Monitoring and evaluation framework for climate change adaptation in Tanzania

Abstract

Climate change is now a global issue posing challenges to the survival of mankind and sustainable development. The adverse impacts of climate change are now evident almost everywhere. It poses a serious risk to poverty reduction efforts and threatens to undo decades of development efforts.The impacts of climate change are, and will continue to be more pronounced in the least developed countries. These countries have contributed the least to the problem and are the ones least able to cope with the impacts. In Tanzania the impacts of climate change are already vivid affecting local communities and all sectors of the economy. In recent years we have witnessed extreme weather events such as severe floods and recurrent droughts in many parts of our country triggering food shortages and power crisis. Since our economy continues to depend heavily on climate-sensitive sectors, Tanzania will further be exposed to the adverse impacts of climate change. Cognizant of the fact that adaptation to the adverse effects of climate change is vital for Tanzaniaandin order to reduce vulnerability to the impacts of climate change, the Government has put in place a number of initiatives to address the challenges of climate change. Some of these initiatives include enactment of the Environmental Management Act, 2004; development of the National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA), 2007; mainstreaming of climate change into the National Strategy for Growth and Reduction of Poverty Phase II(NSGRP-II, 2010 -2015); National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy and Action Plan, 2009; and National Climate Change Strategy (NCCS), 2012. There are also various sectoral initiatives that aim at addressing the impacts of climate change and strengthen resilience of communities. In addition, a number of programmes and projects have been formulated all aimed at strengtheningthe adaptive capacity of our communities to the adverse impacts of climate change. ii More adaptation related policies, plans, strategies and projects are expected to be formulated to address the impacts of climate change. In order to effectively and efficiently implement all these initiatives at all levels, a comprehensive Monitoring and Evaluation Framework need to be in place so as to assist responsible authorities to track progress and evaluate the impacts of the envisaged adaptation initiatives in addressing the impacts of climate change. It is against this backdrop that, I am honoured to avail to you this Framework which will provide guidance for undertaking monitoring and evaluation of adaptation initiatives. This Framework will enable stakeholders to monitor and evaluate progress and performance of climate change adaptation initiatives in the country. I call upon all stakeholders to make use of this Framework in monitoring and evaluation of the impacts of adaptation initiatives in your areas of jurisdiction with the aim of further improving their implementation.