Dar es Salaam, Tanzania February 2009

The 4-day Sustainable Tourism Peer Exchange brought together stakeholders from three cities in Africa - Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), Dakar (Senegal) and Durban (South Africa), as well as tourism professionals from British Columbia and the Yukon in Canada. These cities all share a similar problem: the seemingly contradictory goals of increasing tourism to benefit the local economy, and protecting the fragile coastal ecosystems which attract tourists in the first place.

Roundtables and Workshops

Dar es Salaam City Director Bakari Kingobi welcomed the delegates and underlined the importance of the topic for his city. Dar Mayor Adam Kimbisa described the impacts of climate change on Tanzania and stressed the urgency of responding at the lobal, national and local levels.

Tourism, Economic Development and Poverty Alleviation

Nicola Colangelo, owner of Slipway, the large coastal shopping and hotel complex on the beach at Msasani Bay in Dar es Salaam, presented his development plans for the site. The discussion focused on the challenges of promoting sustainable tourism, benefits to the local economy, and risk management relating to climate change.

Multi-Stakeholder Processes in Tourism Planning and Management & DMOs

Chris Bottrill from Vancouver, who has over 20 years' experience in tourism including tour guiding in 22 countries and planning 20 major tourism projects in the Americas. guided two roundtables. The goal of the first session was to recognize the interdependence of stakeholders in sustainable tourism initiatives, determining the role and function of stakeholders in driving and facilitating sustainable tourism, and enhancing tourism stakeholder networks. City representatives identified barriers to sustainable tourism development and identified the roles that different community stakeholders can play

The second roundtable focused on groups and clusters that are key to tourism development. The distinction was made between stakeholders as facilitators or drivers, with both being essential in creating a Destination Marketing Organizatin (DMO). The steps for creating a DMO were reviewed: get partners on board, define mandate, secure financing, create MOUs and TORs, and begin establishing the relationships within the network.

Role of Sustainable Tourism in Local Economic Devlelopment

Bruce Downie of the Kesho Trust, a Canadian NGO dedicated to a mutually beneficial relationship between local communities and conservation of their protected areas, led the roundtable discussion on the role of local communities in the management of natural resources spaces. The participants identified the extent of competition for coastline spaces, over-utilization of natural resources, coastal erosion, displacement of indigenous coastal populations, development pressures and lack of coordination as major issues that need to be addressed in planning for sustainable tourism development.

The Importance of Coastal Zone Management in Tourism Development

Tandeer Kasserchun, an engineer with the City of Durban, guided the session and stressed the primary importance of establishing coastal setback lines as part of a coastal zone management plan, to protect both the natural environment and investments in development and infrastructure. Participants identified the elements of an integrated coastal zone management strategy, including the creation of an agency to co-ordinate the interests of stakeholders and monitor implementation of policies and regulations.

Tanzania Coastal Management Partnership

Fatma Sobo described her work with the Tanzania Coastal Management Partnership (TCMP), a group funded by USAID, the Vice-President's Office and the University of Rhode Island to manage the coastal network at the national level. The TCPM is working with all ministries at all levels of government and stakeholders in the private ad NGO sectors to develop an integrated plan for coastal management.

Climate Change - Impacts and Adaptation Strategies at the Local Level

Professor Pius Yanda, Research Professor and Director of the Institute of Resource Assessment at the University of Dar es Salaam described the climate change impacts anticipated in coastal regions of Tanzania. Higher rainfall, stronger storms, larger waves, and rising sea levels will lead to erosion, salt water intrusion and declining rice paddy yields. These changes are expected to hamper future development, although vulnerability assessments of different sectors and their coping strategies have yet to be made. The urgency of raising awareness of coming changes among stakeholders and policy makers was underlined throughout the session.

Dar es Salaam Waterfront Plan: Community and Stakeholder Collaboration in Planning

Damas Ndawi, Senior Statistical Officer for the Tanzania Port Authority (TPA), presented the conceptual design and feasibility study for the Dar es Salaam waterfront developed by Canadian consultants CDCS. The waterfront re-development is a priority strategy for creating a prime location for business in East Africa, and includes a casino, an aquarium, hotels, residences, water sports and outdoor recreation facilities. Although some community consultation had preceded the conceptual design, the discussion concluded with recommendations for greater engagement of stakeholders and community, for integration of the development with downtown, for a full environmental impact assessment including climate change impacts.

Wrap-up

Jane McRae, PLUS Network Program Director, noted that the Peer Exchange achieved its primary objective of bringing together experts from different sister cities to share experiences and initiatives in long-term planning and sustainability. Participants established closer communication among themselves as the foundation for possible future peer support on sustainable tourism development issues.

• The importance of multi-stakeholders engagement processes on various initiatives undertaken by the relevant local authorities.
• Tourism initiatives should be incorporated into official government plans to create coherent long term and sustainable development plans.
• Due to interdependency among stakeholders, local authorities and central government, regular communication and coordination should be promoted to protect coastal ecosystems and provide effective coastal management.
• Effective communication between researchers and policy makers should be maintained in order to mitigate the effects and impacts of climate change.
• Planners must take into consideration the effects of climate change as a crucial component in their urban planning.
• Effective engagement of all stakeholders creates ownership, accountability and sustainability.