Of climate change and its mitigation
The Pilot 4 Research and Dialogue project (Pilot4Dialogue) has been operating somewhat under the radar – especially given the Covid-19 pandemic. For this reason, those of us who are interested in Tanzanian’s goal of a market-driven economy may miss its bold nuggets.
Four institutions collaborated in putting together the forum: Finland’s Tampere University of Applied Sciences (Peace Research Institute); Pilot4Dev (Belgium); Cowi of Denmark, and the Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship Development (IMED), which is associated with Dr Donath Olomi.
The Pilot4Dialogue project is funded by the European Union for the benefit of Tanzania.
Last year, we put together a webinar to discuss food security post-Covid-19. It was purely a private sector initiative which brought together participants from across the board. It was instructive that such a private sector initiative came into play in the year in which Tanganyika – precursor to Tanzania – celebrates its 60th anniversary of political independence.
Tanzanian researchers who have been involved in Pilot4Dialogue include Prof Kaila Bushagazi and Maselina Shishowiza. The pool of experts included the late Dr Ali Mjella who passed away earlier this year from Covid-19 complications.
Not enough credit is given to Dr Mjella, an economist who served in the Tanzania government and, during his tour of duty witnessed how relationship challenges between the public and private sectors have been hampering progress in transitioning from a government-controlled to a free market economy.
In the same spirit of private/public dialogue, the latest Pilot4Dialogue Webinar on the green economy brought together actors from various sectors, both local and international.
It is important to note here that Green and Blue Economies are complimentary – and that both are seriously mitigated by man’s climate actions.
While we in Tanzania contribute relatively little to the carbon footprint, we are nonetheless crucial to what can be done to mitigate the footprint.
In a book by researchers under the Pilot4Dialogue project, we learn that – and I quote: “It is expected that, in the next decades, climate disasters such as typhoons, floods, sea-level rises and dry spells will be more frequent, while disruptions in the ecosystems and water resources may jeopardise food security, leading to population displacements.
“This will hit several regions of the globe, including sub-Saharan Africa. In 2015, the Paris Agreement was a wake-up call to fight against climate change as one of the major priorities, by limiting the rise in temperatures from 1.5 to 2°C. Five years later, with the world ravaged by a pandemic which has killed over a million people (sic), the reality appears even more complex, as the climate, economic and security challenges appear more and more intertwined.
“Debates around the European Green Deal (to make Europe ‘climate-neutral in 2050) have shed light on the necessity to integrate climate and the environment as a key factor for future investments – and to make sure that economic development is decoupled from GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions and the overuse of natural resources”.
It is of utmost of importance that policy briefs coming out of Research4Dialogue forums be implemented by the relevant arms of government. It would help in meeting the aims of the forum, which include promoting dialogue on economic resources, policy and fiscal governance in Tanzania, and creating a platform for sustainable dialogue, including public and private stakeholders in different regions.
Other objectives are to promote and disseminate high quality, evidence-based research on policies, resources, economic and fiscal governance, as well as nurturing debate among stakeholders from the public, private and civil society sectors on economic and fiscal governance issues.
What does the future hold for Tanzania, then? That if we use well-researched and documented information, the dreams of the likes of the late Dr Ali Mjella would be achieved. One of the dreams was to see a Tanzania in which the public sector appreciates how the private sector can be an engine for Tanzania’s fast-tracked development and growth.
