1. General information
Location and description of the intervention
City or FUA
Dar es Salaam
Region
Africa
Short description of the intervention
Located in the Eastern part of Tanzania's mainland, the city of Dar es Salaam has been a fast urbanising centre in Sub Saharan Africa. A steady population increase represents implications related to increased human activities, such as encroachment of hazardous land, poor urban planning, as well as lack of infrastructure, placing considerable pressure on the good functioning of the city and causing a rapid loss of green areas and of trees. In counterbalancing these aspects, peri-urban agriculture, artisanal fishing, and nature-based tourism contribute substantially to the well being and livelihoods of the inhabitants of Dar es Salaam. Understanding that nature plays a significant role in the sustainable development of the city and to address the issues above, the municipality of Dar es Salaam, alongside several stakeholders, elaborated a so-called "Thematic Atlas of Nature’s Benefits to Dar es Salaam", tailored specifically for the city. One of the aims of the atlas is to tackle climate change effects that are threatening Dar es Salaam by keeping urban and peri-urban ecosystems intact while implementing nature-based solutions. It is a balancing act coupled with the fact that Dar es Salaam is located in a globally important biodiversity hotspot, the ‘East African Coastal Forest’. (1,2,3)
Address

1 Morogoro Rd
10084 Dar es Salaam
Tanzania

Type of area before implementation of the NBS
Timeline of intervention
Start date of the intervention (planning process)
2017
Start date of intervention (implementation process)
2018
End date of the intervention
2018
Present stage of the intervention
Goals of the intervention
The intervention, consisting of the creation of the atlas, aims to attain the following objectives:
1. To provide a set of key policy recommendations related to the enhancement of green spaces by strengthening the municipality's capacity to integrate biodiversity and solutions based on nature into Dar es Salaam's planning instruments.
2. To incorporate a number of solutions based on nature, solutions meant to provide relief to air pollution, high temperatures, urban heat island effect, floods, and rapid urbanisation. These solutions can be: planting trees, implementing green roofs, establishing biodiversity corridors, agroforestry (to respond to a demand by the city council to show in maps which urban ecosystems provide which benefits to the region).
3. To deliver a suite of powerful arguments and spatial orientation for taking better care of the region’s rapidly decreasing natural habitats.
4. To help support the communal quality of life among the residents of Dar es Salaam. (1,2,3,4).
5. Addressing seven ‘themes’ in The Atlas that represent an urban challenge: main changes in DSM’s greenspaces, DSM ecosystems secure thousands of livelihoods, water as a human right, public health, green space is essential for healthy communities, urban infrastructure and urban biodiversity.
6. Suggesting solutions to protect 121 endemic vertebrates and 1,500 endemic plant species, all located in the Eastern Arc Mountains and the East African Coastal Forests – both of which are partly located within or in proximity to DSM City.
7. Proposing solutions to several problems such as rainwater management, water contamination and air pollution. (1,2,3,4)
Quantitative targets
Comprising solutions for five municipalities of Dar es Salaam – Kinondoni, Ilala, Ubungo, Temeke and Kigamboni.
Concerning 6.4 mil. people directly and indirectly, of which 35,000 households are located in the periphery of DSM and discussed in the Atlas (1,2,3,4)
Monitoring indicators defined
Number of people benefiting from the Atlas
Number of municipalities within Dar es Salaam considered for the atlas
Number of themes discussed in the atlas
Number of endemic vertebates and plant species that need protection, according to the Atlas (1,2,3,4)
Climate change adaptation: What were the goals of the NBS?
Climate change adaptation: What activities are implemented to realize the conservation goals and targets?
Please specify "other Habitats and biodiversity conservation activity"
Policy creation and development (1)
Habitats and biodiversity conservation: What types of conservation goals are / were defined for the NBS intervention?
Implementation activities
The Atlas has been developed in the context of two projects: INTERACT-Bio and UNA Rivers – both led by ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability. The Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ, Germany, was responsible for its scientific coordination. In 2017 a stakeholders' workshop was held in Dar es Salaam and based on it the project team developed the idea of a Thematic Atlas of several of DSM’s pressing problems and the role greenspace management can play in them. Different partners were invited in the development phase: the city council, researchers from Ardhi University, NGOs and initiatives in the field (e.g. BORDA, Ramani Huria) agreed to contribute with data, knowledge and expert judgement. Between February and June 2018, the thematic maps for the atlas were developed in an iterative way: Based on the first stakeholder workshop, a list of potential themes for the atlas was developed, and scientific literature was consulted in order to gain a first understanding of the problems and potential greenspace-related remedies. The findings were presented together with a draft outline and first illustrations. Feedback was elicited and helped in the further search for highly dispersed (spatial) data required for the atlas.
