Assessing the local adaptive capacity to climate change: a pilot study to understand the autonomous environmental management

Climate change (CC) will exacerbate environmental, social and economical problems in low- and middle-income nations, it poses threat to agriculture and food security, water resources, natural ecosystems, forestry, biodiversity, and human health. CTlimate change will lead to a wide range of impacts on cities in coastal or riverine locations, in resource-dependent regions, especially those undergoing rapid urbanisation or whose economies are closely linked with climate-sensitive resources (IPCC 3Prd and 4th Assessment Reports). Vulnerability of communities living in urban and peri-urban areas is therefore a function of settlement location, economy, size and of adaptive capacity. Adaptation plans and strategies to reduce CC risks are not only necessary but urgent to improve capacity to cope with CC in the cities of low- and middle-income nations. Under UNFCCC a mechanism has been established to support LDCs in their efforts to reduce people’s vulnerability and to enhance local coping capacity. As part of the adaptation strategy, LDCs are asked to make available to UNFCCC their National Adaptation Programmes of Action (NAPAs) through which urgent adaptation needs are prioritized. Local governments are expected to take part in the process by drawing Local Adaptation Plans of Action (LAPAs). The research assumes that the peri-urban interface is the part of these cities most vulnerable to CC, due to its numerous environmental, social and economic concerns, which make it a priority area for improvements in adaptation to climate change and variability. It is assumed that the peri-urban areas are, for various reasons (Satterthwaite, 2007; Tacoli, 1998; …..) crucial to the improvement of adaptive capacity in regions severely affected by CC, which (as stated by UNFCCC) must provide for the implementation of their National Adaptation Programmes of Action (NAPA) through local plans (LAPAs - Local Adaptation Plans of Action). For these reasons the activities undertaken in peri-urban areas must be included, as fundamental resource, in the adaptation action plans development process. The ability to adapt to climate change of communities living in peri-urban areas depends on several factors: land-use patterns, environmental changes, institutional capacity, local capcity to adapt. The contribution is focused on the last factor, which has been explored through a pilot study in Dae es Salaam. The study is expected to clarify evidences and emerging issues related to local capacity to cope with climate change effects: is there any knowledge and/or experience in adaptation to climate variability? On which key factors, actors and resources does local coping capacity rely on? The study include a survey performed in Dar es Salaam peri-urban areas is structured to collect information on local practices and strategies for adapting to environmental changes, which, as established by COP 7 (Decision 28/CP.7), must be considered in identifying adaptation priority actions. Particularly, the research should help in understanding the environmental changes observed by residents of peri-urban areas, their perceptions of the causes of these changes and the strategies implemented to address them in both short and medium-term. The survey seeks to identify actions that can contribute to the improvement of the adaptive capacity of people living in urban and peri-urban areas and the study aims to understand which must be the key requirements for ensuring that urban action plans (Friedmann, 2005) successfully meet challenges of adaptation to climate change needs.