They came in their large numbers to Durban. These were great minds who met to explore the future in the thick of climate change scare. The talks raised hopes to the poor and peasant farmers of possible ways to reduce the effects, which are negatively changing people’s lives.
For two weeks they locked themselves in meetings both closed and open, spending hours and hours negotiating and opposing and yet the result lacks a lot to be desired.
Now they are back or heading to their respective countries. These are big brains from over 190 countries who gathered to ponder on the positive ways to address climate change.
To a poor Malawian the United Nations climate change talks might mean nothing because no matter how long policy makers meet, on behalf of the voiceless, people continue to experience climate change effects.
But the Malawi delegates who went to the talks either as an observer or negotiator, to them the talks have got a different meaning all together.
For youthful Heather Maseko a Chancellor College student who went to Durban under National Youth Network on Climate Change (NYNCC), she came to Durban to learn how negotiations are done.
“As a youth this is a platform to gain experience on the process of negotiations for United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) as a future leader,” she said adding that though the talks have not met her expectations, she hopes there is always next time.
The faith community was also part of the talks as observers. Act Alliance national coordinator Dingiswayo Jere feels the talks need to be taken more seriously than as it is happening now.
He cited the absence of President Bingu wa Mutharika and his ministers and other influential leaders like United States President Barack Obama, Robert Mugabe at the talks as discouraging and degrading to the impact of such talks.
“We needed as a country to have our President here because some of these issues they need a political voice which in this case can better come from him (President)” he said adding that the absence of other key leaders has also negatively affected the outcome of the talks.
Small holder farmer Eunice Chipengule who was among African women farmers who presented a petition to COP president hoping that before COP17 ends they will have their concerns addressed should be among frustrated people because as African farmers among other they were advocating for the Kyoto Protocol extension.
But Malawi’s lead negotiator Evans Njewa, who is the Environmental Officer for Policy and Planning, Climate Change and Global Environment Facility, took courage to say that even if it might seem that the Durban summit failed to bear fruits, talks on climate change continue outside the Conference of Parties (COP) conference.
“We might have failed to come up with something positive, but we are hoping that talks will continue until we reach an agreement on the second Kyoto Protocol,” he said.
Njewa said the talks have been beneficial for Malawi as they provided a forum for the country to present its position in as far as climate change is concerned.
Mainly Malawi stressed on the need for donor support towards adaptation activities.
Another delegate who did not want to be identified said he feels the talks are a waste of time and money because they are there to blindfold people as decisions are made prior.
“I can assure you that the talks will not yield anything positive, rich countries do not want to endorse the second commitment,” he said.
Principlal Secretary in the Ministry of Natural Resources, Energy and Environment Anthony Livuza said: “We came with a lot of hope but that hope is being tampered with. We are facing difficulties in negotiating because countries like the US are unwilling to clearly put the cards on table so that we move forward.”
But he disagreed the meetings are a waste of time but bemoaned their slow pace.
“We want progress so that we have the Green Climate Fund operational and we put in place the second commitment of Kyoto Protocol. These two issues ae key for Malawians because we face lots of constraints in terms of funds and and capacity that would allow us to trade with complex issues like carbon trading,” he said.
Different organizations have come up with statements criticizing developed countries’ efforts to undermine the climate convention principles and legally binding agreements. For Malawians this means more tougher times ahead.
Wednesday, 21 December 2011
Tuesday, 20 December 2011
Malawi losing K9 billion to climate change adaptation
The cost of adapting an integrated farming system due to climate change in a Malawian district has been pegged at US$55 million (an estimate of about K9 billion) per annum according to a research conducted by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) in collaboration with the Stockholm Environment Institute and the Global Climate Adaptation Partnership (GCAP).
The study was led y Dr Muyeye Chambwera from IIED who also carried similar case studies in Bangladesh, Nepal, Rwanda and Tanzania.
