Analysis of adaptation strategies of water insecure coastal communities of Tanzania by gender: Case of Mlingotini village in Bagamoyo district

Abstract

Climate change is a global phenomenon that requires significant responses. Its impactsare already being felt and projected to affect adversely the security of water in coastalareas. To develop effective adaptation plans, policies and strategies requiredisaggregated data on both men and women ' s response to climate change. Therefore,this paper fills this knowledge gap by analyzing adaptation strategies of water insecurecoastal communities of Tanzania in a gender perspective. Purposive samplingprocedure was used to identify 97 households from village households register for ahousehold survey. It was also used to select study area, key informants and discussantsfor focus group discussions. Results indicated that the problem of water insecurity hasbeen increasing in the study area compared to the past 30 years. Most of responsestrategies pursued by women in the study area are different from those employed bywomen in semi-arid regions while to men most of response strategies are similar. Thestudy recommends that climate change adaptation measures, plans and policies shouldtake into account differences between men and women ' s responses to waterinsecurity. Furthermore, climate change adaptation interventions to water insecurityshould address gender vulnerabilities at the household level. Key words:   Coastal communities, water insecurity, adaptation strategies, gender