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| Supporting
the Process of Policy and Legislative Reform in Favor of CBNRM
In
Malawi, natural resource management policies and strategies are outlined
in the1996 National Environmental Policy, 1996 National Environmental Management
Act, 1994 National Environmental Action Plan, 1997 Forestry Act, 1997 Fisheries
Conservation and Management Act; and a series of completed or evolving
sectoral policies. The forestry policy is currently in place but
is undergoing review particularly with regard to the pricing of forest
products and the role of Traditional Authorities and communities in co-management
of forest resources. Land resources and irrigation policy, parks
and wildlife management policy and fisheries policy have undergone considerable
revision and while in some cases these have received Cabinet approval in
most cases implementation has been slow or negligible. Water resources
policy currently awaits Cabinet approval. In contrast, a draft land policy
appears close to completion though it is still awaiting final review at
a national forum. This policy has been developed on the basis of
a series of donor-funded studies and builds on the work of the Presidential
Commission.
These
policies have incorporated several significant provisions in support of
CBNRM. For example, they give the Ministers or Directors authority
to negotiate co-management or collaborative management agreements with
communities. In addition, a Land Use Planning Policy is under development
and a wide range of other policies, outside the environment arena, are
approved or under consideration. These are likely to affect the way natural
resources are managed and used in Malawi, particularly the reforms related
to credit and monetary policy. Notable among these is the Local Government
Act that will effectively decentralize many CBNRM activities to the District
level and significantly increase the role of District Authorities in the
management of natural resources. For further information on the implications
of these policy and legislative changes see COMPASS Document 7 - Policy
Framework for CBNRM in Malawi: A Review of Laws, Policies and Practices
and Document 14 - Grassroots Advocacy for Policy Reform: The Institutional
Mechanisms, Sectoral Issues and Key Agenda Items.
The
process of policy formulation in Malawi has tended to be top-down, sectoral
policies have often been developed in isolation, policies sometimes conflict,
and in some sectors little progress has been made in implementation.
This situation is improving but it is clear from the policy framework review
undertaken by COMPASS in late 1999 that several areas of potential
incompatibility or conflict remain. To ensure that policy reform
initiatives incorporate community perspectives, the COMPASS Team
will strengthen the capacity of intermediary organizations such as NGOs
and other advocacy groups to represent local views.
We
do not anticipate the development of a national policy that is specific
to CBNRM. We must acknowledge that CBNRM is an approach to ensuring
sustainable development in a variety of sectors. It is the national policies
that deal with those sectors (forestry, fisheries, wildlife and so on)
that must contain the provisions for community-based management of resources.
In effect, we believe that COMPASS should assist the Environmental
Affairs Department, especially its representatives in the Districts (the
Environmental District Officers). These agents will work with stakeholders
and other partners to develop a set of principles that will assist in formulating
CBNRM policies that are coherent and complimentary and guide the implementation
of natural resource management activities in Malawi.
To
ensure that policy reform initiatives incorporate community perspectives,
the COMPASS Team will strengthen the capacity of intermediary organizations
such as NGOs and other advocacy groups to represent local views, by:
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| Community
Involvement in Policy Design |
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We
recognize the need to create opportunities for community participation,
as well as the need for improved information flows to enhance the quality
of their participation. Following the review of the policy framework
undertaken in 1999 (COMPASS Document 7 - Policy Framework for Community-based
Natural Resources Management in Malawi: a Review of Laws, Policies and
Practices) and the study on opportunities for greater involvement of grassroots
organizations in advocacy (COMPASS Document 14 - Grassroots Advocacy
for CBNRM Policy Reform), COMPASS focuses on two areas that require
strengthening in order to promote greater grassroots involvement in implementation
of effective CBNRM initiatives:
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Support
Efforts to Build the Parliamentary Committee on the Environment into an
Effective Target and Actor for Advocacy
Having
completed the groundwork on identifying the opportunities and needs for
advocacy, we work with civic organizations, NGOs and other representatives
of community groups to implement an agenda for presenting these views and
ideas to policy makers. A key target for such advocacy is the newly
created Parliamentary Committee on the Environment that is made up of 13
Members of Parliament. COMPASS works with the Committee to
increase its members' awareness of CBNRM issues and its understanding of
the principles and approaches that our Partners have established and espoused
during the first phase of building a foundation for CBNRM in Malawi.
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Improve
Grassroots Advocacy for CBNRM through Support to the Advocacy Task Force
We
recognize that in order for community groups to have a voice in the debate
on how to improve adoption of CBNRM, it is essential for grassroots organizations
to be represented in high-level forums and meetings with policy makers.
