UN Environment is the leading global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system and serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment. Its mandate is to coordinate the development of environmental policy consensus by keeping the global environment under review and bringing emerging issues to the attention of governments and the international community for action. The UN Environment Ecosystems Division works with international and national partners, providing technical assistance and capacity development for the implementation of environmental policy, and strengthening the environmental management capacity of developing countries and countries with economies in transition.
Background of assignment:
Kigoma region has a population of ~2.3 million people that is rapidly growing at a rate of 4.8%. It’s one of the poorest regions in the country with more than 32% living below the poverty line. Kigoma is currently hosting over 200,000 cross-border displaced people from neighbouring countries affected by conflict and instability, mainly Burundi and DRC, the majority of whom are living in the refugee camps of Nduta and Nyarugusu.
Between 2011 and 2018, Kigoma lost ~5.3% of its tree cover (~108,000 ha of forest), a proportion of which is attributable to climate impacts such as increased rainfall intensity and flooding, rising temperatures, increased fire incidence and hazards such as erosion and land degradation. Development drivers of degradation include demand for fuelwood, increased by refugee presence, and agricultural expansion that is partly attributable to reduced yields from climate factors. Already visible impacts are reduced yields of staple and cash crops over the past two decades (for example maize has reduced by 53%) and an increase in both flood magnitude and frequency. Climate change particularly affects resource-poor households such as smallholder local farmers and refugee families.
Climate projections indicate the likelihood of severe and prolonged drought and heat stress as well as increased intensity and frequency of flooding. These effects will impact the region’s rainfall-dependent and flood-exposed livelihoods, adding more pressure on the landscape, reducing the ecosystem’s resilience and its ability to provide essential ecosystem services for livelihoods and flood attenuation. The climate analysis and project design have been developed to address these complex and mutually reinforcing feedback loops and achieve transformative change at a landscape level.
While other activities in the region are addressing discrete elements of these problems, there is limited landscape-level coordination, limited consideration for the long-term impacts of climate change, or insufficient scale to trigger a paradigm shift.
The project “Building climate resilience in the landscapes of Kigoma region” responds to the current and projected climate change impacts such as increased rainfall intensity and flooding, rising temperatures and increased fire incidence affecting an already vulnerable and degraded landscape, whilst considering the complex needs of host communities and refugees in an environment where climate, humanitarian, and development approaches to problems and solutions intersect.
Instead, the project will promote a paradigm shift towards landscape-level solutions designed to primarily address the urgent climate adaptation needs of the host community, as well as the refugee population, with integrated interventions across sectors that are mutually reinforcing and informed by projected climate impacts.
The project objective is to increase the resilience of the agro-ecological landscape of Kigoma to strengthen climate resilience of host communities, refugees and transient agro-pastoralists as the region faces increased climate variability and extreme climate events. Concretely, change will be achieved by integrating ecosystem-based adaptation into land use planning and development and humanitarian policies, restoring degraded ecosystems and promoting climate-resilient livelihoods. Climate resilience will, therefore, be enhanced and community vulnerability reduced because of enabling policy and planning processes, healthy ecosystems, and improvements to food security.
The project proposes four interconnected outputs that will conserve and restore 42,000 hectares of land and deliver direct adaptation benefits to 570,340 people (of which 64% are host community from villages within a radius of 15 km from Nduta, Nyarugusu and the closed Mtendeli camp and 36% are refugee population from Nduta , Nyarugusu camps.
• Output 1, will involve the development of participatory and climate-resilient land-use plans (C-LUPs) in host community villages neighbouring the refugee camps. The plans will integrate ecosystem-based adaptation interventions supported by outputs 2 and 3.
• Under Output 2, Community Based Forest conservation interventions (30,000 ha) will be reinforced by agroforestry (10,000) and afforestation (in 2,000 ha), providing sustainable alternative sources for energy needs, thereby reducing pressure on the natural forests and allowing them to regenerate. Investments in forestry systems and flood and erosion control measures will contribute to restoring the ecosystem's flood attenuation capacity and reducing flood risk exposure.
