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Malawi forms think-tank on linking population, climate change

By Lucky Mkandawire

November 15, 2011   ·   7 Comments

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Malawi has become one of the first nations in the world to build a team of experts on linking population dynamics and climate change.

This follows a successful training workshop on population dynamics and climate change organised jointly by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Washington DC based Population Action International (PAI).

The workshop drew together population and climate change/environmental experts from government, universities, international organisations, media, civil society and non government organisations.

According to the workshop trainer, Roger Mark De Souza, who is Vice President of Research and Director of Climate Program at PAI, the experts are expected to help government and other stakeholders to integrate population dynamics into climate change initiatives at macro, meso and micro levels.

“The workshop also aims to pilot test the training materials that are under development at the global level linking population to climate change programming,” he said.

UNFPA and PAI are developing a series of training materials around population dynamics and climate change to be included in the UN CC Learn which is partnership of 30 UN agencies which supports member states and other developing partners in designing and implementing results-oriented and sustainable learning to address climate change.

The draft Malawi Growth and Development Strategy (MGDS 11) recognizes that efforts to slowing population growth are mutually reinforcing with those aimed at improving environmental protection, reducing poverty and achieving economic progress.

“The strategy clearly defines climate change, natural resources and environmental management as one of the key development priorities making it one of the nine priorities within priorities,” UNFPA Deputy Resident Representative Dr Gift Malunga said when she opened the workshop.

Talking about the training, Malunga said by highlighting the links between population dynamics and climate change, donors, government and various stakeholders will commit more resources towards tackling these development-binding constraints.

And in her closing remarks, UNFPA Assistant Resident Representative Dorothy Nyasulu said time has now come to stop rhetoric but take action and make a difference.

Various papers presented at the workshop exposed particular aspects of the linkages between population and climate change in Malawian scenario.

In about two week’s time, the world’s attention will shift to Durban, South Africa where the United Nations 17th Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 17) will take place from 28 November to 9 December 2011.

This Climate Change Conference will bring together representatives of the world’s governments, youths, international organizations and the civil society to discuss how to, among others, advance the implementation of the Convention and the Kyoto Protocol, as well as the Bali Action Plan, agreed at COP 13 in 2007, and the Cancun Agreements, reached at COP 16 in December 2010.

*The author is a Blantyre-based environmental journalist

Tags: climate change, UNFPA

7 Responses to “Malawi forms think-tank on linking population, climate change”

1. 7

   Ahmed Says:

   February 9th, 2012 at 3:55 am

   
   

   The mheotr of all problems? Hmm.The mheotrs of the children who will bring the population to 9 billion later this century have been born. The problem for those who believe this is a grave concern need to ask themselves, what will it take to persuade those mheotrs to have 2 children instead of 5?If they are educated, live in a rapidly developing society, and can see that a) their children will have a chance for a good life and b) it is in their interests to invest in creating the best conditions for 2 children rather than hoping that 1 out of 5 will do well enough to support them in their old age, things will go well.This strategy has been remarkably successful–without exception, actually–everywhere it has been tried. I would suggest continuing with it and extending it as far as possible. Like 0 Reply

2. 6

   duppy conqueror Says:

   November 15th, 2011 at 5:46 pm

   
   

   What will they be thinking and tanking Enlight me! Like 1 Reply

3. 5

   M Sizini Says:

   November 15th, 2011 at 5:09 pm

   
   

   “According to the workshop trainer . . . the experts are expected to help government . . . to integrate population dynamics into climate change initiatives . . . .” This, presumably, is the intended follow-up to the workshop. Unfortunately, it raises more questions than it answers: 1. Were all those who were invited to attend the workshop already experts in population dynamics and climate change or did their attendance automatically confer expertise upon them? 2. Is the expectation that the ‘experts’ will do something just that – mere expectation – or have they been given a systematic action plan to follow, plus the motivation [allowances?] to follow it? 3. Will the government sincerely welcome practical help in this area? The government has no really long-term policies; its foresight is limited to about thirty days; and its style is almost entirely reactive. 4. When ‘population dynamics’ has been stripped of its disguise and we find that we are talking about ‘birth control’, will we feel that our cultural values are under threat? Will we regard this as an attack on our God-given right to unrestricted insemination? Will we ‘recognize’ it as another devious attempt to enforce the homosexualization of our children? 5. Does our government have any climate-change initiatives? If it does, is there anything to show for them, other than a pile of documents gathering dust in a government store? The implementation of change always costs time and money, and sometimes requires us to discard time-honored beliefs and practices that no longer contribute to our survival. Do we have the time, money, flexibility and the individualized action plans necessary for success to be a possibility? Clearly, Ms Nyasulu knows how difficult it is to get effective action after the workshop allowances have been spent. She says, ‘time has come to stop the rhetoric and take action to make a difference.’ The time has indeed come, but do we have the action heroes? I would like to hear from some of the participants. Are you really going to make a difference? Tell us what you are going to do, and make us eat our cynicism. One thing is certain: the successful implementation of an integrated population dynamics / climate-change strategy is essential for the long-term survival of Malawi as a country worth living in. Time will tell whether this was truly a ‘think-tank’ or just another ‘talking-shop’. Like 2 Reply

4. 4

   Mwana Bii Says:

   November 15th, 2011 at 5:07 pm

   
   

   Mungofuna kudyapo ndalama za madonors. Ngakhale akakupasana ndalamazo mumathandiza ndani? Mumangogula tizigiligili ku Dubai ndi kumatha fuel kuno! Like 0 Reply

5. 3

   joseph maba Says:

   November 15th, 2011 at 1:44 pm

   
   

   i think malawi the donors are just wasting mane. how can yu talk of tanks? Like 0 Reply

6. 2

   Mphwache wa Bingu Says:

   November 15th, 2011 at 10:24 am

   
   

   Think-tank for what? The linkage is just obvious and no need for think tanks. This is justa way of greedy individuals and organizations to steal donor’s money. Form think tanks to solve genuine problems. Like 2 Reply

7. 1

   Vitamin Says:

   November 15th, 2011 at 6:40 am

   
   

   Another white elephant fo Nyasaland. Hard luck! Like 1 Reply