After 9 months, a draft atlas was discussed in a validation workshop and further meetings in June 2018. The final revision and official endorsement of the publication took a further four months. (3)
NBS domain and interventions
Ecological domain(s) where the NBS intervention(s) is/are implemented
Blue infrastructure
Rivers/streams/canals/estuaries
Coastlines
Community gardens and allotments
Community gardens
Horticulture
Green areas for water management
Sustainable urban drainage systems
Grey infrastructure featuring greens
Alley or street trees and other street vegetation
Parks and urban forests
Pocket parks/neighbourhood green spaces
Please specify the number of plots or allotment gardens
unknown
What is the level of innovation / development of the NBS related to water management?
Vegetation Type
Please specify how many trees were planted
Unknown
Amenities offered by the NBS
Services
Expected ecosystem services delivered
Provisioning services
Food for human consumption (crops, vegetables)
Medicinal resources
Regulating services
Local climate regulation (temperature reduction)
Air quality regulation
Coastal protection
Carbon storage/sequestration
Flood regulation
Water purification / filtration
Habitat and supporting services
Habitats for species
Cultural services
Tourism
Intellectual interactions (scientific and / or educational)
Social and community interactions
Scale
Spatial scale
Meso-scale: Regional, metropolitan and urban level
Beneficiaries
Governance
Non-government actors
Non-governmental organisation (NGO) / Civil society / Churches
Researchers, university
Coalition with multiple of the above
Please specify the roles of the specific government and non-government actor groups involved in the initiative
The Dar es Salaam City Council expressed the need for and initiated the development of this Thematic Atlas as a tool to support the strategic prioritisation around greening for improved wellbeing of Dar es Salaam‘s citizens. As such, in a joint initiative, ICLEI (Local Governments for Sustainability), DSM authorities, and UFZ (Helmholtz- Centre for Environmental Research) support local and regional administration to strengthen their capacity to integrate biodiversity and nature-based solutions into their planning instruments. For developing this atlas, the project team invited further partners: the city council, researchers from Ardhi University, NGOs and initiatives in the field (e.g. BORDA, Ramani Huria). Further, it is up to each municipality to allocate a budget to addressing climate change effects as recommended in the Atlas. (3)
Key actors - initiating organization
Key actors - Other stakeholders involved (besides initiating actors)
National government
Local government/municipality
Researchers/university
Multilateral organisation
Participatory methods/forms of community involvement used
Policy drivers
NBS intervention implemented in response to an Regional Directive/Strategy
No
NBS intervention implemented in response to a national regulations/strategy/plan
Unknown
NBS intervention implemented in response to a local regulation/strategy/plan
Yes
Please specify the "local regulation/strategy/plan"
It is mentioned that the development of the Atlas came at the request of the Municipality of DSM, which was interested in maximizing the city's investment in green spaces. After the Atlas was published, the information provided complementary knowledge and mapped to the Ilala Municipality (in Dar es Salaam) Local Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan. (1,2)
Mandatory or voluntary intervention
Voluntary (spontaneous)
Enablers
Presence of specific city-level GI/NBS vision/strategy/plan - mentioned in connection to the project
Yes
Please specify
At the moment of the Atlas's creation, it was not specified that the city had a nature-based vision or strategy. However, after the development of the Atlas, the information was used to issue the Ilala Municipality (in Dar es Salaam) Local Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan. (1)
Presence of specific city-level GI/NBS section/part in a more general plan - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
If there is a relevant strategy or plan, please specify the theme / type of the plan.
Presence of city network or regional partnerships focused on NBS - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
Presence of GI / NBS research project - mentioned in connection to the project
Yes
Please specify
The intervention is part of the INTERACT-Bio project, a four-year project designed to improve the utilisation and management of nature in fast-growing cities and the regions surrounding them. INTERACT-Bio is implemented by ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability. The intervention is also supported by the Urban Natural Assets for Africa: Rivers for Life (UNA Rivers). (2)
Subsidies/investment for GI / NBS in the city - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
Co-finance for NBS
Unknown
Co-financing governance arrangements
Unknown
Was this co-governance arrangement already in place, or was it set up specifically for this NBS?
Financing
Total cost
What is/was the Cost/Budget (EUR) of the NBS or green infrastructure elements?
