CARBON AND CLIMATE CHANGE MALAWI CAPACITY BUILDING INITIATIVE PROJECT CONCEPT

MALAWI ENVIRONMENTAL WATCH


Protecting, Preserving and Reclaiming the Malawi Environment

CARBON AND CLIMATE CHANGE MALAWI CAPACITY BUILDING INITIATIVE PROJECT CONCEPT

WILSON DAMIEN ASIBU (THE COORDINATOR)

MALAWI ENVIRONMENTAL WATCH

C/O COUNTRY MINDERS FOR PEOPLES DEVELOPMENT

P.O BOX 2353

LILONGWE

CELL: +265 (0) 881244603/999 110 199/

E-MAIL: malawienvironmentalwatchp@yahoo.com

wilasibu@yahoo.com

SUBMITTED TO: Ellysar Baroudy,

Fund Manager,

BioCarbon Fund,

The World Bank

1818 H Street, NW Washington, DC 20433, USA

Submitted on: 29th November 2010

PERIOD: MAY 2011- DEC 2011 (6 MONTHS); BUDGET: US$252750 (MK40, 440, 000)



CARBON AND CLIMATE CHANGE MALAWI INITIATIVE

1. ABOUT MALAWI ENVIRONMENTAL WATCH

Malawi Environmental Watch is an alliance of civil society organizations, government, private sector, development partners and the general public in the protection, preservation and reclaimation of the Malawi environment, and that support the nation to understand, adapt to, and mitigate the impact of climate change in Malawi. The programme works in line with the Millennium Development Goal 7, as well as Malawi Growth and Development Strategy (MDGS), and will run for a five year period from 2010 – 2015, and reviewed thereafter.

Vision

The vision of the Malawi Environmental Watch is a Malawi nation that is environmentally sound, sustainable, accountable and protected.

Aims

The main aims of the initiative is support the Malawi nation in the protection, preservation and reclaimation of the Malawi environmental resources, whilst supporting the nation in understanding, adapting to and mitigating the impact of environmental degradation and climate change in Malawi; ii) assisting the Malawi nation to address the major national environmental threats and reclaim the depleted natural and environmental resources in Malawi by 2015 in line with Millennium Development Goal 7, and Malawi Growth and Development Strategy (MGDS).

Objectives

1. To raise awareness on environmental issues, threats and endangered environmental and natural resources that needs protection and replacing in Malawi for stakeholders to address

2. To create platforms where environmental issues will be discussed, solutions generated and best practices shared as a way of replicating them and building competences in addressing environmental challenges in Malawi

3. To conduct evidence-based advocacy and dialogue with government, concerned parties and relevant stakeholders to influence policy and practice that protects, preserve and reclaim the Malawi environment

4. To support better management and governance of environmental and natural resources in Malawi such as water, air, forests, fisheries, land and biodiversity, etc

5. To create partnerships and collaborations country-wide in the protection, preservation and reclaimation of the Malawi environment and natural resources through building of alliance of civil society organizations, government, private sector, development partners and the general public in the protection, preservation and reclaimation of the Malawi environment and support the nation in understanding, adapting to and mitigating the impact of climate change

6. To create a watchdog that ensures policies, practice and behaviors which promotes the protection, preservation and reclaimation of the Malawi environment and ensure a Malawi nation which is environmentally sound, sustainable, accountable and protected

2. CARBON AND CLIMATE CHANGE MALAWI CAPACITY BUILDING INITIATIVE

Climate Change alone is a glaring fact that has affected most lives in poor countries like Malawi which include increased occurrence of floods, droughts, erratic and unpredictable rainfall patterns, crop failure, leading to food insecurity and increased poverty as Malawi is an agro-based economy. Unfortunately most Malawian including the Civil Society Organizations do not understand adequately climate change issues. In the recent drive to address climate change issues, new strategies and technologies are being developed and adopted some of which are climate-friendly farming and land use. Some of these are terrestrial carbon storage, ecoagriculture and conservation agriculture initiatives which clearly show that they can possibly contribute significantly to reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere. Unfortunately in Malawi, whose 70% of its economy is agro-based is lagging behind in these emerging strategies as means in addressing climate change issues being faced by the country.

World Watch report 179 clearly points out that 30 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions arise from the land use sector. Thus no strategy for mitigating global climate change can be complete or successful without reducing emissions from agriculture, forestry, and other land uses.

The report continues to declare that moreover, only land-based or “terrestrial” carbon sequestration offers the possibility today of large-scale removal of greenhouse gas from the atmosphere, through plant photosynthesis.

