1. 1
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
2. 2
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
3. 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.
• .
3
4. Malawi’s climate change vulnerability
context
• Adversely impacted
on food security,
energy and people’s
livelihoods.
4
5. 5
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
6. 6
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
7. 7
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.
8. 8
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.
9. 9
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,
10. 10
CSOs and climate finance
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
11. 11
CSOs and climate finance
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
12. 12
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.
13. 13
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
15. 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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16. 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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17. 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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18. 18
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.
19. 19
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
20. 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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