Resilience Building in Tanzania: Learning From Experiences of Institutional Strengthening Review of learning and early contributions to Climate Resilient Development Sam Greene Working Paper Climate change Keywords: May 2015 Adaptation, Tanzania, participation, HAKIKAZI CATALYST About the author Sam Greene is a consultant with IIED’s Climate Change Group. Produced by IIED’s Climate Change Group The Climate Change Group works with partners to help secure fair and equitable solutions to climate change by combining appropriate support for adaptation by the poor in low- and middle-income countries, with ambitious and practical mitigation targets. The work of the Climate Change Group focuses on achieving the following objectives: • Supporting public planning processes in delivering climate resilient development outcomes for the poorest. • Supporting climate change negotiators from poor and vulnerable countries for equitable, balanced and multilateral solutions to climate change. • Building capacity to act on the implications of changing ecology and economics for equitable and climate resilient development in the drylands. Acknowledgements Thanks to Ced Hesse, Morgan Williams, Alais Morindat and Fiona Hinchcliffe for their detailed comments, guidance and editorial feedback on various drafts of the paper. Thanks also to Anna Emmanuel, Ally Msangi, Joseph Rutabingwa and Victor Kaiza for support in Tanzania throughout the study. Finally, thanks to those participating in the study for their time and patience in answering our questions. Partner organisations The Tanzania Natural Resource Forum (TNRF) seeks to improve governance and accountability in Tanzania’s natural resource sector to achieve more sustainable rural livelihoods and better conservation outcomes. Hakikazi Catalyst is a Tanzanian economic and social justice advocacy organisation based in Arusha Published by IIED, May 2015 Sam Greene. 2015. Resilience Building in Tanzania: Learning From Experiences of Institutional Strengthening: Review of learning and early contributions to Climate Resilient Development. IIED Working Paper. IIED, London. http://pubs.iied.org/10129IIED ISBN 978-1-78431-163-6 Printed on recycled paper with vegetable-based inks. International Institute for Environment and Development 80-86 Gray’s Inn Road, London WC1X 8NH, UK Tel: +44 (0)20 3463 7399 Fax: +44 (0)20 3514 9055 email: [email protected] www.iied.org @iied www.facebook.com/theIIED Download more publications at www.iied.org/pubs IIED WORKING PAPER Tanzania’s northern districts are extremely vulnerable to climate change. In the past, community livelihood strategies have allowed people to remain productive in the context of climatic variability. But adaptive capacity is being undermined by the changing climate and the government’s inability to support people’s needs. This working paper reviews the enabling environment for climate resilient development in Tanzania, and learning from local government efforts to strengthen institutional capacity adaptation and development planning. Contents Executive Summary 4 5 Is the project contributing to climate resilient development? 24 1 Introduction 6 5.1 Shifting attitudes towards climate change, planning and traditional livelihoods 26 2 Assessing the planning environment for 5.2 Ownership of the process of change 27 Climate Resilient Development 8 5.3 More responsive planning 28 2.1 Indicators for assessing CRD and planning 8 5.4 Better use of climate information 32 2.2 Tanzania’s climate-relevant policy frameworks 9 5.5 Impacts on national policy 33 2.3 Tanzania’s institutional arrangements for 5.6 Cost-benefit analysis 34 climate resilience 12 2.4 Tanzania’s financial arrangements for climate 6 Conclusions: lessons learned and future resilience 12 challenges 36 6.1 Factors for success 36 3 Planning and budgeting at district level 13 6.2 Challenges to address moving forward 38 3.1 District revenue 14 3.2 How conducive is the planning environment to References 42 climate-resilient development? 15 Related reading 43 4 Towards greater local resilience: the project so far 20 Annex 1 – Project Narrative 44 4.1 Towards a local climate adaptation fund 20 Annex 2 – Methodology 50 4.2 Towards more resilient planning 22 4.3 Towards climate-smart information and monitoring 23 4.4 Sharing the findings 23 www.iied.org 3 RESILIENCE BUILDING IN TANZANIA | LEARNING FROM EXPERIENCES OF INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING Executive Summary The threats posed by climate change are forcing mean government projects are not appropriate or deliver governments to become more responsive to greater poor value for money. Reallocating funds in the face short-term variability and long-term environmental of changing circumstances or serious emergencies is changes. Local level planning and budgeting systems generally seen to be impossible. In addition, Budgeting must be able to react to the priorities raised by a for climate change is non-specific – There are few changing climate. Funded by UK AID-DFID, IIED has district funded projects at present focussing specifically been supporting the district governments of Longido, on climate change adaptation, although many projects Monduli and Ngorongoro to mainstream climate do impact on adaptation outcomes indirectly. change adaptation into their planning systems and build readiness to access climate finance in support of community driven adaptation. The approach has been Toward greater climate to strengthen the existing institutional environment to enable climate resilient development planning. This resilience working paper assesses the readiness of Tanzania’s Project activities have sought to address some of planning environment for climate resilient development these issues at district level. “Upstream” investments (CRD) and the learning generated from the experience in capacity building and direct engagement with of implementing the project. communities have sought to justify a transformative approach to development planning that incorporates resilience building. After a preparatory phase to Key Findings establish the quality of the existing planning process, Planning systems are not yet “climate-smart”. consultations identified activities for the implementation National and local planning systems in Tanzania have not phase, creating an enabling environment through been , are not set up to deal with continuing variability planned adaptation (by government) to support and and unpredictability offered by climate change. Policies enhance autonomous adaptation (by communities); directly supporting resilience building in Monduli, • Establishing a District-level Climate Adaptation Ngorongoro and Longido are rare. In very recent years, Fund (CAF) with the necessary financial systems a growing awareness of potential impacts of climate and checks and balances to access national climate change has driven significant policy development finance. incorporating indigenous knowledge and use of scientific data. However, these changes have not yet • Establishing Divisional Adaptation Planning translated into institutional change at the local level. Committees (DAPCs) to prioritise investments in local Planning systems do not recognise the role climate- public goods that build climate resilience to be funded driven traditional planning systems and approaches by the CAF, and to act as community focal points. to livelihoods can play in enabling resilience. This can • Supporting district planning processes through lead to projects which are ineffective, short-lived, or enhancing existing participatory planning approaches potentially maladaptive in the long run. (O&OD) with more cost-effective resilience Rigid Budgeting stifles local adaptive capacity. assessments and resource mapping. Project funded research has also highlighted • Incorporating climate information services to better weaknesses in district level planning, pointing to the inform both short and long term decision making, top down and inflexible nature of the process. Due to engaging with both community and scientific centrally set, annual budget guidelines and detailed forecasting methods. spending limits, districts are unable to respond to local climate variability, a key feature of dryland ecologies. • Developing a robust monitoring and evaluation Innovative or local context specific projects are often framework to enhance and share learning from outside the ability of the district to deliver. This can investments in adaptation. 4 www.iied.org IIED WORKING PAPER • Use of climate information: Improvement of Learning climate information services through relevant Broad Participation is key. Inclusion of stakeholders radio forecasting is influencing decision-making of from all levels of community and government Is essential both farmers and pastoralists, who are choosing to generating government and community ownership of seed types and making decisions about livestock the project. Use of multi-stakeholder learning groups, movements as a direct response to receiving climate district led research and participatory validation information. District governments are supporting workshops has laid a foundation for generating this process by establishing groups of mobile positive changes. phone users who can distribute climate information throughout their social networks. In the long term, Preparing the ground through “upstream investments”. this will support safeguarding of assets and potential Efforts to improve knowledge on local livelihoods productivity improvements. and research the gaps between customary