The use of indigenous knowledge in weather and climate prediction in Mahenge and Ismani wards, Tanzania

This paper discusses the role of indigenous knowledge (IK) in weather and climate prediction inMahenge and Ismani wards focusing on Safari Road and Mahenge Mjini villages in Mahenge; andUhominyi and Ismani Tarafani villages in Ismani. The perception of local communities about climatechange is assessed. Local environmental and astronomical indicators used by local communities inweather and climate prediction are identified and documented. A team of five IK experts in bothMahenge and Ismani was identified and assigned the task of making continuous observations of the IKindicators and producing seasonal rainfall forecast for the purpose of testing the accuracy andreliability of IK. Key informant interviews and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) approaches were usedin data collection regarding existing IK in weather forecast. A total of 120 respondents were interviewedin study Mahenge and Ismani wards respectively. A Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) wasused for data analysis. More than 83% of the respondents were found to be aware of climate change.Plant phenology, particularly that of mango trees was found to be the most used indicator in bothwards. An assessment of the forecasted and observed 2011/2012 seasonal rainfall indicatescomparable results.This article is also published in a Proceedings of the first Climate Change Impacts, Mitigation and Adaptation Programme Scientific Conference, 2012Royal Norwegian Governmen