Curbing the floods is all about stakeholder engagement

A comprehensive stakeholder mapping exercise was conducted to identify and categorise key actors, including community leaders, ward and municipal officials, civil society organisations, and residents from flood-prone settlements. This helped clarify roles, interests, and influence in flood resilience governance.

Stakeholders and Their Roles in the Research Project:

Community Leaders from Flood-Prone Areas (Ilala District)

• Represent community voices and lived experiences of flooding

• Support community entry and mobilisation for research activities

• Participate in data validation and interpretation workshops

• Provide insights on local governance and coping strategies

Community Development Officers (City Level)

• Provide expertise on community mobilisation and participatory approaches

• Support facilitation of stakeholder workshops

• Advise on inclusive engagement of women and youth

• Link research to city development initiatives.

City/Town Planners

• Share technical perspectives on urban land-use planning

• Provide insights on zoning regulations and settlement planning

• Support interpretation of city planning policies affecting flood risk

• Contribute to policy-oriented recommendations

City Environmental Officers

• Provide expertise on environmental management and ecosystem protection

• Advise on the implementation of nature-based solutions

• Support environmental policy analysis

• Participate in data analysis and validation

City Hydrologists

• Provide technical knowledge on urban flood dynamics and drainage systems

• Support interpretation of hydrological data

• Advise on flood-risk assessment

• Contribute to scientifically grounded recommendations

City Disaster Management Experts

• Share experience on disaster preparedness and emergency response

• Provide insights on early warning systems and risk reduction

• Support development of urban resilience frameworks

• Participate in data validation processes

NGO and CBO Representatives

• Share field experience on community-based flood interventions

• Support community outreach and engagement

• Provide lessons learned from ongoing projects

• Assist in scaling up community-led NbS initiatives

Journal Editors and Peer Reviewers (indirect stakeholders)

• Review submitted manuscripts

• Provide constructive feedback to strengthen research quality

• Support wider dissemination of findings

A highlight of her research was presenting preliminary workshop findings to the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN). This engagement unexpectedly resulted in securing additional funding to disseminate her results through local platforms in Tanzania, including community radio, ward assemblies, and social media. This experience was enriching as it demonstrated the real-world impact and policy relevance of her research.

A stakeholder workshop was held in Dar es Salaam, where practitioners working on climate resilience discussed various nature-based solutions in the city, as well as existing challenges and opportunities. The data collection workshops were conducted over two days, generating rich qualitative insights from diverse stakeholders.

Other key activities that were completed during the first six months of the programme include:

1. Data Analysis Workshops

   Participatory workshop meetings were held to analyse the collected data jointly. These sessions enabled stakeholders to interpret findings, identify emerging themes, and co-produce locally grounded knowledge.

2. Results Validation Workshops

   Follow-up validation meetings were held to verify preliminary findings. Community members and institutional stakeholders reviewed results, confirmed accuracy, and provided contextual insights to strengthen credibility.

3. Manuscript Submission

   Two peer-reviewed manuscripts were finalised and submitted, focusing on community-based nature-based solutions and governance mechanisms for urban flood resilience.

She has extensively utilised the University of Pretoria library services to support her research project. The library has provided access to a wide range of academic databases, peer-reviewed journals, e-books, and institutional repositories relevant to environmental governance, urban climate adaptation, and nature-based solutions. These resources have been instrumental in strengthening her literature review and theoretical framework.

Report submitted by Dr Agnes Kapinga on her research progress for the following project: Community-Based Approaches for Nature-Based Solutions (NbS) in Flood-Prone Areas: the Case of The Dar es Salaam Metropolitan Development Project, Tanzania.