Kelly Horton's presentation from the SUZA Symposium on Impacts, Vulnerability and Adaptation to Climate Change in Small Island States, held in Zanzibar, December 2011

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Climate Change Governance in Zanzibar:
The Need for Environmental Autonomy
Kelly Horton

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Overview
 Introduction
 Current Status of Climate Change
Vulnerability and Adaptation in Zanzibar
 Case Study: Kiribati
 Small Island Developing States and
Regional Discrepancies
 Why become a recognised SIDS?
 Next Steps for Zanzibar

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Current Status
The Zanzibar Archipelago
 is highly vulnerable to the impacts of
climate change;
 is a semi-autonomous entity of
Tanzania, and is not a recognised
SIDS member; and,
 requires specialist skills and support
to effectively adapt to the future
challenges of climate change.

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Predicted Trends in Sea Level Rise
 Sea level rise is locked
in by past emissions,
excluding the impacts
of current and future
emissions.
 Pew Centre For Climate Change,
Science Brief 2, 2009
 KEY SCIENTIFIC DEVELOPMENTS SINCE
THE IPCC FOURTH ASSESSMENT
REPORT

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The case of Kiribati
 A small pacific island, and member of SIDS, already
experiencing severe impacts of sea level rise.
 It is predicted that the Kiribati Archipelago will be the first small
island nation to be submerged, with potential for this to occur
within the next decade.
 This image shows a broken sea
wall, built to slow down the
encroaching tide in the village of
Eita, Tarawa Island.
www.climate.gov.ki

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The reality for Zanzibar
 Evidence of severe
coastal erosion at
Bwejuu, Zanzibar
 December 2010

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What enhances Zanzibar‟s
vulnerability to Climate Change?
 Least Developed Country (LDC)
 Small tropical island ecosystem
…
“As we are all aware, mini-
ecosystems are amongst the most
fragile. Such fragility today places
small island states in the frontline of
nature’s reaction to humanity’s
overuse and abuse of the
environment.”
Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, President of the
Republic of Maldives

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What enhances Zanzibar‟s
vulnerability to Climate Change?
 Deforestation of Mangroves for agricultural expansion
 Salt farming
 Disregard of coastal building permits (100m)

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What enhances Zanzibar‟s
vulnerability to Climate Change?
 Inability to self-represent on the Zanzibar specific challenges
of climate change in the International Climate Change arena.
Why is this an issue?
 As a semi-autonomous entity, whilst Zanzibar
in general, self funds attendance at
international environmental meetings, it is
unable to push a small-island agenda, falling
under the wing of the Tanzanian Mainland,
who do not represent SIDS interests.

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Regional Comparisons
Seychelles Mauritius
 Approximately 455 km2  Approximately 2040 km2
 Population: 86,525 (2010)  Population: 1,281,214 (2010)
 GDP per Capita (US): $9354.4 (09)  GDP per Capita (US): $6728.5 (09)
 SIDS Status  SIDS Status
Comoros Zanzibar
 Approximately 2170 km2  Approximately 2631 km2
 Population: 734,750 (2010)  Population: 1,100,000 (10)
 GDP per Capita (US): $784.7 (09)  GDP per capita (US): $415 (07)
 SIDS Status  No recognition as SIDS

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Small Island Developing States
UN Members
 Antigua and Barbuda  Haiti*  St. Kitts and Nevis
 Bahamas  Jamaica  St Lucia
 Bahrain  Kiribati*  St. Vincent and the Grenadines
 Belize  Maldives*  Seychelles
 Cape Verde*  Marshall Islands  Solomon Islands*
 Comoros  Federated States of Micronesia  Suriname
 Cuba  Mauritius  Timor-Leste*
 Dominica  Nauru  Tonga
 Dominican Republic  Palau  Trinidad and Tobago
 Fiji  Papua New Guinea  Tuvalu*
 Grenada  Samoa*  Vanuatu
 Guinea-Bissau*  Sao Tome and Principe*
 Guyana  Singapore
* Least Developed Countries (LDCs)

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Small Island Developing States
Non-UN Members / Associate Members of Regional Commissions
 American Samoa  Guam
 Anguilla  Montserrat
 Aruba  Netherlands Antilles
 British Virgin Islands  New Caledonia
 Commonwealth of Northern  Niue
Mariana
 Puerto Rico
 Cook Islands
 U.S. Virgin Islands
 French Polynesia
 Zanzibar?

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What is Environmental Autonomy?
 Zanzibar‟s environmental challenges are significantly
different to those faced by the Tanzanian mainland.
 In 2010, Zanzibar began to develop a „National Adaptation
Plan of Action‟ (NAPA), separate from the Tanzanian
Mainland, to emphasise Zanzibar‟s need for small-island
specific adaptation and mitigation strategies to Climate
Change.
 By gaining status as a Non-UN Member of the Small Island
Developing States, Zanzibar will have the potential to gain
much needed technical, financial and social support to
mitigate for, and adapt to climatic change, as well as an
ability to self-represent.
 Zanzibar would remain politically a part of Tanzania in
every sense, yet would receive the right to independent
governance and management of environmental issues.

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Barbados Program of Action
 Developed in 1994 at the Global Conference on the Sustainable
Development of Small Island Developing States.
Key Points
 “Small Island Developing States have sovereign rights over their
own natural resources.
 Their biodiversity is among the most threatened in the world and
their ecosystems provide ecological corridors linking major areas
of biodiversity around the world. They bear responsibility for a
significant portion of the world's oceans and seas and their
resources.
 The efforts of Small Island Developing States to conserve, protect
and restore their ecosystems deserve international cooperation
and partnership.”

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Mauritius Strategy
 Developed as a plan for 2005 – 2015 as a
partnership between all UN Members,
inclusive of SIDS and Donor States.
 “Small Island Developing States are
located among the most vulnerable
regions in the world in relation to the
intensity and frequency of natural and
environmental disasters and their
increasing impact, and face
disproportionately high economic, social
and environmental consequences”

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Adaptation Fund
 The Adaptation Fund was established in
2007 to finance feasible adaptation
projects and programmes in developing
countries that are party to the Kyoto
Protocol with particular vulnerability to the
adverse effects of climate change.
 Grants awarded to:
 Small Island Developing States,
 South and Central America,
 Africa,
 Asia-Pacific,
 Least Developed Countries.

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Adaptation Fund Grants
 Science, assessment, monitoring  Population & human settlements
and early warning
 Disaster risk reduction
 Tourism
 Education and training
 Water
 Food security, agriculture,
forestry and fisheries
 Health
 Oceans and coastal areas
 Terrestrial ecosystems

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Summary
 The relevant Zanzibari government
departments in relation to Climate
Change adaptation and mitigation have
agreed to work co-operatively to
achieve positive outcomes and push for
the implementation of recognised
strategies.
 Zanzibar should be allowed to pursue
environmental autonomy to ensure that
the islands have access to relevant
technical and financial assistance, for
example, membership of SIDS.

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Next Steps
 Achieve status of „environmental
autonomy‟ for Zanzibar;
 Lobby for listing as Non-UN Member of
SIDS, or observer status as a member
of Indian Ocean Commission, SIDS
Network and/or AOSIS; and
 Implement strategies for adaptation
and mitigation of climate change, that
can be used to guide future policy
directions in the context of sustainable
development.

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Thank You
Questions and Discussion