A landlocked country located in south-east Africa, Malawi has abundant natural resources, including
good soils and abundant water, wildlife, fisheries and forests, but the dependence of the population
on these resources makes them highly vulnerable to climate variability and change. More than 90 per
cent of the people of Malawi, mainly resource-poor rural communities, are predominantly engaged in
subsistence rain-fed agriculture. Malawi has suffered from a number of adverse climatic hazards
events over the last several decades, the most serious of which have been dry spells, seasonal
droughts, intense rainfall, riverine floods and flash floods. Some of these, especially droughts and
floods, have increased in frequency, intensity and magnitude over the last two decades and have
adversely impacted on food and water security, water quality, energy and the sustainable livelihoods
of rural and peri-urban resource-poor communities.
Timelines of the NAPA preparation process in Malawi
Funding for the preparation of the NAPA approved by the GEF
GEF agency approval date
NAPA preparation start
Submission of the NAPA to the UNFCCC
NAPA projects under implementation
Malawi listed 15 priority activities in its NAPA, which were then clustered into five
project profiles. Due to the importance of agriculture in the country, the first project submitted
under the LDCF is aimed at improving resilience to current climate variability and future climate
change by developing and implementing adaptation strategies and measures that will improve
agriculture production and rural livelihoods. The project is supporting six communities across
Project title: Climate adaptation for rural livelihoods and agriculture
African Development Bank
National executive agency (ies)
Environmental Affairs Department (EAD) in the Ministry of Mines, Natural Resources and
Environment; Department of Irrigation (DoI) in the Ministry of Irrigation and Water Development
Cost in USD million (LDCF component/total cost)
3.255/27.649 (co-financing = 24.394)
First submission of the concept note (PIF) under the LDCF
GEF CEO endorsement of the project
Update on progress
implementation on the ground has not yet started
Preparation and implementation strategy: Malawi’s NAPA was developed throughout 2004
and 2005, based on a multi-stakeholder approach and with the assistance of UNDP. Eight important
economic sectors were analysed (agriculture, water, human health, energy, fisheries, wildlife,
forestry and gender) with regard to the impacts of adverse climatic conditions, and 15 priority
activities were identified out of 31 adaptation options through a consultative process involving
public and private sector organizations, including media, NGOs and civil society. Emphasis was given
to vulnerable rural communities of Malawi.
The LDCF project was designed so as to build on baseline activities planned under the existing
Smallholder Crop Production and Marketing Project (SCPMP) of the African Development Bank
(AfDB), which is aimed at contributing to poverty reduction and food security in rural Malawi.
SCPMP comprises three components: irrigation development; a farmers’ support programme;
and project management and coordination.
Although SCPMP will indirectly contribute to reducing the country’s overall vulnerability
to current climate variability and climate change, it is not designed to address the urgent and
immediate adaptation challenges faced by the country. As such, the aim of the LDCF project was
to climate-proof SCPMP by implementing adaptation interventions and fostering the adaptation of
individuals, communities and the private sector, on the one hand, and by creating an enabling
environment for climate risk management to maximize the positive impacts of investments,
sustain their impacts in the long term, and lay the foundation for the replication of best
practices beyond the direct project activities, on the other.
The Government of Malawi views the NAPA as a national planning document and, as such, the
information provided is used in other national initiatives, such as UNDP’s work on
sustainable land management, the Green Belt Initiative developed by the Government, research
work in tertiary academic institutions and civil society activities.
Institutional arrangements in the country: The country has established a
National Climate Change Committee and is currently developing a Climate Investment Plan, which
prioritizes the development of an adaptation programme.
Experience with project implementation: The Government of Malawi started
working with AfDB on the development of an adaptation project based on two of its NAPA priority
activities soon after after submission of the document, in 2006. Although Malawi had not
had any previous experience in working with AfDB on a GEF project, the Government selected AfDB
to implement the project based on its expertise in projects related to adaptation to climate
change in the agricultural sector in other countries. The project received GEF CEO endorsement
in October 2010 after several delays related to the agency. Project implementation has not yet
started because AfDB is reviewing the project internally to ensure its alignment with the
Bank’s work plan. The project had already suffered delays from the change in template for
project submission by the GEF from a project development facility (PDF) to a PIF/PPG; the whole
process from project development to actual implementation has taken over four years.
Attempts to switch to another GEF agency were unsuccessful, as it is not possible to simply continue
the same project with a different agency. GEF procedures require a project to be cancelled and then the
whole process has to be restarted (endorsement of a new agency, development of a concept note, a
PIF/PPG, etc.) with the new agency, effectively resetting the clock on the project. This process is
necessary given the financial agreements for project implementation.
Malawi is implementing additional adaptation activities in the vulnerable areas identified by the NAPA
through the Africa Adaptation Programme (AAP), a UNDP programme financed by the Government of Japan, to
complement the CARLA project. UNDP is also currently working with the Government of Malawi to develop
an LDCF programme focusing on adaptation and land degradation.
Revision and update: Malawi has already initiated a revision of its NAPA to integrate
Malawi’s experience shows how some of the constraints imposed by changing
procedures or rigid procedures for accessing resources can result in major delays in the
implementation of a project on the ground.