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

people, increasing resource productivity, and stabilizing the resilience capacity of natural
resources. These components are essential ingredients to reduce vulnerability to adverse
impacts of climate change in Tanzania, and to promote sustainable adaptation strategies.
There has not been much focus, however, on improving the livelihoods of rural people as an
alternative strategy for reducing degradation of natural resources; apart from REDD
activities, there is little support in place for activities in agricultural and other land-use
sectors. Support for agricultural land management, grazing land management, soil
conservation and agro-forestry is low. Projects in these sectors would have significant
mitigation potential while offering attractive co-benefits by promoting sustainable
development, poverty alleviation and adaptation to climate change. These activities also have
direct relevance to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), as
they are often situated in arid to semi-arid regions and therefore the most prone to land
degradation and ultimately desertification.
Most climate change programs and projects have been largely financed by external actors
such as bilateral and multilateral donors and international NGOs, rather than by domestic
sources of finance such as local civil society, citizens or the government. This renders the
projects potentially unsustainable and vulnerable to changes in donor interests. Although this
pattern of donor dependence constitutes a challenge for the development and climate change
agendas in Tanzania, little has been done to mobilize local resources to complement or
substitute the donor financial flow. There is a need for Tanzanian policies to encourage local
funding as much as possible, e.g., through support from foreign direct investments and other
business entities.
In order to effectively promote financial flows for climate change and synergize these with
Tanzania’s development processes, it is important that all relevant stakeholders be cognizant
of issues and expected outcomes. Policymakers and planners should be aware of how climate
change may impact on development. Linkages between sustainable land management and
climate change need to be made clear, as do linkages between flooding, sanitation and health,
and between air quality and health.
6 Looking forward
This report has captured some of the salient issues pertaining to urban poverty and climate
variability and change in Dar es Salaam, and has highlighted some vulnerability reduction
and climate change mitigation activities that are underway in the city. The best starting point
for reducing vulnerability to climate change in the future is to take action to reduce present
vulnerability, such as by reducing threats to health by improving city drainage and
environmental sanitation. The sub-sections below suggest areas for continued support,
preliminary lessons that have emerged from this study, capacity needs and recommendations
for further study.
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