Current projects
|
Search
|
RSS Feeds
Simlemba Sustainable Catchments and Wetland Management Project, Malawi
The overall objective of this project is to contribute to lasting poverty reduction and improved resilience of wetland dependant communities to the expected climate change scenarios for Malawi, particularly Kasungu District.
Project Description:
The proposed action will be implemented in three wetland sites within Traditional Authority (TA) Simlemba in Kasungu District, which is in Central Region of Malawi. The majority of households are resource poor agriculture dependent, disadvantaged through degraded natural resources, food and economic insecurity as a result of low agricultural production, increasingly frequent drought and a limited asset base.
Long-term partnership
The proposal is based on the long-term partnership between Self Help Africa and local NGOs in Malawi. Of particular importance is the 3-year Striking a Balance (SAB) project (2006-2008) run by FAIR (a joint programme between Self-Help Africa, Find Your Feet and Development Fund) under the Wetlands and Poverty Reduction Project (WPRP).
Functional Landscape Approach (FLA)
The SAB project developed the Functional Landscape Approach (FLA approach) from a participatory problem identification and problem solving process in Simlemba where fieldwork was implemented by MALEZA. The SAB project undertook field-testing in three sites which demonstrated its potential of improving resilience of rural communities to the effects of drought and land degradation by encompassing soil and water conservation measures, afforestation and diversified crop management practices among others.
The project developed Field Monitoring Methods, Technical Guides and five Policy Briefing Notes. This proposal has been stimulated by the growing recognition that the degraded nature of catchments in Malawi poses a threat to future adaptation and mitigation strategies for Malawi’s poor. The action will link the field experience gained under the SAB project, as well as further experience gained through the Learning Networks, to policy development processes for formal policy at government level (such as National Irrigation Policy and Development Strategy, National Adaptation Program of Action (NAPA) and National Action Plans) and formal or informal policy in NGOs.
Project Partners:
Project Implementation
|
Organisation
|
Role
|
|
MALEZA
|
Lead implementer agent and responsible agriculture and natural resource management.
|
|
CEPA
|
Implementing partner to MALEZA in this project – to lead on Policy and Advocacy work related activities
|
|
FAIR
|
Lead coordinating institution for the implementation of the project
|
Key Collaborating Partners includes:
|
Name of Actor
|
Role
|
Reasons
|
|
Environmental Affairs Department
|
Provision of policy guidance.
|
They are locally found within the communities and have technical capacity.
Provide policy guidance
|
|
Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security
|
Provision of extension services.
|
They are locally found within the communities and have technical capacity.
Provide AEDOs to supervise the home gardens and crop diversification.
Provide technical guidance for the production of various crops in the home gardens.
|
|
Department of Forestry
|
Provision of extension services and policy guidance
|
They are locally found within the communities and have technical capacity.
Provide technical guidance for the production of various tree species.
|
|
Total Land Care
|
Provision of technical backstopping, linkages to Private Companies for possible resource mobilization
|
Vast Experience in Wetland use and Natural resource management
|
|
CISANET
|
Policy and advocacy
|
Civil Society Network on agriculture related issues.
Provide a platform for networking and dialogue on policy issues.
|
|
Civil Society Network on Climate Change
|
Policy advocacy
|
Provide means for interacting with National UNFCCC Focal Point and alliance for climate change policy lobbying.
|
|
VNRMC
|
Community mobilization
|
For easy coordination, and for supporting the establishment of sub-district structures orienting community interventions.
|
Apart from the underlined key partners, the project envisages engaging also the private sector mainly tobacco farmers, estate owners and companies such as Limbe Leaf Tobacco, Alliance one, Premium Tama etc. These will be engaged in this project to address issues of climate change where the tobacco industry heavily contributes to deforestation and wetland use for nurseries and they need to support adoption of the FLA and afforestation among others.