Posted on September, 9, 2019 at 10:20 am
TANZANIA’S capacity to mitigate and adapt to the impact of climate change has been strengthened over the last ten years through eight community based programmes under the Global Climate Change Alliance (GCCA).
The European Union (EU), funded programmes dubbed Eco Village, which focus on water resource management, renewable energy and energy efficiency, are geared towards building resilience to climate change among the most vulnerable areas.
State Minister in the Vice- President’s Office for Environment and Union Affairs, Mr George Simbachawene, told a National Conference to Promote Climate Adaptation here yesterday that the Eco Village projects have been recognised as models of good practice in climate change adaptation.
“The Eco Village projects have facilitated to empower communities to test, evaluate and apply a wide range of adaptation technologies in key sectors, such as crop farming, livestock, water, energy and forestry,” said the minister while delivering a speech to open the meeting at the Institute of Rural Development Planning (IRDP).
Organized by Eco Act Project, the conference brought together academics, researchers, policy makers and development partners to discus and share experience in mitigation and adaptation in climate change impacts.
Mr Simbachawene urged the conference participants to use the meeting to learn from each other, exchange experiences and develop effective solutions to the challenges of climate change. On her part, EU Head of Sector of Natural Resources in EU delegation to Tanzania, Ms Jenny Correia Nunes, commended the government for addressing climate change and its implications for the welfare of the people.
“Tanzania’s ratification of the Paris Agreement in May 2018 and subsequent development of the Nationally Determined Contributions in December 2018 shows its commitment to global efforts,” she said.
Ms Nunes said the Tanzania GCCA programme started ten years ago with a focus on the eco-village approach, saying the programme is geared towards addressing adverse impacts of climate change in the country. “Eight eco-village projects have been supported for more than EUR 10 million (approximately 25.428bn/-),” she said.
IRDP Rector, Prof Hozen Mayaya, whose institution is one of the partners in ECO Act project, said IRDP has been running undergraduate and postgraduate programmes which climate change is part and parcel of the programmes.
“Now with our involvement in ECO village projects largely ECO Act project, we are able to give our students practical experience in this community based training ground,” said the IRDP Rector.
Source: Daily News