The climate change will in the future cause major problems around the world. These problems will be particularly evident within urban areas due to the heat island effect and other features of the urban climate

UTABIRI WA MVUA ZA MSIMU (NOVEMBA, 2023 – APRILI, 2024)

Watersheds and rivers are vital ecological features for the provision of hydrological services for the health, welfare and

prosperity of human communities. Nevertheless, anthropogenic activities coupled with climate change and climate

variability are blamed to have degraded watersheds and rivers and lowered their capacity to water. To restore the

situation it is important to understand why and how water shortages are occurring. This paper reports findings of a study

carried out to identify and assess drivers of water shortages and adaptation strategies to climate change and variability in

Pangani River Basin of Tanzania. To assess the influence of climate change and variability on hydrological flow and

water shortages, time series data on rainfall and temperature were compiled from the Tanzania Meteorological Agency.

We also used structured questionnaires to collect data on villagers’ perceptions about the drivers of water shortages and

adaptation strategies. Results indicated a decreasing trend of water flow (p < 0.05) at Kikuletwa-Karangai gauging station

along Pangani River Basin. Trend analysis indicated a slight decrease of rainfall and increase of temperature. Although

there are no empirical evidence to associate climate change with the decline of rainfall and water flow, adaptation

measure need to be put in place in order to fight against the increasing climate variability, reduced water flow and the

projected climate change. Therefore, watershed conservation strategies should also focus on improving the welfare of the

local communities. Therefore, involvement of stakeholders in the entire PRB is crucial towards watersheds conservation

for steady flow of hydrological services.