Enabling resilience: bridging the planning gap in Tanzania (Sam Greene)

A drought in 2009 demonstrated the vulnerability of Tanzania’s northern districts to climate change. In the past, community livelihood strategies have allowed people to remain productive in the context of climatic variability. But short- and longer-term resilience is being undermined by the government’s inability to support and strengthen people’s adaptive strategies to a changing climate. Communities and governments need to develop a long-sighted, coordinated approach to climate-resilient development. This briefing examines how district governments in Tanzania are improving participatory processes and making effective use of climate information to create an enabling environment to support community-led adaptation strategies. Research in Tanzania’s Monduli, Ngorongoro and Longido districts has identified a significant gap between government and local planning processes, leading to missed opportunities for community ed resilience building. Customary planning systems are responsive to seasonal change. Some groups, such as pastoralists, employ a livelihood strategy that is adapted to take advantage of unpredictable change and variability.

IIED Briefing on Climate Change, drylands and pastoralism, IIED, London 2015.

Copyright: IIED, London.
Weblink: http://pubs.iied.org/17288IIED