Experts explain how climate change costs Tanzania trillions

Dar es Salaam. You might have heard several times about the devastating impact of climate change, but you don’t get the real picture of what it is.

But the magnitude of its impact was well detailed yesterday by experts during the Mwananchi Thought Leadership Forum (MTLF) that deliberated climate change issues.

The scourge is causing Tanzania a loss of up to Sh5 trillion annually, according to an expert.

Speaking at the forum, an industrial engineer from the division of environment in the Vice President’s Office, Mr. Julius Enock, said climate change was also affecting various sectors, including agriculture, which is heavily relied on by the majority of Tanzanians.

The effects of climate change in the agricultural sector, Mr Enock noted, costs the government Sh1.3 trillion every year. This, he said, was due to floods, droughts and increased crop diseases.

“It is a big disaster in this sector that our economy depends on,” he said.

He also touched on how climate change was negatively impacting on the health sector, saying the scourge has led to the rise of diseases that did not exist naturally.

He said Tanzania is ranked 26th among countries at high risk of affected by climate change, explaining that most of the economic sectors in the country were linked to the environment.

A brainchild of Mwananchi Communications Limited (MCL), the forum, held at Serena Hotel, hosted between 200 and 300 people.

The large scale discussion was held under the theme “Exploring Tanzanian Responses and Solutions.”

The deputy minister in the Vice President’s Office (responsible for Union and Environment), Mr Khamis Hamza Khamis, said increased heat stress, drought, loss of fertility on land and soil erosion was expected to significantly lower food production 2050.

“It is estimated that the number of people who migrate from rural to urban areas to pursue life and other services will increase by the year 2030 due to effects of climate change, he said.

He said the government had taken various steps to address the effects of the scourge by putting more emphasis on the care and conservation of the environment.

Among the measures, he highlighted, were the revision of the national environmental policy, setting of strategies and plans to address climate change, including the ambitious national plan 2022/32.

“The government has invested in various projects to deal with the effects of climate change, including the standard gauge railway, power generation projects, the rapid transit project, as well as various national environmental programs such as tree planting,” he said.

Mr Khamis who represented the Vice President, Dr Philip Mpango at the forum said dealing with the effects of climate change required joint efforts of all stakeholders.

“That is why the government has been cooperating with stakeholders in facing the situation that threatens the security and the well-being of people around the world,” he said.

He commended the Mwananchi Communications Limited for coming up with the initiative that has been at the forefront of informing the public regarding conservation and care for the environment.”

“We take this opportunity on behalf of the government to congratulate you for the great and good work you are doing to educate the community.”

“The government assures you it will collaborate with various partners, including the media to inform the community on the crucial need for caring for the environment and fighting the effects of climate change.

“Let me take this opportunity to ask financial institutions to establish special financial programmes that will enable people to secure loans for sustainable projects in the energy sector and the construction of safe buildings,” he said.

Policy Adviser, USAID SERA BORA project, Prof David Nyange, said the agricultural sector largely contributed to climate change was also victim of the menace.

He said that modern agriculture was still not used in the country and instead production was more dependent on the expansion of lands.

“Every year, more than 400,000 hectares in Tanzania are cleared for various activities, including agriculture. We also have animal husbandry that exceeds the capacity of the existing land.

“Most of crops that we produce, especially grain, are less than one ton per hectare when we can usually produce up to four tons per hectare,” he said. It was a shared view of the forum that success in dealing with the effects of climate change will be achieved if the government involves all citizens in the efforts.

MCL’s Board Chairman, Mr Leonard Mususa cited the example of the Costa Rican nation that has succeeded in dealing with the scourge through the participation of all citizens.

“The government cannot be successful in plans without those plans reaching the bottom, every citizen must have goals to achieve in order to fight climate change,” he said.

He noted that the discussion was crucial because it was being held one year after the major international meeting on the effects of climate change (COP27) was held in Egypt.

Mr Mususa said various resolutions were reached at the forum, including the establishment of a special fund to mitigate the effects that developing countries incurred.

“Resolutions have been reached but we as citizens and stakeholders have a chance to ensure that we have goals to deal with the effects of climate change,” he explained.