Introduction.

Abstract

Abstract This book provides a detailed analysis of the impacts of climate change on various tropical ecosystems in Tanzania and their related aspects of economic endeavour - from agriculture, marine resources and wildlife to weather forecasting. The analyses concentrate on Real and potential impacts of climate change, focusing on changes in temperature and precipitation, as well as alternative adaptive capacity and resilience-enhancing strategies such as changing crop types and cropping patterns. Across all of the analyses, particular attention is paid to impacts, vulnerability and resilience of ecosystems and communities to climate change outcomes with special reference to the impacts of extreme events such as droughts and flooding. The chapters in this book represent some of the early attempts at analysing the implications of climate change carried out at the Centre for Climate Change Studies of the University of Dar es Salaam. The chapters employ 'a bottom-up systems approach' whereby the implications of climate change are evaluated based on analytical models from agriculture, wildlife management and weather forecasting systems. The approach allows for experimentation with alternative policy options for achieving research and development objectives in the context of climate change.