Tanzania’s National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA) ‘is informed by the aspirations of National Development Vision 2025 for high and shared growth, quality livelihood, peace, stability and unity, good governance, high quality education and global competitiveness’ (NAPA, 2005). Tanzania’s economy is largely dependent on agriculture and, therefore, sustainable development strategic actions, both short term and long term, must address climate change impacts on agriculture and other key economic sectors. The process of NAPA preparation involved looking at the effects of climate change as a threat mainly to the agrarian population that still depends on subsistence agriculture for their daily livelihood.

Tanzania’s NAPA was prepared as part of the overall integrated plans, policies, and programmes for sustainable development at national level. The NAPA team of experts undertook climate change vulnerability assessments across key sectors clustered in seven working groups (Agriculture, Energy, Forestry and Wetlands, Health, Human Settlements, Coastal and marine and fresh water resources). Stakeholder consultations at grassroots level helped to prioritize the activities that would address the country’s most urgent needs from all sectors.  Using a list of criteria that best suits Tanzanian conditions and environments, these were later narrowed down into 14 priority project activities. The project activities were further ranked in accordance with their importance regarding impacts on poverty reduction and health, reliability, replicability of the technique and sustainability. In the final analysis, the 14 selected project activities were:

1. Water efficiency in crop production irrigation to boost production and conserve water in all areas
2. Alternative farming systems and water harvesting
3. Develop alternative water storage programs and technology for communities
4. Community based catchments conservation and management programs
5. Explore and invest in alternative clean energy sources e.g. Wind, Solar, bio-diesel, to compensate for lost hydro potential
6. Promotion of application of cogeneration in the industry sector for lost hydro potential
7. Afforestation programmes in degraded lands using more adaptive and fast growing tree species
8. Develop community forest fire prevention plans and programmes
9. Strengthening community awareness programmes on preventable major health hazards
10. Implement sustainable tourism activities in the coastal areas and relocation of vulnerable communities from low-lying areas.
11. Enhance wildlife extension  services and assistance to rural communities in managing wildlife resources
12. Water harvesting and recycling
13. Construction of artificial structures, e.g., sea walls, artificially placing sand on the beaches and coastal drain beach management system
14. Establish good land tenure system and facilitate sustainable human settlements

Malawi is basically an agro-based country with most of its foreign earnings coming from agriculture. About 90% of the population are employed by the sector which generates 40% of the gross domestic product (GNP) and 90% of the export revenue (Malawi State of Environment Report, 2002).  Rain-fed agriculture remains the commonest means of agricultural production among the subsidence farmers in Malawi.  However, climate variability and change over the years has resulted in increased frequency of droughts thereby negatively affecting crop production and other crucial sectors.  Significant reductions in rainfall were experienced countrywide in 1982, 1987, 1990, 1992 to 1995 and 1997.  Massive famine was experienced in these years due to the resulting in significantly low yields in the staple maize and other crops (Malawi State of Environment Report, 2002).  The resulting food insecurity and economic hardships have been identified by the Malawi Government as among the root causes of poverty and economical hardships (the Malawi Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (MPRSP)).  The MPRSP has been consolidated in the Malawi’s pro-poor Economic Growth Strategy, which is currently being implemented to promote socio-economic development.

In addition, the Malawi NAPA was developed by evaluating the impact of adverse climatic conditions on 8 important sectors of economic growth and identifying 15 urgent and priority needs for adaptation.  These 15 priority needs were clustered into 5 project profiles:

1. Improving community resilience to climate change through the development of sustainable rural livelihoods;
2. Restoring forests in the Upper and lower Shire valleys catchment to reduce siltation and associated water flow problems
3. Improving agricultural production under erratic rains and changing climatic conditions
4. Improving Malawi’s preparedness to cope with droughts and floods
5. Improving climate monitoring to enhance Malawi’s early warning capability and decision-making and sustainable utilization of lake Malawi and lakeshore areas resources.

The project will build on both the Tanzanian and the Malawian NAPAs through the methods explained below. The Vice President’s Office is the main custodian of the Tanzania NAPA. The Malawian NAPA was prepared by the Ministry of Mines, Natural Resources and Environment, in particular the Environmental Affairs Department.This department has the mandate to provide cross-sectoral coordination in environment and natural resources management through monitoring, overseeing compliance, provision of technical and information services and facilitating activities implemented by different stakeholders. The Department has been addressing CC issues in close collaboration with the Malawi Meteorological Services. A project steering committee comprising of members drawn from major stakeholders oversee the activities. These two key stakeholders from Tanzania and Malawi will be part of the respective National Consultation Groups (NCGs) which the project will work with to inform, engage with and influence national policy.

An analysis of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) guidelines for developing the NAPAs in the context of Bangladesh suggested a livelihood rather than sectoral approach (Huq and Khan, 2006).  In Tanzania, vulnerability assessments were based on a mixture of sectoral and ecological zones.  A link was made between poverty, sustainable livelihoods and agriculture and a lot of emphasis was put on this sector.  In Malawi the assessment was made at the sector level, but one of the priority project profiles has an explicit focus on sustainable rural livelihoods.  Both consider shorter as well as longer-term impacts and adaptation.  Both countries implemented a consultation process, but from the documentation it’s difficult to fully assess the extent of stakeholder participation.  This project will build on the NAPAs through documenting stakeholders’ perceptions of the NAPA process and content; raising awareness of NAPAs; assessing with local stakeholders the NAPAs at project sites; taking forward elements of the NAPAs as appropriate at project sites; monitoring NAPA activities at project sites; providing feedback and on-going interaction with NAPA coordinators and policy makers.