Mainstreaming Adaptation into Urban Development and Environmental Management Planning: A Literature Review and Lessons from Tanzania

Abstract

Mainstreaming of adaptation to climate change is recommended by many international agencies and authors of climate change literature in order to guarantee more efficient use of financial and human resources than occurs when adaptation is designed, implemented, and managed as a series of stand-alone activities. Nevertheless, there is ongoing debate over how to proceed in order to achieve effective mainstreaming, at what level to act, on what topics to concentrate, and what type of initiative should be prioritized. The article offers information and arguments that may help the administrations of Sub-Saharan cities implement the options that are most appropriate for their specific conditions. The first section situates the mainstreaming of adaptation to climate change within the more general and consolidated strategy of the Environment Integration Policy, and outlines the current process of conceptualizing the question. The mainstreaming approach is compared to the action-specific approach in order to better highlight its strengths and weaknesses, while the risks of ineffective mainstreaming are explored with particular reference to the case of Tanzania. A more detailed examination follows of possible topics and the approaches used for mainstreaming in sectoral policies related to urban development and environmental management. Lastly, the specificity of Sub-Saharan cities is addressed, which raises both concerns and hopes for the current advantages of pursuing adaptation through mainstreaming at the local level.