In Brief

  • Challenge: SDG 13 Challenge
  • Challenge Type: SFI Future Innovator Prize
  • Status: Active

The Challenge

More than five million people per year die of heat stress linked to the higher temperatures caused by climate change. In Dar es Salaam, the capital of Tanzania, 70% of the population are socio-economically weak and live in one of more than one hundred informal settlements with high heat exposure and low adaptive capacity – putting them at risk for heat stress. Our question is whether green infrastructure to regulate climate can be developed to work in this urban environment. 

The Solution

HEAT-ADAPT is a grassroots project to engage stakeholders and beneficiaries to design nature-based solutions such as exterior greening and community cooling centres. These adaptations are evidence-based, socially inclusive, cheap and fit for their purpose. We will integrate them into informal communities to enhance the resilience and heat adaptive capacity of these areas, along with other benefits.

UN SDG Alignment 

13.1 Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries. 
13.3 Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning. 
3.d Strengthen the capacity of all countries, in particular developing countries, for early warning, risk reduction and management of national and global health risks. 
11.7 By 2030, provide universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces, in particular for women and children, older persons and persons with disabilities. 

The Team

  • Team Lead: Dr Tobi Eniolu Morakinyo, University College Dublin
  • Partner Country Team Lead: Dr Elinorata Mbuya, Ardhi University
  • Team Co-Lead: Prof. Francesco Pilla, University College Dublin

Societal Impact Champion

  • Mr Msololo Onditi, Forum on Climate Change (FORUMCC)