- P.O. Box 249 Lushoto, Tanga, Tanzania
- +255 718033646
- info@changamotoyouth.org
Climate change is not a future threat to Tanzania. It is happening now. Rainfall patterns have shifted dramatically, threatening food security for millions of small farmers. Temperatures have risen by more than 1°C since 1960, reducing agricultural yields and increasing water stress. Tanzania’s forests – which regulate rainfall, protect watersheds, and store carbon — are disappearing at an alarming rate.
And yet, the generation that will live longest with these consequences – Tanzania’s youth is also the generation with the least access to climate knowledge, skills, and resources. C.Y.D.O’s climate change youth programs are designed to change that.
Young people are not just climate victims. They are climate solution-makers. Research from the IPCC and UN Environment Programme consistently identifies community-led, youth-driven climate action as among the most effective and cost-efficient approaches to climate change adaptation and mitigation – particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa.
When Tanzanian youth are trained as forest guardians, climate-smart farmers, environmental educators, and community advocates, they create cascading impacts that reach far beyond their own households. This is the multiplier effect that drives C.Y.D.O’s climate change programs.
C.Y.D.O delivers environmental education programs in primary and secondary schools across the Tanga Region. These sessions teach children and young people about Tanzania’s forests, watersheds, and coastal ecosystems, the causes and local impacts of climate change, the role of trees and vegetation in regulating rainfall and temperature, what young people can do — right now — to protect their environment, and practical tree planting and nursery skills. Schools that participate in our programs consistently report that students take environmental knowledge home to their families, creating a community education effect that extends well beyond the classroom.
For Tanzania’s youth who work in or near agriculture – the majority in rural areas — climate change is not an abstract concept. It is the reason their maize fails, their water sources dry up, or their soil erodes. C.Y.D.O’s climate-smart agriculture training equips youth with the knowledge and techniques to adapt: drought-resistant crop varieties, agroforestry systems that protect soil and provide income, rainwater harvesting and irrigation efficiency, and diversified farming systems that reduce climate risk.
One of the most direct climate actions any young person can take is planting a tree. C.Y.D.O. trains youth to establish and manage tree nurseries; propagate indigenous tree species that support biodiversity and carbon capture, lead community planting events in forests, schools, and riverbanks; and monitor tree survival and growth over multiple seasons.
Thousands of trees planted by young people trained through C.Y.D.O are now growing in Tanzania’s most critical landscapes — each one a small but real victory against climate change.
Beyond practical skills, C.Y.D.O develops young climate advocates — youth who can speak about climate change in their communities, engage with local government on environmental policy, organise community conservation campaigns, and represent Tanzania’s youth voice in national and international climate discussions.
Tanzania is classified as one of the most climate-vulnerable countries in the world by the Global Climate Risk Index. The stakes could not be higher. But the solutions are available, affordable, and proven — if we invest in them now. C.Y.D.O’s climate change youth programs represent exactly this kind of investment: local, community-rooted, youth-driven action that delivers measurable results at the scale Tanzania needs.
Support our climate work at changamotoyouth.org or email info@changamotoyouth.org to explore partnership opportunities.
