climate finance governance malawi

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Climate finance governance:

experiences from Malawi

Francis Chilenga

Foundation for Building Resilient Communities, Malawi

Regional Climate Finance Open Dialogue Workshop, Windhoek, Namibia

Kalahari Sands Hotel, 18th to 20th May, 2015

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Outline of presentation

• Malawi’s climate change vulnerability context

• Enabling policy environment

• Emergence of CSOs in response to climate change

• CSOs and climate finance governance

• CSOs challenges

• Successful climate finance mechanisms

• Conclusion

Malawi’s climate change vulnerability

context

• Climate change is a major development issue, whose impacts affect many sectors and people’s livelihoods.

• Adverse climatic hazards over the last few decades experienced-prolonged dry spells, seasonal droughts,

intense rainfall and floods.

• .

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Malawi’s climate change vulnerability

context

• Adversely impacted

on food security,

energy and people’s

livelihoods.

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Enabling policy environment

• As a matter of response, Malawi has shown commitment to address climate change issues by signing and ratifying the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 1994 and its Kyoto Protocol in 2001.

• In addition the country has also produced a National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA, 2006) and a National Climate Change Policy (2012) that focuses on resilience building, technology transfer and capacity building for the population

• Cabinet has just approved the National Disaster Risk Management policy in 2015 after devastating floods in lower shire) and pressure from CSOs

• Other legal and policy instruments already in place

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Emergence of CSOs in response to

climate change

• Malawi has seen significant growth in civil society organizations (CSOs) working in climate change (CC) with a lot of focus on adaptation and mitigation related interventions

• CSOs involved in CC include ,NGOs (local and international), faith-based and community based organizations

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Emergence of CSOs in response to

climate change../

• Foundation for Building Resilient Communities is one of the NGOs with a mandate to mobilize resources, facilitate and implement sustainable community centered development programs in order to build resilience of communities in Malawi in collaboration with stakeholders with a high degree of transparency , accountability and effectiveness

• Focal areas include food security, climate change and environmental management (including disaster risk management), women and youth economic empowerment.

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CSOs and climate finance governance

• All efforts by CSOs coordinated by the Civil Society Network on Climate Change (CISONECC).

• CISONECC engage in the national consultation processes,

• Works closely with the government by providing inputs and recommendations, carrying research, advocating issues to stakeholders, lobbying decision makers, taking part in international negotiations.

• NGOs also directly implement climate change adaptation and mitigation activities at grassroots level.

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CSOs and climate finance

governance…/ • CSOs have been part of both the NCCP &

NAPA formulation process to make sure that voices of those deeply affected by climate change are included

• The NAPA proposes several interventions to target women in highly vulnerable situations, including: – (i) empowerment of women through access to

microfinance to diversify earning potential,

– (ii) ensuring easier access to water and energy sources by drilling boreholes and planting trees in woodlots,

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governance…/

• Active in climate funds public expenditure tracking

• CISONECC facilitates awareness and knowledge through its radio programme, Nyengo Yasintha aired over national radio and through its publications.

• Involved in the creation of the Climate Action Intelligence (CAI) initiative initiated by UNDP which has helped consolidate all initiatives on climate change by civil society

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governance…/

• CAI has also provided a platform for engagement between the parliamentary committee on agriculture and natural resources, the committee on budget and finance and civil society in a bid to increase budget allocation to climate change and also to enhance budget monitoring.

• Issues of policy, institutional and response strategy development have also been enhanced via this platform

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CSOs challenges

• Malawi is only beginning to address climate

concerns, and is still facing the challenge of

coordinating these activities in an efficient way.

• Most people affected by climate change, lack sufficient capacity to participate in climate policy development and implementation, and climate finance monitoring.

• Statistics on the amount of funding received or disbursed for climate change interventions, and its expenditure most often is not in the public domain. This makes public participation and accountability almost impossible.

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CSOs Challenges…/

• There is a lack of a structured approach involving parliamentarians in tracking resources, which has not helped matters. Citizens look to the civil society to intervene but CSOs‟ limited knowledge on budget tracking has worked to the detriment of their watchdog role.

• Lack of coordinated approach at local level in influencing funding and implementation of climate change adaptation and mitigation projects

• Some international NGOs focus more on humanitarian response to climate change disasters than preparedness

• Limited knowledge on how to facilitate community access to climate financing

Some successful mechanisms on

climate finance aid effectiveness

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DISCOVER Project

• DISCOVER=Developing

Innovative Solutions with

Communities to

Overcome Vulnerability

and Enhance Resilience

• A consortium project

seeking to support up to

900,000 rural people to

adapt to and mitigate the

effects of climate change

• .

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DISCOVER Project

• Target vulnerable households

• Self Help Africa (SHA) acting as an

implementing entity

• Selected NGOs as executing entities

• Pooled donor funding by UKAID, NORAD, and

Irish AID

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Malawi Environmental Endowment

Trust (MEET) • Registered in March 1999 under the

Incorporation Act of 1962 of the laws of Malawi.

• Established as a sustainable funding

mechanism to ease the problem of late and

limited funding

• Through the management of grants, the Trust

supports priority activities developed in

cooperation with the country’s development

partners.

• Nominated as the country’s NIE

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Carbon Financing

• Dutch NGO Stichting St Gabriel’s Hospital, Malawi, Concern Universal, Kulera biodiversity promote chitetezo mbaula cookstoves

• Direct source of income to communities

• Hestian Innovation’s Gold Standard 613 project

is the only project in Malawi that is actively

generating carbon credits and is;

– Part of Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves.

– UN-led public-private initiative that seeks to improve

livelihoods, empower women and combat climate

change by developing a thriving global market for

clean and efficient household cooking solutions.

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Conclusion

• It is necessary to mainstream CC in development planning and budgeting, and increase the engagement of civil society

• In addressing the CC issues, integration of civil society groups is essential, from local community-based organizations to the private sector, national, and international NGOs, research institutions, and beyond.

• Coordination be ensured at all levels

Conclusion

• Applying a human rights-based approach to climate finance will help to ensure the consideration of human impacts in the governance and distribution of funds in support of climate change mitigation and adaptation measures.

• As a result, it will prevent harm to communities and ecosystems, and promote participation, transparency, accountability, equity, and other rights protections.

• It will also strengthen the effectiveness, long-term success, and sustainability of climate finance at both the national and international levels.

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Thank you!

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