Nation needs lots of money to mitigate climate change

Tanzania needs a whopping $ 500million annually equivalent to  Sh1.13trillion  to mitigate effects of climate change, assistant director in the Vice President’s Office told a climate change forum in Dar es Salaam mid this week.

 

Richard Muyungi, assistant director in the Environmental Impact Assessment and Climate Change section called for concerted efforts from all stakeholders to revert the trend.

 

The amount could increase to (Sh…) $1 billion by 2025 if no serious measures are taken, said Muyungi when addressing the 8th Water Sector Climate Change Coordination Mechanism Dialogue Forum in Dar es Salaam.

 

He noted that commitment, support and participation of local and international stakeholders remain vital in the struggle.

“Tanzania like other African countries needs to take serious measures against climate change as adverse effects are yet to be felt,” he said.

 

Muyungi, who is the national focal point for climate change in the country, observed that problems caused by climate change are long lasting and closely associated with emissions.

 

He said Tanzania emits 50 million tonnes of carbon oxide every year, which needs to be addressed because the emission determines the level of poverty.

 

The use of natural gas for domestic purposes if adopted in major towns and cities would help reduce deforestation.

Dar es Salaam alone consumes five tonnes of charcoal every day, showing how serious charcoal burning activities are in the city’s neighbouring regions.

 

Speaking at the same event, Hamza Sadick, director of Water Resources at the ministry of Water and Irrigation, also noted that issues of climate should be considered seriously in development projects

 

“Tanzania is likely to feel the pinch of climate change and it is important to have all stakeholders on board when implementing mitigation measures,” he noted.

 

Sadick specifically pointed out that some development partners dictate where they want to go for intervention. 

“This is to a certain extent hampers efforts in awareness creation on the impact of climate change in water sector and other areas,” she said.

 

Challenges that persist in dealing with climate change include  ‘vertical integration of climate change experience, horizontal knowledge-sharing’ as well as stake-holder awareness about the coordinating roles of the Ministry of Water and the Vice President’s Office – Division of Environment (DoE) at national level

 

On water sector climate change dialogue established in 2012, he said it is aimed at increasing awareness of climate change among different stakeholders.

 

Ministry of Water (MoW) in 2012 introduced “Dialogue Forum on Climate Change.”   The main purpose is to enable MoW to better fulfill its functions as a coordinating entity and steering body for climate-related activities in the water sector.

 

The forum aims to provide an overview on climate change in the water sector to avoid duplication.  

 

It makes use of synergies, improve communication and information exchange at vertical and horizontal levels as well as encourage mutual learning among stakeholders.

 

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN