integrated into urban planning at present and that potential
changes in climate be considered for long-term planning purposes.
The sub-sections below briefly cover major institutions, policies and projects that have
shaped urban development in Dar es Salaam to date.
5.1 Identification of stakeholders and key institutions
Dar es Salaam City is managed by the Dar es Salaam City Council and the Municipal
Councils of Temeke, Kinondoni and Ilala (see Box 3 for their respective roles). The three
municipal authorities are under the Ministry of Regional Administration and Local
Government. Each has individual sets of technical and administrative departments.
A key need for adaptation and reduction of vulnerability in Tanzania and Africa in general is
integrated development planning, which will need to be implemented by various government
sectors through partnership with non-government organizations, the private sector and
stakeholder communities (IIED, 2006). A tripartite system has been established in Tanzania
whereby NGOs and the private sector are sub-contracted for implementation of government
projects that also require community engagement.
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