Coastal forests are among the hotspots of biodiversity and therefore critical for conservation in Tanzania. However, most of the previous climate change mitigation efforts in Tanzania focused on participatory forest management in rural areas and did not address the major driving force of deforestation and forest degradation from urban areas. Further, coastal forests have not been given adequate attention in climate research and on their resources linkages with urban and peri-urban environment.
This research is an attempt to address the problem of continued deforestation and forest degradation of coastal forests due to (i) lack of integrated urban and peri-urban land use plans and (ii) lack of adaptation measures to climate change impacts on livelihood activities of coastal communities.
Project Objectives:
The overall objective of the research project is to assess the impacts of urban land use and climate changes on coastal forests. Specific objectives are:
1. To assess the drivers and patterns of land use changes in coastal urban and peri-urban areas;
2. To analyze the impacts of climate change on coastal livelihoods and their implication on coastal forest degradation;
3. To assess the impacts of coastal urban and peri-urban expansion on coastal forest ecosystems;
4. To examine existing strategies in addressing coastal forest degradation;
5. To develop strategies for integrated coastal urban and peri-urban land use plans in support of climate change adaptation and coastal forest conservation.

- Output from the Norwegian funded Climate Change Impacts, Adaptation and Mitigation (CCIAM) Programme in Tanzania.