Malawi is rating second from Nepal which is topping the list with us$ 20 million spent per annum at village level while Bangladesh is estimated to be spending us$10 million, Rwanda us$2.4 million, Tanzania us$280 million at national levels.
The research was aimed at identifying ways to assess the cost of adapting different agricultural systems from the local level, as each will respond in a different way to climate change.
The results revealed vast differences. The cost of adapting an integrated farming system in a village in Nepal could be US$20,000 per year, that of a rain-fed maize system in a district of Malawi’s US$55 million, and protecting the entire livestock sector of Tanzania could cost up to US$280 million — with all costs likely to treble by 2030.
Dr Tom Downing of GCAP says the research shows that adaptation to climate change must be better coordinated, with local and district level input into national processes and plans, and greater alignment of funding earmarked for ‘climate change adaptation’ with budgets for agricultural development.
“To adapt agriculture to a climate change, policymakers need to follow pathways of social, economic and institutional change from the bottom up, rather than rely on isolated top-down interventions,” says Dr Downing in a paper released today.
“Policymakers must align adaptation with existing development plans that aim to address inefficiencies in the sector. It is also critical that adaptation plans can themselves respond to new information and as-yet unknown directions that climate change could take.”
Recognizing that climate change adaptation is costly and that the country is losing a lot of millions towards this cause, Centre for Environmental Policy and Advocacy (CEPA) is of the view that developed country which are responsible for release most of the greenhouse gases need to take this responsibility of making available the financial support.
CEPA is an environment organization with main focus on policy, research, analysis, and advocacy for sustainable environmental and natural resources management and among other things, advocates for micro finance intervention.
“Micro finance is one of the options for adaption. This is important because people in Malawi were totally dependent on farming and now it has come almost impossible to farm because of land degradation. So soft loans will be appropriate in order to empower farmers where they can’t produce enough from the rain-fed farming,” says CEPA communications Officer Chisimphika Mphande
The study was led y Dr Muyeye Chambwera from IIED who also carried similar case studies in Bangladesh, Nepal, Rwanda and Tanzania.
Malawi is rating second from Nepal which is topping the list with us$ 20 million spent per annum at village level while Bangladesh is estimated to be spending us$10 million, Rwanda us$2.4 million, Tanzania us$280 million at national levels.
The research was aimed at identifying ways to assess the cost of adapting different agricultural systems from the local level, as each will respond in a different way to climate change.
The results revealed vast differences. The cost of adapting an integrated farming system in a village in Nepal could be US$20,000 per year, that of a rain-fed maize system in a district of Malawi’s US$55 million, and protecting the entire livestock sector of Tanzania could cost up to US$280 million — with all costs likely to treble by 2030.
Dr Tom Downing of GCAP says the research shows that adaptation to climate change must be better coordinated, with local and district level input into national processes and plans, and greater alignment of funding earmarked for ‘climate change adaptation’ with budgets for agricultural development.
“To adapt agriculture to a climate change, policymakers need to follow pathways of social, economic and institutional change from the bottom up, rather than rely on isolated top-down interventions,” says Dr Downing in a paper released today.
“Policymakers must align adaptation with existing development plans that aim to address inefficiencies in the sector. It is also critical that adaptation plans can themselves respond to new information and as-yet unknown directions that climate change could take.”
Recognizing that climate change adaptation is costly and that the country is losing a lot of millions towards this cause, Centre for Environmental Policy and Advocacy (CEPA) is of the view that developed country which are responsible for release most of the greenhouse gases need to take this responsibility of making available the financial support.
CEPA is an environment organization with main focus on policy, research, analysis, and advocacy for sustainable environmental and natural resources management and among other things, advocates for micro finance intervention.
“Micro finance is one of the options for adaption. This is important because people in Malawi were totally dependent on farming and now it has come almost impossible to farm because of land degradation. So soft loans will be appropriate in order to empower farmers where they can’t produce enough from the rain-fed farming,” says CEPA communications Officer Chisimphika Mphande
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