Unknown
What are the total amount of expected annual maintenance costs?
Unknown
What is the expected annual maintenance costs of the NBS or GI elements?
Unknown
Please specify cost savings
Unknown
Please specify total cost (EUR)
Unknown
Source(s) of funding
Please specify other source of funding
The INTERACT-Bio project supported the development of this Atlas. This project is funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) through the International Climate Initiative (IKI). The Urban Natural Assets for Africa: Rivers for Life (UNA Rivers) project funded a workshop of experts (June 2018), who provided critical inputs into the development of an updated spatial biodiversity layer for Dar es Salaam. The UNA Rivers project also funded the proofreading and a print run of this Atlas. The UNA River project is funded by The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) through SwedBio at the Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University. (2)
Type of fund(s) used
Non-financial contribution
Unknown
Please specify other Business model
Governance model
Business models
Please specify other environmental impact
Improved policies related to green space management, NBS and biodiversity.
Which of the involved actors was motivated by this model?
Type of innovation
Please specify technological innovation
The intervention through the information collected in the Atlas presents several innovations for sustainable urban farming: improved techniques (e.g. crop rotation), wise use of agro-chemicals, and support for establishing and maintaining cooperatives; likewise, the Atlas mentions innovations in tackling urban heating for building design (the trade-off between demands for either water (irrigation of green roofs) or electric energy (air conditioning) need to be considered at the municipal scale. (2)
Please specify social innovation
I'd argue this action is a policy innovation, especially how it was developed and ultimately designed. It had in mind the involvement of the municipality as well as university researchers and experts in providing global solutions for local conditions. The Atlas was based on ecosystem services thinking, and its purpose was to facilitate evidence-based decisions on where to invest in greening to achieve social outcomes. (1,2)
Novelty level of the innovation
Please specify novelty level of the innovation
The Atlas in itself is innovative; however, the solutions it presents are derived from nature-based solutions implemented in different cities such as Cophenhagen, Havana, Detroit, Berlin, and Mexico City. (2)
Replicability/Transferability
Please specify Replicability/Transferability
Unknown
Impacts, benefits
Environmental impacts
Please specify other economic impact
Support prioritise urban nature investments (3).
Description of environmental benefits
Related to environmental benefits, though not quantifiable, due to the nature of the Atlas, per se, one must mention that these benefits translated into expectations in relation to policy measures at the level of DSM municipality. It was expected that once published, the Atlas will help the city of DSM to build a rationale for the selection of sites for greening investments to achieve the multiple benefits that relate to societal well-being, protected and enhanced economies and the reduction of urban risks such as heat islands. Perhaps the most important impact is related to the acceptance of the DSM municipality in including the Atlas in a strategic way that deals with the greening of the city. For example, the Dar es Salaam City Council used the city heat map from the Atlas in various climate change-related presentations, and the Atlas information provided complementary knowledge and mapped the Ilala Municipality (in Dar es Salaam) Local Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan.
Recommendations from the Thematic Atlas led to the allocation of project funds to develop a biodiversity catalogue for Dar es Salaam. (1) Likewise, one source mentions that the Atlas is now seen as an incentive for every municipality to allocate budget to addressing climate change effects and that it will enable Dar es Salaam’s five municipalities to direct their plans to incorporate nature’s contributions to enhancing urban quality of life, livelihoods and the economy."(3)
Economic impacts
Description of economic benefits
This thematic atlas shows how nature’s benefits protect and sustain DSM city and make it livable. It will help DSM prioritise their investment in urban nature. It will also enable Dar es Salaam’s five municipalities to direct their plans to incorporate nature’s contributions to enhancing urban quality of life, livelihoods and the economy. (3)
Description of social and cultural benefits
The World Bank in Dar es Salaam is using some of the Atlas map layers in their in-house training programmes on urban greening; The Atlas was used to identify priority sites for practical demonstration projects to be implemented as part of the INTERACT-Bio project; (1)
The Atlas stimulated the idea among stakeholders to establish a cross-sectoral forum to discuss and coordinate greening efforts in the City;(1)
The Atlas also produced maps that described various pressing challenges to urban sustainability. Maps are a well-suited vehicle for the condensation, analysis and communication of complex information. (4)
Other expectations for the Atlas included: to (i) be used for any broader sustainability awareness raising efforts, and more specifically for (ii) cross-sector consultations. (3)
Type of reported impacts
Indicators
Unknown
Analysis of specific impact categories
Job creation: The NBS created ...
