Malawi's Second National Communication - October 2011

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Malawi is vulnerable to climate change and extreme weather events (EAD, 1998, 2002a, 2004). The Vulnerability and Adaptation Assessment Report of 2001 (EAD, 2002b) has clearly indicated that Malawi is experiencing a variety of climatic hazards, which include intense rainfall, floods, seasonal droughts, multi-year droughts, dry spells, cold spells, strong winds, thunderstorms, landslides, hailstorms, mudslides and heat waves, among many others.

Currently, the majority of rural communities are experiencing chronic food deficits in many parts of the country on a year-round-basis owing to the effects of floods and droughts. This situation has been compounded by the high prevalence of HIV/AIDS that has created a large number of dependant orphans, and has also adversely impacted on rural household food production systems, as well as the quality of life and sustainable livelihoods.

The increasing prevalence of the recurrent floods and droughts is of major concern to the Government of Malawi because of their far-reaching consequences on food, water, health and energy. Erratic rains have resulted in acute crop failure, despite concerted efforts to improve seasonal weather forecasting at the beginning of the rainy season. Crop failure has resulted in food insecurity and malnutrition, especially among vulnerable rural communities. On the other hand, floods have resulted in the disruption of hydroelectric power generation, water pollution, and increased incidences of diseases, such as malaria, cholera and diarrhea. It is against this background that the government has put in place several policies and strategies to address the adverse impacts of climate change on food, water, health and energy, as articulated in Vision 2020, MPRSP, and the Malawi Economic Growth Strategy (MEGS), among many other documents.

Key Adaptation Needs

The most vulnerable areas to floods are the lakeshore plains and lower Shire valley whereas droughts affect all parts of Malawi. Severe droughts occurred in 1915, 1948, 1992 and 1995, whereas recent floods occurred in 2000 and 2001. People living near riverbanks are the most vulnerable to floods, which results in untimely deaths, disease outbreaks, and the destruction of crops and property. During drought years, many people, especially children and the elderly, suffer from malnutrition and are easily attacked by various types of diseases. Livestock and wild animals are equally adversely affected by droughts.

In most parts of Malawi, rural communities have tried to devise ingenious ways to cope with and adapt to the adverse impacts of extreme weather events, including shifting homes to higher ground, storing grain in local granaries, hunting small animals, gathering and eating wild fruits and vegetables, sinking boreholes, and using traditional medicines to cure various ailments and diseases. However, some of these are not very effective. A list of actual and proposed adaptive measures in the agriculture, water, forestry, fisheries, and wildlife sectors are given in Malawi’s Initial National Communication to the Conference of Parties (COP) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) (EAD, 2002a).

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Key results & output

• Sustainable development and the integration of climate change concerns into medium- and long-term planning
• Inventories of anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks of greenhouse gases
• Measures contributing to addressing climate change
• Research and systematic observation
• Climate change impacts, adaptation measures and response strategies
• Education, training and public awareness

The aim of Malawi's Second National Communication is to (i) strengthening the technical and institutional capacities of various public and private sector organizations to acquire skills and competencies in mainstreaming climate change issues into their respective sectoral programmes, policies and strategies, (ii) contributing to global efforts in better understanding the various sources and sinks of greenhouse gases, potential impacts of climate change, and effective response measures to achieve the ultimate goal of UNFCCC of stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere to a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. (iii)

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Monitoring & evaluation

In 1992, countries joined an international treaty, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, to cooperatively consider what they could do to limit average global temperature increases and the resulting climate change, and to cope with whatever impacts were, by then, inevitable.

Parties to the Convention must submit national reports on implementation of the Convention to the Conference of the Parties (COP). The required contents of national communications and the timetable for their submission are different for Annex I and non-Annex I Parties. This is in accordance with the principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities" enshrined in the Convention.

The core elements of the national communications for both Annex I and non-Annex I Parties are information on emissions and removals of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and details of the activities a Party has undertaken to implement the Convention. National communications usually contain information on national circumstances, vulnerability assessment, financial resources and transfer of technology, and education, training and public awareness.

Since 1994, governments have invested significant time and resources in the preparation, collection and validation of data on GHG emissions, and the COP has made determined efforts to improve the quality and consistency of the data, which are ensured by established guidelines for reporting. Non-Annex I Parties receive financial and technical assistance in preparing their national communications, facilitated by the UNFCCC secretariat.

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