Within its 34 membership organizations as well as District and Community Environmental Watches, Malawi Environmental Watch has discovered that there is little knowledge and understanding as well as initiatives on deliberate land-based or terrestrial carbon sequestration initiatives as means to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere as a strategy to addressing climate change issues in Malawi. The presentation made at Climate Change Conference in Malawi in November 2010, and the World Watch 179 report clearly demonstrates the importance of adopting such methodology in Malawi. But for this to happen there is a need for organizations working in the environmental and climate change sector in Malawi as well as Malawi Environmental Watch and its membership to clearly understand these approaches to ably mainstream them in their programmes.

The report also suggest the need to ensure full range of terrestrial emission reduction, storage, and sequestration options is included in international framework agreements, national legislation, and investment programs to address climate change. This is a potential advocacy issue for Malawi Environmental Watch but it can only be able to conduct effective advocacy and mainstream programmes when it has deeper understanding and appreciation of these issues. Malawi Environmental Watch having district and community environmental watches at local level can easily mobilize critical advocacy support for the adoption of these climate change strategies by the policy makers and be included in the national legislations. In addition, through these district and local community environmental watches, Malawi Environmental Watch can easily mainstream these strategies and programmes countrywide in a well coordinated manner, creating opportunities for national impact.

This therefore calls for capacity development for Malawi Environmental Watch as well as Malawi nation as a whole. To achieve this Malawi Environmental Watch has developed a Capacity Building Project in which the following capacity building initiatives will take place: 1) Facilitation of a three-Day Carbon and Climate Change Conference in which international and local experts on carbon issues, eco and conservation agriculture and other relevant issues will make presentation on the role of AFOLU in climate change and provide solutions in addressing climate change problems in Malawi. Out of this conference, participants will draw national recommendations and action plans as well as establish a Steering Committee to spearhead the mainstreaming processes within Malawi Environmental Watch and the nation at large; 2) Conduct a one-week study visit to Penn England Dairy Farm in Pennsylvania to learn how they are using animal manure, burn it, releasing carbon instead of methane and turning it into heat, electricity and fertilizer. The aim of the trip is for Malawi to learn from them the possibility of adopting the technology for lower shire and Northern regions which keep large herds of cattle, which might also be contributing significantly to climate change in Malawi. Apart from learning from this farm, the delegates will also visit other areas practicing ecoagriculture in Europe and Kenya in East Africa to learn how they are using this method and its benefits and see the possibility of replicating in Malawi; 3) Hold a one-week strategic five-year plan for Malawi Environmental Watch on the REDD+/AFOLU initiatives advocacy and mainstreaming in Malawi as a tool of addressing climate change based on the recommendations from the Steering Committee and the delegation that went for a learning experience on how others are implementing such initiatives and their benefits.

3. FACILITATORS

The facilitators to the conference will be 1) Sara J. Scherr, Founder and President of Ecoagriculture Partners; 2) Fiona McKenzie, The Terrestrial Carbon Group; 3) Ellysar Baroudy, Fund Manager, BioCarbon Fund, The World Bank; 4) Seth Shames, Project Manager, Policy and Research Mobilization, Ecoagriculture Partners; 5) Conservation Agriculture Manager, Total Land Care (TLC) Malawi and; 6) Natural Resources College of Malawi. Presentations will also be made by Malawi Environmental Watch, Civil Society Agriculture Network (CISANET), Land Network (LANDNET), Environmental Affairs Department, Climate Change and Meteological Services and others.

4. DELAGATION TO A STUDY VISIT

Malawi Environmental Watch Co-ordinator, Environmental Affairs Department, two committee members of the established Steering Committee and Civil Society Agriculture Network (CISANET).

5. CALL FOR SUPORT, AND IMPLEMENTATION PERIOD

We are therefore seeking financial support towards the facilitation of this Carbon and Climate Change Capacity building Initiative in Malawi. The programme will be coordinated by the Malawi Environmental Watch and the first phase will be implemented between May 2011 and December 2011, which will end up with coming up of a five-year strategic plan for advocacy and mainstreaming AFOLU initiatives in Malawi. We plan to start implementation of the AFOLU strategic plan by January 2012. The proposed budget for this first phase capacity building initiative is US$252750.

6. THE BUDGET IN SUMMARY

ACTIVITY TIME/PERIOD BUDGET NOTES

CARBON AND CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCE MAY/JUNE 2011 US$71500 US$1=MK160

STEERING COMMITTEE MEETINGS AND CONSULTATIONS JULY-SEPTEMBER 2011 US$31250

ONE-WEEK STUDY VISIT LEARNING EXPERIENCE AUGUST 2011 US$50000

ONE-WEEK STRATEGIC PLANNING FOR ADVOCACY AND MAINSTREAMING OF REDD+/AFOLU INITIATIVES IN MALAWI OCTOBER 2011 US$100000

IMPLEMENTATION JANUARY 2012 -

TOTAL US$252750