Community engagement in monitoring local climate change adaptation plans

About the project

Mozambique ranks among the top 10 countries worldwide that are highly susceptible to, and severely impacted by, the climate crisis. Over recent years, Mozambique has endured the devastating consequences of extreme weather events, with a series of tropical cyclones culminating in Cyclone Ana’s destruction in January 2022. This latest cyclone inflicted severe damage on the provinces of Nampula, Zambézia, Tete, Niassa, and Cabo Delgado, resulting in heightened social vulnerability and an ongoing reliance on external assistance.  

Mozambique’s vulnerability is exacerbated by factors such as low adaptive capacity, widespread poverty, insufficient investments in advanced technology for early warning systems, inadequate water supply, unreliable sanitation infrastructure, and mismanagement of natural resources. The rising demand for land for natural resources is exacerbated by widespread deforestation in extensive concession areas and certain traditional practices utilised in subsistence farming, which harm the environment and contribute to climate change effects.   

The project will work closely with local communities in Tete, members of Natural Resource Management Committees and government officials to empower climate-vulnerable communities to actively participate in the development and oversight of local adaptation plans. Its overarching aim is to facilitate the integration of climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies within these plans, ultimately fostering resilience and sustainability in communities affected by climate change.  

This will be achieved by:    

• Carrying out a mapping of communities most affected by climate change in Tete province and conducting community sessions to identify key environmental problems 
• Raising community awareness to climate change related issues and promoting the use of sustainable environmental practices 
• Building the capacity of communities to report harmful environmental practices in collaboration with government authorities including through training 
• Training members of 15 Natural Resource Management Committees (bodies that promote community participation in the management of natural resources) on climate change adaptation strategies; strengthening their capacity to influence the development of local development plans and monitor implementation 
• Convening dialogues between government, private sector and community-based organisations led by young women, to discuss environment and climate change issues and seek solutions to mitigate their effects.  

As a result of the project, it is hoped that community awareness of issues related to climate change will be improved, dialogue with government and private sector will be strengthened and progress will be made towards the integration of sustainable environmental practices in local adaptation plans.