UNDP-UNEP Poverty-Environment Initiative

 Please download the PEI Country fact sheet on Malawi (PDF)



Basic Facts of the PEI in Malawi

• The Preparatory Phase included extensive consultations with relevant government institutions and key donors and took nearly one year. The work plan for Phase I started in January 2009 and runs to December 2011. Project start lagged by one year.
• The Ministry of DevelopmentPlanning and Cooperation (MDPC) is the lead agency for PEI implementation and the PEI Team is based there.
• Other Government partners are: Ministry of Lands and Urban Planning; Office of the President and Cabinet; Ministry of Finance; Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security; Ministry of Irrigation and Water Development; Ministry of Natural Resources, Energy and Environment; and Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development.
• PEI Malawi is a core part of the UNDP Malawi Environment, Climate Change and Energy Cluster work-programme, along with climate change, energy and disaster risk reduction. PEI Malawi will contribute to the achievement of the UNDAF.
• UN-FAO is a formal partner.
• Total budget for Phase I is USD 2.7million.

The context of poverty-environment mainstreaming in Malawi

• Environmental degradation is a serious issue in Malawi, with equally serious economic implications. For example, productivity of major crops in Malawi is significantly below potential yields, due in part to reduced soil fertility caused by unsustainable land use practices.
• Climate change, natural resources and environmental management are included in the main national development planning document, the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy (MGDS, 2006–2011), under the theme Sustainable Economic Growth, as Sub-theme 4 – Conservation of the Natural Resource Base.
• Environment-related objectives and provisions of the MGDS have not yet been adequately operationalized – programmatically or in terms of budgets. Related performance indicators also need to be developed for the MGDS and relevant sector plans, such as the Agricultural Sectorwide Approach (ASWAp).
• Capacity enhancement and improving institutional coherence of the environment and natural resources sectors have been identified as key issues. Currently, management of natural resources is fragmented across different institutions and more coherence would be most beneficial.

Main activities of the PEI in Malawi

• Raising awareness of links between sustainable natural resource management, economic growth and poverty reduction, among decision-makers, civil society and the public. This includes an analysis of the economic costs of environmental degradation and economic benefits of sustainable environmental management.
• Strengthening coordination mechanisms and improving capacity within the Government and other stakeholders for integration of sustainable natural resources management into policies and plans. These include in the Office of the President and Ministry of Finance.
• Integrating sustainable natural resource management in the implementation of the Agricultural Development Programme (ADP) and other relevant sector- and district-level programmes related to land, water and energy.
• Increasing budget allocations, donor funding, private investment and exploring other financing mechanisms, including environmental fiscal reform, for sustainable natural resource management.
• Improving capacity and strengthened systems within the government for monitoring sustainable natural resource management. This includes support for production of a national Environmental Outlook Report, with a poverty focus, and development of poverty-environment indicators.

What has been achieved to date?

• Drafting of an environment addendum to the MGDS as part of the MGDS review process which was accepted by MDPC. 
• Drafting of a chapter on Climate Change, Environmental Management in the successor MGDS document 
• Development of sustainability indicators for the ASWAp monitoring and evaluation framework– jointly with the World Bank Malawi office. 
• Economic analysis report on sustainable natural resources use in Malawi, with some excellent evidence of poverty-environment linkages 
• Malawi State of Environment and Outlook Report (MSEOR) in collaboration with UNEP-DEWA formally launched and to be discussed in Parliament 
• Integrated PEI-Climate Change-Disaster Risk Reduction work programme in UNDP Malawi. 

Lessons learned

• Active support and involvement of the UNRC and/or UNDP Country Director makes a big difference and was very helpful in gaining critical initial high-level meetings with the Government.  
• Detailed institutional analysis was very helpful in identifying entry points and areas PEI can support. 
• Even during the Preparatory Phase, opportunities arose to integrate environmental sustainability in national plans and a key sector plan. These opportunities should be seized, which will require resources.  
• Capacity constraints in UNDP offices must be jointly addressed. 
• Regular communication, information sharing and monitoring are key to ensure project success.
• Involvement of senior officials from all key players is important.
• Consultancy contracts require further scrutiny to ensure compliance with output requirements and deadlines.
• Sequencing of key studies (e.g., economic analysis) to inform the project is vital before implementation begins.
• Review the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Act and National Forestry Policy in line with ASWAp sustainability indicators.

Way forward

• Dissemination of findings of the economic analysis report and uptake of findings into relevant sectors.Potentially, more targeted economic analysis can be carried out.
• Dissemination of findings of the MSEOR
• Further moves towards joint programming between Malawi Climate Change programme and PEI. For example:
  • Operationalization ofthe joint Steering Committee for Climate Change, Environment and Natural Resource ManagementProjects – which includes PEI
  • Combined technical advisor for Climate Change and Poverty and Environment Initiative Projects
• Working with MDPC in integrating ENRM into the successor MGDS (Malawi’s PRSP).