Tanzania and UNCDF finance investment to advance locally led adaptation and build resilient economies
Executive Secretary of the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), Pradeep Kurukulasuriya (centre) speaks during the handover of a performance-based grant worth $2.04 million, part of a $12 million climate financing programme aimed at strengthening Tanzanian communities’ capacity to adapt to climate change, in Dodoma. Looking on are Minister of State in the President’s Office (Regional Administration and Local Government), Prof Riziki Sailas Shemdoe (right) and UNDP Resident Representative Shigeki Komatsubara. PHOTO | COURTESY
Dodoma. Tanzania and the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) have marked a major milestone in the localisation of climate finance, with the first allocation from a $12 million programme aimed at strengthening communities’ capacity to respond to and adapt to climate change impacts.
A symbolic handover of a performance-based grant worth $2.03 million was held here on Monday, June 22, 2026, where the government was represented by the Minister of State in the President’s Office (Regional Administration and Local Government (PO-RALG), Prof Riziki Shemdoe.
Also present were the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative, Shigeki Komatsubara and the Executive Secretary of UNCDF, Pradeep Kurukulasuriya, alongside senior government officials, development partners, diplomatic representatives, local government leaders and climate finance stakeholders.
Mr Kurukulasuriya said the initiative marked an important step in strengthening local resilience to climate change and building sustainable local economies.
“This is an important milestone in building local resilience to the impacts of climate change and fostering sustainable local economies — not so that communities can live, but so they can thrive,” he said. “UNCDF has a unique role in the development finance ecosystem, absorbing risk in early-stage and last-mile markets to advance development where it is most needed, such as here in Tanzania.”
The funds will be channelled to eight local government authorities through UNCDF’s Local Climate Adaptive Living Facility (LoCAL), which has supported thousands of investments across Africa, Asia and the Pacific since its global launch in 2014.
In Tanzania, the programme is expected to finance agricultural resilience initiatives, climate-proof infrastructure, and activities aimed at strengthening livelihoods and local economies.
LoCAL in Tanzania is supported by the European Union, the Royal Norwegian Embassy, the Embassy of Belgium, the Embassy of Ireland, and the United Nations Joint SDG Fund. A previous pilot phase, funded by the EU and Sweden, supported resilience-building projects and strengthened local government capacity in climate adaptation planning, budgeting, implementation and monitoring, benefiting about 800,000 people in the Dodoma Region.
The latest allocation represents one of the largest decentralised climate finance disbursements currently being implemented through local government systems in Tanzania. The first tranche of funds was received by local authorities last week for the implementation of 42 climate-resilient investments over the course of the year.
Tanzania is currently implementing its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), National Climate Change Response Strategy, and Vision 2050 agenda, with partners noting that mechanisms such as LoCAL are critical in ensuring climate finance reaches communities most affected by climate change.