We originally proposed to achieve this by creating a Policy Reform Task
Force that would include members who represent the views of community constituents.
In reality, such a group already exists albeit that it has not played an
effective role to date. The Advocacy Task Force organized under the
auspices of CURE has met just twice since its creation. COMPASS
helps build the capacity of this group to establish procedures for promoting
a community-backed policy reform agenda with policy makers. In this activity,
we already have the support of the National Democratic Institute (a Washington-based
non-profit organization) that is already active in Malawi in building the
capacity of civic organizations for more effective advocacy. We also
work with the National Initiative for Civic Education (NICE) with whom
COMPASS has interacted on several natural resource management issues
during 2000.
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| Strengthening
Evaluation Capacity |
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We
believe that to accomplish this goal we must tackle two fundamental
issues: first, build the skills of NGOs and other civic organizations
to advocate effectively; and, second, involve traditional leadership
in natural resource management by broadening their authority
in this area.
- Strengthen
Policy Analysis Skills of NGOs
The
community initiated policy reform agenda is intended to provide
NGOs with a reliable source of information. The COMPASS
team works with NGOs to improve their understanding of how
policies, laws, and regulations are promulgated in Malawi's
legislative and regulatory framework. The advocacy role
is important for two reasons: local views offer decision-makers
a "reality check" that can help avoid unintended policy impacts;
second, local views highlight equity considerations by presenting
a clearer picture of who will gain and who will lose by a
change in policy. However, advocacy alone has its limitations,
as community views may not represent sound natural resource
management policy.
Many
Malawian NGOs working in the field of CBNRM are in need
of support to help them develop as efficient organizations
that are capable of drawing lessons from their experiences
and learning from others. COMPASS helps NGOs
obtain this support from and through organizations such
as CABUNGO (the Capacity Building Unit for Non-Government
Organizations) and other service providers in the private
sector. In 1999, COMPASS collaborated with
other potential NGO service providers to form a network
of organizations that have similar objectives. The
network itself will facilitate the exchange of information
among its members and may eventually form a focal point
for small NGOs and CBOs to contact when they are in need
of support services or information. During 2000, COMPASS
supported the participation of two NGOs at training course
on environmental advocacy in South Africa. During
2001 we expect to offer similar training in Malawi. Over
time, COMPASS hopes to build upon fundamental skills
in advocacy and participation to strengthen skills in policy
analysis within key NGOs. Policy analysis skills may include
natural resource economics; stakeholder analysis; organizational
analysis, and tips on drafting concise policy papers.
One
aspect of NGO capacity building that COMPASS has
already started to support is building skills for strategic
planning (See COMPASS Internal Report 3 - Workshop on Strategic
Planning for the Wildlife Society of Malawi). These
skills help the larger NGOs develop their own strategic
plans and in time may also create a capacity for larger,
local NGOs to assist their smaller, sister organizations
in this area.
- Promote
Increased Awareness of CBNRM Approaches among Traditional
Authorities
Ongoing
efforts to facilitate participatory processes can help change
written policies, but these efforts need to be augmented with
other changes to encourage greater attention and accountability
to village perspectives during policy implementation.
This was one of the most important findings of the foregoing
studies undertaken by COMPASS (COMPASS Documents 7
and 14). To achieve this, there must be a fundamental
change in attitudes and values of key decision-makers, especially
local traditional leaders. These leaders wield immense influence
in these communities where they have earned the respect of
their constituents.
The
COMPASS team actively promotes the concept that "it
takes a village" to manage natural resources. Traditional
Authorities are briefed on the importance and potential
impact of CBNRM as an approach. Moreover, we work
with the TAs to ensure that the responsibilities that are
being placed on them by government are accompanied by commensurate
empowerment to achieve their mandate.
- Build
Capacity for Monitoring and Evaluation of CBNRM to Support
Policy Analysis
A system for monitoring the impact of policy change is
an essential component of any comprehensive CBNRM program.
The COMPASS Team held a workshop in November 1999 to start
the process of elaborating a national CBNRM M&E plan and
this has been integrated into the Strategic Plan drafted
in 2000. We will continue to provide training and technical
support in this area to partners and their clients. In
all cases, our approach will be to present in detail the
rationale for rigorous monitoring and then encourage participants
to identify indicators to measure their own progress toward
meeting goals and monitoring procedures in preparation
for the elaboration of the final M&E plan.
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