Please download the PEI Country fact sheet on Tanzania (PDF)


Basic facts of the PEI in Tanzania

• Phase I, i.e. “Programme on Integrating Environment into the Poverty Reduction Strategy Process”, started in October 2003 and ended in December 2006. The programme was jointly prepared by the Government of Tanzania (GoT) and UNDP and funded by Danida, DFID, UNDP and UNEP (with contributions from Belgium and Norway). Total budget for Phase I was USD 2,930,000.
• Phase II, i.e. “Programme on Integrating Environment into National Strategy for Growth and the Reduction of Poverty (NSGRP/MKUKUTA) Implementation” commenced in July 2007 and is expected to run until December 2010. Total budget is USD 4,000,000.
• Programme is executed by GoT through national partner institutions, led by the Vice-President’s Office (VPO) / Department of Environment (DoE).
• Main national partners are: Ministry of Planning, Economy and Empowerment (MPEE), National Environmental Management Council (NEMC), National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Ministry of Finance (MoF), Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism (MNRT), Ministry of Industry, Trade and Marketing (MITM), Prime Minister’s Office/Regional Administration and Local Government (PMO-RALG).

The context of mainstreaming of environment in Tanzania

• The 1st PRSP was developed in 2000. A national Poverty Monitoring System (PMS) was set up as an integral part of the strategy in order to facilitate the evaluation of progress towards poverty reduction. Environment was recognized in the paper as a cross-cutting issue, but the profound linkages between poverty and environment in the country were not adequately addressed.
• In 2001 the GoT/VPO initiated a process aimed at integrating environment into the PRS process, including the PMS and Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF). The PEI programme originated on a request by the VPO to UNDP for assistance in this process.
• In 2005, as an outcome of a formal PRS review process, the National Strategy for Growth and Reduction of Poverty (NSGRP), known by its Swahili acronym MKUKUTA, was adopted. As a result of the PEI programme, poverty-environment (P-E) issues are integrated in the strategy, and P-E indicators have been incorporated into the PMS.
• Following the adoption of the MKUKUTA, the challenge is to ensure that the P-E issues are integrated in its implementation, including budgets, at the district level and in sectoral programmes.

Main activities of the PEI (Phase II)

• The second phase of the poverty-environment programme will build on the successful mainstreaming of environment into the NSGRP/MKUKUTA achieved during phase one of the programme, and the enactment of the Environmental Management Act (EMA). Phase II will focus on the realisation of environmental targets contained in the MKUKUTA. The UN will provide support through four components:

  • Continue capacity strengthening to integrate environment in sector and district plans and implement strategic P/E interventions at local level;
  • Improve access and utilisation of poverty-environment data in the MKUKUTA process and local level planning; 
  • Facilitate sustainable financing of environment targets in the MKUKUTA and in local level planning processes; and
  • Promoting efficient utilization of rangelands and empowering pastoralists through improved livestock productivity and market access

What has been achieved to date?

• Environmental concerns have been integrated into all three clusters of MKUKUTA: 16 out of 96 development targets are related to environment. (See the text box.)
• Incorporation of 10 P-E indicators into the Poverty Monitoring system, comprising of 60 different indicators. (See the text box.)
• Budgetary allocation for environment has increased.
• The successful integration of environment into MKUKUTA and PMS paves the way for the implementation in different sectors and at the district level, because MKUKUTA will be the overarching framework in the national budget process as well as in sectoral and district level planning for next five years.
• In the process, the significance of environmental problems for poverty has been confirmed. Instead of framing the environmental issues as those of ‘environmental protection’, separate from other concerns, they are now expressed as relevant challenges to livelihoods, vulnerability, health and economic growth.
• The PEI programme enabled different environmental actors to engage in the PRS review process and work together, laying a foundation for future co-operation. The programme has also had a significant role in disseminating the MKUKUTA to civil society actors across the country.
• Increased awareness and improved knowledge base on the P-E linkages through, inter alia, a public expenditure review on environment, development of P-E indicators, and introduction of the integrated ecosystem assessment methodology.
• The PEI programme supported drafting of new environmental legislation: Environmental Management Act (EMA) was enacted in 2004. Further support was given to the implementation of EMA with a focus on dissemination and strengthening the capacity of key institutions.
• The PEI programme has been able to respond to capacity building needs of the national implementing agencies (VPO, NEMC, local government authorities). The fact that the programme was implemented with a minimum of extra human resources has necessitated effective incorporation of the activities into planning, decision-making and operational processes of the participating agencies.

Lessons learned

• Making the case for environment in the framework of wider challenges: Poverty reduction provided a focus to operationalize the discussion of the importance of environmental sustainability, making it practical, concrete and real rather than an abstract issue.
• Establishing an entry point: As national planning, decision making and consensus building tool, MKUKUTA provided the basis for getting agreement on the relevance of environmental issues for national development goals.
• Importance of involving different stakeholders and bringing them together.
• Support focused on government body responsible for PRS.
• Need to provide sustained support over relevant period.
• Focus on implementation mechanism: incorporation of P-E indicators into the monitoring system.
• Pooling of donor resources into a joint programme helped to achieve results.

Key documents for PEI Tanzania

• Public Expenditure Review of environment, The United Republic of Tanzania, 2004.
• The Development of Indicators of Poverty-Environment Linkages, The united Republic of Tanzania, 2005.
• Environment at the heart of Tanzania’s development Lessons from Tanzania's National Strategy for Growth and Reduction of Poverty – MKUKUTA, IIED, 2007.
• National Strategy for Growth and reduction of poverty (NSGRP), The united Republic of Tanzania, 2005.
• Zanzibar Strategy for Growth and reduction of poverty (ZGRSP), January 2007
• Ecosystems Assessment in Tanzania: Experiences in ecosystems management, Tanzania National Environment Management Council (NEMC), 2006
• Poverty and Environment Newsletter, The United Republic of Tanzania, 2005 - Vol. 1,    Vol. 2
• Environment key to poverty reduction in Tanzania
• Selected documents from the United Nations

Way forward

• Building capacity of local government authorities to integrate environment into district development planning, including support for communities to implement projects promoting environmental sustainability and poverty reduction.
• Moving from ‘making general case’ to ‘committing to specific action’: mainstreaming environment in sector programmes, such as natural resources, energy, agriculture and water.
• Tackling under-investment in environmental assets: better economic analysis and business models for environmental investments, including mobilization of government and donor resources for environment.
• Continuing advocacy and awareness-raising on poverty-environment linkages.