Small towns in Tanzania matter to villagers’ ability to cope with climate change!
New research has shown that improved connections between towns and villages in Tanzania - such as access to markets, jobs, financial and health services, flows of food and information, etc. – has the potential to improve the living conditions of rural people.
Approaching Mbulu Town Centre, Manyara Region.
Sampling point for transport between Mbulu Town and to the rural hinterland. ‘Mama Isara'.
Accessibility during rainy season is a challenge (April).
Trees are planted in the villages for later selling as timber in Mbulu.
Transport of beans for selling at the market in Mbulu.
PhD student during data collection with village representative.
The number of small towns in Tanzania has increased by 300% within the past 20 years. This urban growth have in general had a positive impact on rural villager’s ability to withstand the impacts of changes in climate (rainfall and temperature).
People are living more diverse lives, both in relation to their activities within farming as well as their non-farm activities. Diverse sources of income result in many cases in improved ability to cope with climate change. However, neither government agencies nor the research community has given much attention to this relationship.
The present research on small-town development in Tanzania focuses on the dimension of climate change and its impact on rural areas. We conduct comparative studies of adaptation strategies and policies in two study areas in Tanzania, Itigi District Council (Singida Region) and Mbulu Town Council (Manyara Region).
The Danida funded project is a collaborative research between Danish researchers from University of Copenhagen, and Tanzanian researchers from University of Dar es Salaam, and researchers from the International Institute for Environment and Development, London.
Project title
The Role of Rural-Urban Linkages for Enhanced Climate Resilience” (RUL4CLI)
Contact persons
At University of Copenhagen
Torben Birch-Thomsen (email: tbt@ign.ku.dk)
At University of Dar es Salaam
Pius Yanda (email: pyanda@gmail.com)