The Climate
Justice Forum Tanzania (CJFT) is a strategic alliance aimed at bringing
together environmental stakeholders from various sectors, ranging from rural
citizens and academics to the private sector, to deliberate and find solutions
for the country's environmental challenges. Its primary goal is to amplify the
voices of the most vulnerable groups, such as women, youth, and children, who
are heavily affected by climate change if the environment is not properly cared
for and preserved. Through this bridge of dialogue, global initiatives are
brought down to the lowest grassroots level to ensure that every Tanzanian
becomes part of the solution in protecting the environments where we live and
conduct daily activities like farming, livestock keeping, and entrepreneurship.
The
existence of this forum is an urgent response to recent disasters, such as
landslides in the Manyara region and extreme droughts in the regions of
Shinyanga, Dodoma, Singida, and Tabora conditions that have forced farming and
pastoralist communities to migrate and lose livestock as well as homes. The
CJFT intends to confront the primary causes of these changes, including
indiscriminate deforestation for charcoal energy and greenhouse gas production,
while encouraging collective cooperation because every stakeholder has a
responsibility to care for our ecology without leaving it to others. The
expectations of this forum are to see environmental policies implemented
equitably and based on scientific research to build a resilient Tanzania that
preserves its resources for the benefit of this generation and future
generations. In this article, I will highlight five key points for the reader
to gain an understanding of this forum.
First,
what is the core essence and primary mission of this Tanzania Climate Justice
Forum in the context of current challenges?
The Climate
Justice Forum of Tanzania (CJFT) is a strategic gathering aimed at bringing
environmental stakeholders together to discuss the state of the environment we
live in every day. The primary mission of this forum is to establish strong
foundations of justice in environmental matters, considering that the
environment is the heart of all economic and social activities in Tanzania,
from agriculture and livestock keeping to entrepreneurship. Through this
council, the community has the opportunity to deeply assess how the environment
affects various groups, especially youth, women, and children, who often carry
the heaviest burden of ecological destruction. By providing space for dialogue,
the forum seeks permanent solutions to make Tanzania and the world a safe place
for current and coming generations, while emphasizing that proper care of these
resources is the only way to avoid disasters that could surround human life.
In-depth analysis by this forum identifies that the core of environmental problems stems from human activities, known as anthropogenic activities, which have had major impacts on the ozone layer. The forum notes that actions such as burning forests to expand farms, indiscriminate tree cutting for charcoal energy, and the production of greenhouse gases from industries without control systems are major drivers of climate change. Statistics show that Tanzania loses more than four hundred thousand acres of forest every year due to the demand for charcoal and construction, an issue this forum intends to confront by encouraging the use of clean and sustainable energy. By focusing energy on educating the community about the effects of indiscriminate livestock keeping and deforestation, the CJFT aims to change the current direction of destruction toward a lifestyle based on environmental conservation according to scientific research.
Second,
who should participate, and why are special groups given priority?
This forum
is designed with an inclusive system involving stakeholders at all levels, from
ordinary citizens in the villages and hamlets of Tanzania to
international-level decision-makers. This broad participation includes
academics from universities and research colleges, the private sector, and
international organizations, as everyone has a direct relationship with the
environment either by caring for it or contributing to its destruction. The
forum emphasizes that no stakeholder can isolate themselves from environmental
responsibility because its effects do not discriminate. By bringing experts and
private companies together, the CJFT creates an environment for learning and
correcting production systems to align with the expected environmental realities;
while encouraging companies whose activities contribute to destruction to
participate so they can change and begin implementing their responsibilities
with greater consideration.
Special
priority is given to marginalized groups, including women, youth, and children,
because they are the primary victims of environmental disasters. Through the Environmental
Climate Forum of Tanzania (ECFT), these groups are given a collective
understanding of how to care for environmental sources so they benefit current
and future generations. Climate justice aims to ensure that the voices of rural
people, who are often not involved in major decisions, reach the tables of
national and international decision-makers. The goal is to see environmental
policies that have a state of equity, protecting the woman looking for firewood
and the youth seeking opportunities in agriculture, while enabling these
citizens to access education and vital resources to implement their
conservation responsibilities more effectively.