Negative impacts: Did the project cause any problems or concerns?
No information was found regarding negative impacts of the project
COVID-19 pandemic
Unknown. As of April 6, 2022 there is no information regarding this intervention and the effects of Covid 19.
Methods of impact monitoring
Evidence for use of assessment
Presence of an assessment, evaluation and/or monitoring process
Unknown
Presence of indicators used in reporting
Yes
Presence of monitoring/evaluation reports
Yes
Availability of a web-based monitoring tool
No evidence in public records
Impact assessment mechanism
Name of any specific impact assessment tools
Unkown
Use of GIS in mapping impacts
Yes
Citizen involvement
Citizens involvement in assessment/evaluation
Unknown
Citizens involvement in the analysis of the assessment/evaluation
Unknown
Follow-up to the evaluation / assessment
Unknown
References
List of references
1. panorama.solutions. (2020). A Thematic Atlas of Nature’s Benefits to Dar es Salaam: Critical reasons for greening the city and for keeping urban and peri-urban ecosystems intact. [online] Available at: https://panorama.solutions/en/solution/thematic-atlas-natures-benefits-dar-es-salaam-critical-reasons-greening-city-and-keeping [Accessed 7 Apr. 2022].
2. Karutz R., Berghöfer A., Moore L.R., and van Wyk, E. (2019). A Thematic Atlas of Nature’s Benefits to Dar es Salaam.Leipzig and Cape Town: Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research and ICLEI Africa Secretariat. 78 pages. Available at https://www.researchgate.net/publication/328118817_A_Thematic_Atlas_of_Nature%27s_Benefits_to_Dar_es_Salaam_-_Critical_reasons_for_greening_the_city_and_for_keeping_urban_and_peri-urban_ecosystems_intact (accessed 7 Apr. 2022)
3. CASE STUDY A thematic atlas of urban ecosystem services for enhanced greenspace management in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania In a nutshell. (n.d.). [online] Available at: http://www.aboutvalues.net/data/case_studies/values_case_study_atlas_tanzania.pdf [Accessed 7 Apr. 2022].
‌4. ICLEI. (2019). A thematic atlas of urban ecosystem services for enhanced greenspace management in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. [online] Available at: https://cbc.iclei.org/a-thematic-atlas-of-urban-ecosystem-services-for-enhanced-greenspace-management-in-dar-es-salaam-tanzania/ [Accessed 7 Apr. 2022].
‌5. LUGONGO, B. (2019). New era due as Dar City Council gets novel atlas. [online] www.dailynews.co.tz. Available at: https://www.dailynews.co.tz/news/2019-11-015dbbee4932cba.aspx [Accessed 7 Apr. 2022].

Comments and notes
Additional insights
Original short description:
"Located in the Eastern part of Tanzania's mainland, the city of Dar es Salaam has been a fast urbanizing centre in Sub Saharan Africa. Its population has risen throughut centuries and nowadays it comprises approx. 6.4 mil. inhabitants with an increase rate of 5.6% annually. It is understood that fast urbanization associated with increased human activities such as encroachment of hazardous land, poor urban planning, as well as lack of infrastructure puts a considerable amount of pressure on the good functioning of the city and causes a rapid loss of green areas and of trees . To these aspects one must add that peri-urban agriculture, artisanal fishing and nature based tourism contribute substantially to the well being and livelihoods of the inhabitants of Dar es Salaam. Understanding that nature plays a significant role in the sustainable development of the city and to address the issues above, the municipality of Dar es Salaam alongside several stakeholders, including ICLEI (Local Governments for Sustainability), BMVU (The Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection), Stokcholm Resilience Centre, and the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Human Settlements Developments of Tanzania, elaborated a so called "Thematic Atlas of Nature’s Benefits to Dar es Salaam", tailored specifically for the city. One of the aims of the atlas is to tackle climate change effects that are threathening Der es Salaam, in accordance with keeping a urban and peri-urban ecosystems intact while implementing nature based solutions. It is a balancing act that is coupled with the fact that Dar es Salaam is located in a globally important biodiversity hotspot, the ‘East African Coastal Forest’. (1,2,3)"
Public Images
Image
Photo 1
City map as presented in relation to the Atlas
https://cbc.iclei.org/the-value-of-nature-in-dar-es-salaam-tanzania/
Image
An urban jungle in Tanzania
Atlas 1
https://panorama.solutions/en/solution/thematic-atlas-natures-benefits-dar-es-salaam-critical-reasons-greening-city-and-keeping