Mapping Climate Vulnerability of River Basin Communities in Tanzania to Inform Resilience Interventions

Denis Macharia, Erneus Kaijage, Leif Kindberg, Grace Koech, Lilian Ndungu, Anastasia Wahome and Robinson Mugo
Additional contact information
Denis Macharia: Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development, Nairobi 00618, Kenya
Erneus Kaijage: USAID Tanzania Water Resources Integration Development Initiative, Morogoro 768, Tanzania
Leif Kindberg: USAID Tanzania Water Resources Integration Development Initiative, Morogoro 768, Tanzania
Grace Koech: Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development, Nairobi 00618, Kenya
Lilian Ndungu: Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development, Nairobi 00618, Kenya
Anastasia Wahome: Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development, Nairobi 00618, Kenya
Robinson Mugo: Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development, Nairobi 00618, Kenya

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 10, 1-24

Abstract: Increasing climate variability and change coupled with steady population growth is threatening water resources and livelihoods of communities living in the Wami-Ruvu and Rufiji basins in Tanzania. These basins are host to three large urban centers, namely Dar es Salaam, Dodoma and Morogoro, with a combined total of more than 7 million people. Increased demand for ecosystem services from the available surface water resources and a decreasing supply of clean and safe water are exacerbating the vulnerability of communities in these basins. Several studies have analyzed climate projects in the two basins but little attention has been paid to identify locations that have vulnerable communities in a spatially-explicit form. To address this gap, we worked with stakeholders from national and local government agencies, basin water boards and the Water Resources Integration Development Initiative (WARIDI) project funded by USAID to map the vulnerability of communities to climate variability and change in the two basins. A generalized methodology for mapping social vulnerability to climate change was used to integrate biophysical and socioeconomic indicators of exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity and produced climate vulnerability index maps. Our analysis identified vulnerability “hotspots” where communities are at a greater risk from climate stressors. The results from this study were used to identify priority sites and adaptation measures for the implementation of resilience building interventions and to train local government agencies and communities on climate change adaptation measures in the two basins.

Keywords: climate change; climate variability; climate stressors; water resources; communities; vulnerability; hotspots; adaptation; resilience; GIS (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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