Scaling-up Locally Led Climate Action Program

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SCALE will be a hybrid, PforR/IPF operation that will be implemented over a five-year period. The PforR will implement the government program’s Strategic Areas and Priorities at the selected districts while the IPF will support national systems for supporting locally led climate risk management, addressing weaknesses identified in the PforR assessments. Results Area 1: Strengthening local government systems. This RA will be implemented at the district level in the 65 selected LGAs and support: (i) establishment of operational District Climate Action Teams (DCATs) with representatives from relevant district-level MDAs, including the strengthened O&OD Task Force, to guide, facilitate, and implement climate action planning and implementation using climate-infused O&OD guidelines based on locally identified priorities; (ii) collection, storage, analysis, and application of climate change data with linkages to national level climate data; (iii) awareness raising programs for councillors, LGA staff, and community leaders and members on local climate risks and adaptation options; (iv) participatory climate risk assessments (PCRAs) at the ward level using the climate-infused O&OD guidelines; and (v) ward-level locally led Local Climate Action Plans (LCAPs) that address the identified climate vulnerabilities, each year covering an additional third of all wards, as well as aggregated climate investment plans for the district. These results will be supported through three cycles of performance-based Readiness Grants to the 65 LGAs in years 1-3 (FY25/26-FY27/28), averaging US$30,000 per LGA per cycle subject to the fulfillment of Minimum Access Conditions (MACs).Results Area 2: Invest in locally led climate resilience actions. RA2 will support the implementation of the LCAPs through investments selected by the communities. These may include, among others, investments in the agriculture sector, such as agroforestry, reforestation, and rehabilitation of degraded rangelands; investments in the water and sanitation sector that improve community access to water or promote climate smart water conservation through nature-based solutions; investments in the environment and natural resource sector, such as landscape and watershed management and community-based forest management; emergency preparedness and response; and investments in other eligible sectors listed in the OM, such as ocean-based practices, including growing seagrass/seaweed/mangroves, small to medium-scale infrastructure related to climate change adaptation in the coastal and marine environment, setting up early warning systems, and alternative livelihoods. Communities living adjacent to protected areas that are affected by access restrictions will be supported to select community-based and demand-driven activities, such as ecotourism, agroforestry, beekeeping, handicraft making, establishment of community conservation banks, fodder production, reforestation, setting up water-efficient irrigation systems and alternative energy sources to reduce dependence on the protected areas, and other selected activities. See Annex 2 for an indicative list of investments. These investments will be supported by three cycles of performance-based Investment Grants to the 65 LGAs in years 2-4 (FY26/27-FY29/30) that will incentivize the implementation of the LCAPs, the mainstreaming of climate action into LGAs’ operations, and an increase in LGAs’ financing for climate action. The Investment Grant will gradually increase over the years as the covered area increases, with a maximum average per LGA of US$250,000 in year 1, US$500,000 in year 2, and US$800,000 in year 3. The LGAs will access it upon meeting Minimum Performance Conditions (MPCs). IPF component: Strengthen national government systems to manage climate risks. The IPF component will finance actions that strengthen national government systems to support locally led climate actions and cascade support to the LGAs to enhance their capacity to manage climate risks, in line with gaps identified in the three assessments:(a) Cascading of MDA support to the selected LGAs: consultancies and training to transition the Improved O&OD guidelines into climate-infused O&OD guidelines to be used by the ward and community facilitators to support the carrying out of PCRAs and the development of the LCAPs; and provision of technical assistance (TA) and equipment to relevant MDAs, including sectoral ministries, VPO, FVPO, MoF, PO-FP, PO-RALG, PO-RALG-SD, and the Tanzania Meteorological Authority, to enhance their abilities to provide effective climate-related services to LGAs throughout the Program. (b) Cross-sectoral coordination for climate risk management: consultancies for the development and/or revision of Program-related policies and strategies with a clear definition of MDAs’ roles and responsibilities and inter-agency coordination mechanisms; consultancies and goods for the establishment and operationalization of Climate Finance Sections (CFSs) in MoF and PO-FP to centrally coordinate and manage the country’s climate-related financing initiatives; consultancies and goods for the development of a national dashboard to map donor-funded and government-funded climate interventions to ensure their coordination, to be managed by the CFSs; and technical assistance to the government for the development of the 2027-2032 NCCRS and the adjustment of the ZCCS to ensure consideration of lessons learned and good practices from the implementation of the first year of SCALE Program activities and to reflect the upcoming National Vision 2025-2050, including its pillar on climate change resilience. (c) Climate data management and public communication: goods, consultancies, and training to improve Tanzania’s climate expenditure tracking and reporting systems; and consultancies and training for the development and implementation of a communication program to communicate within the government, with the public, and with donors the country’s climate risks, adaptation options, and the support provided by the SCALE Program. (d) Enhancing national and LGA E&S risk management (ESRM) capacity: provide TA to support ESRM capacity building in PO-RALG, PO-RALG-SD, VPO, FVPO, MoF, PO-FP, Prime Minister’s Office, National Environmental Management Council, Zanzibar Environmental Management Authority, Occupational Safety and Health Authority, Department of Occupational Safety and Health Zanzibar, Ministry of Community Development, Gender, Women, and Special Groups, and the targeted LGAs. It will include: (i) provision of training to national level entities to ensure proper coordination of the national ESRM guidelines and procedures and on international best practices and standards for ESRM; (ii) provision of ESRM training to the LGAs, including their environmental committee members, local government staff, political leaders, and non-state actors on the government’s ESRM procedures and guidelines; and (iii) support for the inclusion of government ESRM guidelines and procedures in relevant selected training institutions and piloting its roll out to ensure long-term ESRM capacity in the public sector. (e) Program coordination, management, oversight, technical support, and verification: goods and operating costs for the Program’s implementation structure, including Program Implementation Teams (PITs) and national, regional, and LGA-level bodies that will implement, provide oversight, and provide technical support for the Program; hiring of the verification agents; and identification of relevant Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) by the government to participate in Program activities.