National Climate Change Management Policy, 2016

This policy document is prepared by the Ministry of Natural Resources, Energy and Mining Environmental Affairs Department. The policy identifies that natural resources form a principal source of social wellbeing and economic development in Malawi and identifies the following issues that need urgent attention: Climate variability; Inadequate institutional capacity for managing climate change; Inadequate mainstreaming of climate change issues; Inadequate enforcement of climate relevant legislation; and Increasing deforestation and unsustainable land use. The overall goal of the policy is to promote climate change adaptation, mitigation, technology transfer and capacity building for sustainable livelihoods through Green Economy measures for Malawi. The policy aims to; Effectively manage the impacts of climate change through interventions that build and sustain the social and ecological resilience of all Malawians; Contribute towards the stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous human-induced interference with the climate system within a timeframe that enables social, economic and environmental development to proceed in a sustainable manner; Integrate climate change into planning, development, coordination and monitoring of key relevant sectors in a gender sensitive manner; and integrate cross-cutting issues into climate change management through an appropriate institutional framework.it seeks to achieve 6 outcomes, namely; Reduced vulnerability to climate change impacts through improved social, economic and ecological resilience; Reduced greenhouse gas emissions; Increased awareness of climate change impacts, adaptation and mitigation measures; Research, technology development and transfer and systematic observations enhanced and strengthened; Enhanced capacity to implement climate change related interventions; and Climate change and its cross cutting issues mainstreamed in development policies and in planning, development, coordination and monitoring of key relevant sectors. The principles provided for in the Malawi Constitution, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol guide the policy, these include; protection of human rights and freedoms; gender equality; sustainable development; polluter pays principle; precautionary principle; informed participation, among others. The policy concentrates on 6 priority areas for climate change management in the country, namely; climate change adaptation; climate change mitigation; capacity building, education, training and awareness; research, technology development and transfer, and systematic observation; climate change financing; and cross-cutting issues like gender considerations, population dynamics, etc