• Output 3, will support climate-resilient agriculture in order to sustain or improve yields under various climate conditions, secure income and reduce pressure on the forest ecosystem. The alternative livelihood interventions in beekeeping and mushroom production will operate symbiotically with the forest interventions under Output 2.
• Under Output 4, the results of the planning processes and physical interventions implemented under Outputs 1–3 will be used to demonstrate the economic, environmental and social value of this model, support revisions to key policies and planning processes, and promote up-scaling of the EbA model to similar landscapes.
The project contributes to the three GCF Adaptation Result Areas:
• Most vulnerable people and communities 10%.
• Health and well-being, and food and water security 30%.
• Ecosystems and ecosystem services 60%.
While delivering important co-benefits in mitigation and gender equality:
• Most vulnerable people and communities 10%.
The mitigation potential of the project has been estimated at a sequestration of 762,073 million tCO2e and emission reductions of 3.2 million tCO2e over 20 years —.
• Gender inequality in climate change adaptation planning and action is expected to be reduced through meaningful representation and participation of women in Climate-resilient Land Use Planning (C-LUP) to support ecosystem-based adaptation.
Furthermore, the project is expected to provide a global model on the application of ecosystem-based adaptation in landscapes hosting displaced populations, making it replicable to other refugee and IDP settings in the world. This is particularly critical considering that, according to the IPCC AR-WG2 report, refugee and IDP settlements are disproportionately concentrated in regions that are exposed to higher-than-average warming levels and climate hazards.
The Funding Proposal was approved by the Green Climate Fund Board on 24 October 2023. UN Environment Programme (UNEP) acts as the GCF-accredited entity for this project, the Government of Tanzania, acting through its Vice President’s Office (VPO), is the lead executing entity, and the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) is the co-executing entity. The project will also be implemented in collaboration with key Tanzanian government agencies including District Councils, the President’s Office of Regional Administration and Local Government, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the National Environmental Management Council and the Tanzania Forest Service, as well as NGOs working in the region, promoting an approach that is participatory, gender-responsive, conflict-sensitive and socially inclusive. The project has a 5 year implementation period with a total budget of $23.6 million, among which $19 million is a GCF grant and $4.6 million is in-kind co-financing.
The full Funding Proposal “Building climate resilience in the landscapes of Kigoma region, Tanzania” ( FP218) is available on the Green Climate Fund website.
Working arrangements:
The Chief Technical Advisor (CTA), will be embedded in the Project Management Unit (PMU), established by the Vice President Office of Tanzania (VPO), providing technical support and advisory to the lead executing entity (VPO), the second executing entity (UNHCR), the Project Manager and all PMU members, as well as implementing partners, key project stakeholders and UNEP Task Manager (TM).
The work will imply frequent interaction and establishing and maintaining relationships with counterparts, senior officers and technical staff from national, regional and district level government entities, international organizations, civil society organizations and consultants.
The CTA will be expected to conduct regular long missions to the Kigoma region in Tanzania (a minimum of four per year) to work with the PMU based in Kigoma and visit the project sites. Each mission should result in a mission report listing implementation progress for the project as well as highlighting challenges, and making recommendations for the next implementation period. The rest of the work will be carried out home-based, preferably from Tanzania or in the East Africa Region, through internet communications.
The CTA reports administratively to the UNEP Climate Change Adaptation Unit Task Manager and reports technically and on substantive matters as per the workplan to the Project Manager of the Project Management Unit (PMU) established by the Vice-President Office of the Republic of Tanzania (VPO).
Ultimate result of services:
The Chief Technical Adviser (CTA) will provide technical guidance and support to the implementation of the project, working in close collaboration with the Project Management Unit (PMU), co-executing entities, implementing partners and UNEP Task Manager (TM). The CTA will provide technical backstopping of the climate-resilient village land-use planning process with the District Councils and ensure that project activities result in building the climate-resilience of host communities and refugees in Kigoma region.