Government of the United Republic of Tanzania, European Union, IOM and Enabel Launch RE2CLID Project to Strengthen Response to on Climate-Related Displacement
The Government of the United Republic of Tanzania, with the support of the European Union, and implementing patners, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Belgian development agency Enabel, convened high-level stakeholder meeting in Dodoma to launch the Regional Responses to Climate Displacement in Sub-Saharan Africa (RE2CLID) project and establish its National Steering Committee (NSC) . The meeting formally introduced the RE2CLID project to national stakeholders and marked an important step toward strengthening national ownership, institutional coordination, and alignment of climate displacement responses in Tanzania.
Funded by the European Union under the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI–Global Europe), RE2CLID is a regional initiative implemented jointly by IOM and Enabel in partnership with the Government of The United Republic of Tanzania. The project aims to prevent, minimise and respond to disaster-related displacement across the Lake Tanganyika Basin. RE2CLID is a regional program implemented across two geographic clusters. Tanzania falls under the first cluster which is the Lake Tanganyika Basin that also includes Burundi and Democratic Republic of Congo, reflecting shared climate, displacement, and natural resource governance challenges across the basin. The budget for the Tanzanian component is EUR 13 million. In Tanzania, the project focuses on strengthening gender-responsive disaster forecasting and management systems, improving natural resource governance, and supporting durable, climate-resilient solutions for displacement-affected communities.
Tanzania is increasingly exposed to climate-related hazards, including floods, droughts, extreme rainfall and lake-level rise. These risks are particularly visible in Kigoma Region, the primary implementation focus of the project, due to its location along Lake Tanganyika, exposure to flooding, rapid population growth, long-term refugee presence, pressure on natural resources and wider environmental stress. The 2022 Migration and Urbanization Monograph also identifies Kigoma as a key source of internal out-migration, contributing to the 18.6% of Tanzanians who changed residence within five years. These movements are linked to Tanzania’s broader urbanization trend, which reached 37.4% in 2022, and point to persistent gaps in access to services, jobs, infrastructure and resilient livelihoods. The focus on Kigoma therefore reflects the need to support communities increasingly affected by recurring climate shocks, environmental pressure and population movement.
RE2CLID is anchored in the Humanitarian-Development-Peace nexus and recognizes that climate change, environmental degradation and human mobility require integrated responses. In Tanzania, the project will work at both national and local government levels: supporting policy coherence, coordination and systems strengthening nationally, while piloting area-based and community-level interventions in Kigoma.
The project responds to a key operational challenge: Tanzania has existing systems and institutions, but they require stronger integration, operationalization and localization to effectively manage climate-related displacement. RE2CLID therefore shifts disaster management from reactive response towards preventive, anticipatory and risk-informed action, while ensuring that communities affected by displacement remain at the center of planning and implementation.
The project focuses on three main goals in Tanzania. It aims to improve disaster forecasting and response systems so that they are more gender-responsive and better able to protect communities from displacement. It also works to strengthen the management of natural resources in ways that benefit displaced and at-risk communities. Finally, it supports these communities especially women and men in environmentally vulnerable areas to build stronger resilience and become more self-reliant. Together, these objectives aim to reduce disaster and climate-related displacement by linking early warning and anticipatory action with environmental management, resilient livelihoods, infrastructure rehabilitation, and inclusive recovery planning.
The project will focus on flood-prone and low-lying communities in Kigoma Region, including Kigoma District Council, Kigoma Municipal Council, and Uvinza District Council. During the start-up phase, specific intervention sites will be jointly confirmed by the Government, IOM and Enabel based on updated assessments, risk and displacement data, government priorities, and operational feasibility.
Project interventions in Kigoma will focus on strengthening early warning systems, preparedness, displacement data use, environmental governance and area-based resilience approaches. Lessons generated in Kigoma are expected to inform scalable models for wider national replication and regional learning across the Lake Tanganyika Basin.
By investing in integrated, data-driven and community-centered approaches, the European Union, and implementing partners, IOM and Enabel reaffirm their commitment to supporting Tanzania in preventing and managing climate-related displacement, strengthening local resilience and advancing durable solutions for communities living in disaster- and climate-risk areas.