The role of development projects in strengthening community-based adaptation strategies: the case of Uluguru mountains agricultural development project (UMADEP)-Morogoro-Tanzania

Abstract

This study was trying to find out whether the designing and implementation of the Uluguru Mountain Agricultural Development Project (UMADEP) has taken into account the hazards, impacts and risks associated with climate change and the local coping strategies of their project beneficiaries, since its inception, 17 years ago . Data were gathered using the Community-based Risk Screening–Adaptation and Livelihoods (CRiSTAL) tool, complemented with a series of semi-structured and structured interviews containing both close and open-ended questions. The Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment (VCA) method was also used in identifying resources, capacities and vulnerabilities which pertained to different livelihood settings in the study area. The study found out that coping strategies applied by affected people in the study area vary from one community to the other, depending on level of education, income, household size and agro-ecological zone. Ranking of the identified livelihood resources revealed that natural resources are very crucial in adapting to climate change. Generally, the results indicate a moderate influence of project activities towards enhancing adaptive capacities of the surrounding communities, with the observed positivity of the project activities towards community-based adaptation being more of a coincidence than a planned state-of-affairs. Lack of training to development project officers, managers and planners on the importance of integrating climate change management during the early stages of project development was clearly depicted as a key hindrance to mainstreaming climate change into development planning.