Malawi environmental groups call for greater climate financing to protect vulnerable communities
Environmental sector stakeholders in Malawi have called on authorities and development partners to increase efforts to mobilise climate financing and sustainability programmes aimed at strengthening communities’ resilience to climate change.
Speaking at a workshop on climate justice organised by the NCA-DCA Malawi Joint Country Programme, Alfred Kambwiri of the Centre for Environmental Policy and Advocacy said implementation partners working on environmental sustainability should prioritise empowering vulnerable communities to participate in climate resilience efforts.
He said communities should not only benefit from climate interventions, but should also be equipped with the knowledge, resources and capacity to develop and implement their own solutions.
NCA-DCA Malawi’s Tadala Chumachiyenda said climate financing was particularly significant for countries such as Malawi that remain highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, adding that the success of many interventions depended on adequate and accessible funding.
She said raising public awareness was essential to ensuring communities understood how climate finance was generated, allocated and used, as well as their role in holding institutions accountable.
Tarcizio Kalaundi of Trocaire Malawi said the country had made some progress in unlocking climate financing and strengthening accountability mechanisms, but said more cooperation with international partners was needed to ensure funding reached communities equitably.
The workshop brought together representatives from the Department of Environmental Affairs, faith communities, the private sector and the media to discuss shared priorities around climate preparedness and justice.
Participants called for greater transparency, accountability and community participation in the management of climate resources, saying these measures were necessary to ensure climate financing delivered meaningful benefits to those most affected by climate change in Malawi.