Third,
which geographical areas in Tanzania are targeted by this forum, and where will
this main meeting take place?
This forum
is focused on areas that have already been severely affected by environmental
disasters, highlighting the actual situation of various regions in Tanzania
facing climate change. Living examples have been provided regarding the
landslides that occurred in Manyara, where people's lives and property were
lost an event that shows the vulnerability of infrastructure and settlements
against disasters. Furthermore, the forum shines a light on the challenges of
extreme drought in the regions of Shinyanga, Dodoma, Singida, and Tabora areas
that have been facing a significant shortage of water and pasture. This
situation forces farming and pastoralist communities to migrate, which sparks
land conflicts and weakens food security, thus making these regions the first
priority in providing education on resilience and new methods to deal with
difficult environments.
This
meeting is expected to bring together various experts who will discuss how to
align national policies with international ones to provide answers to the
environmental problems emerging in the country. By holding this meeting in the
heart of the country, the forum aims to attract the attention of high
government authorities and ensure that the planned initiatives easily reach all
peripheral regions of Tanzania, from the north to the south.
Fourth,
when is this forum planned to take place, and why is this time considered the
"right time"?
The 11th
and 12th of August have been set for this main environmental meeting in Dodoma
City, serving as an urgent response to a series of disasters that have recently
troubled Tanzania. This timing is important as it comes after a difficult
period where the country witnessed the major effects of climate change,
including deaths and property destruction resulting from landslides and severe
drought. By organizing this forum in the eighth month, organizers are using
this time as an opportunity to reflect and plan strategies before the new
farming season begins, so that farmers and pastoralists can be given new
methods to withstand those changes. This is the "right time" because
the community still has memories of past disasters, so the readiness to change
and receive new environmental education is at a high level.
The importance of this timing is also contributed to by the rate of forest loss in Tanzania, where 2021 World Bank statistics showed a loss of four hundred thousand acres per year. Every day that passes without firm action being taken means more destruction of the ozone layer and the loss of water sources, something the forum wants to stop immediately. The CJFT comes at a time when the world is discussing clean energy and unsustainable dirty energy; therefore, delaying this forum would leave Tanzania behind in the competition for international resources and aid to confront climate change. By doing so now, the forum ensures that global environmental plans do not remain on paper but begin to be implemented in practice to save the lives of people who have already begun losing their homes and livestock.
Final
point, why is cooperation important in reaching the goals of this forum?
Cooperation
is the backbone of the forum's success because environmental challenges are too
vast for any single stakeholder to solve alone. Stakeholders differ in capacity
there are people with high capacity, medium, and those of low status and all of
these are touched by the environment in different ways. Through collective
cooperation, those with resources and skills can help those most affected to
restore a state of resilience in the community. When it happens that people
have lost homes, livestock, or their daily activities due to climate change,
collective strength is needed to help them return to their normal states and
continue with life while confronting the changes occurring in their areas. This
cooperation builds national unity in caring for environmental sources, removing
the misconception that environmental care is the responsibility of only certain
people.
Furthermore,
cooperation is vital to align scientific research with government policies for
the expected success. One of the main expectations of this forum is to see
policies that consider equity and provide guidance on what should be done based
on research that has already been conducted, rather than working by habit. By
connecting rural citizens and international decision-makers, the Forum creates
a bridge that enables global plans to reach the lowest level where the
destruction and impacts occur. Without this cooperation, there will be a gap
between science and implementation, something that will stall efforts to make
Tanzania a good society that can withstand climate change. Thus, uniting is a
necessary requirement to ensure that the planned initiatives are implementable
and bring real results for the current and future generation.
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