Rethinking the Institutional Architecture for the Governance of Climate Change Adaptation Finance in Tanzania

Climate change adaptation finance plays a prominent function in the global adaptation efforts, yet its governance remains underexplored in Tanzania. This paper evaluates the existing institutional architecture governing adaptation finance established by the Environmental Management Act of 2004 to understand key institutions, interactions, and governance gaps to propose an effective architecture. Using qualitative methods, data was collected through institutional review and key informant interviews and was thematically analyzed using NVivo 13. Results show that adaptation finance is governed by institutions within the operating architecture, such as the Vice President’s Office, and by institutions outside the architecture, such as the Planning Commission. There are governance gaps in coordination, overlapping duties, and inadequate linkages. Results propose to retain existing institutions and introduce others to enhance the architecture. This paper concludes that strengthening architecture is essential for effective governance of climate adaptation finance in Tanzania. It recommends timely reviews of the architecture to enhance institutional performance.