IISD RS @ Fifteenth Poverty Environment Partnership Meeting, Highlights for Monday, 1 March 2010, Lilongwe, Malawi

Summary Report
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8 March 2010

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Fifteenth Poverty Environment Partnership Meeting

1-5 March 2010 | Lilongwe, Malawi

Highlights for Monday, 1 March 2010

The Fifteenth Poverty and Environment Partnership Meeting (PEP 15) being held under the theme “Climate and Environment Mainstreaming and the Green Economy to achieve the Millennium Development Goals,” opened in Lilongwe, Malawi on Monday, 1 March 2010.
Participants heard opening remarks from: Richard Dictus, United Nations Resident Coordinator, Malawi; Ian Curtis, UK Department for International Development (DFID); Tamara Levine, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD); Kulsum Ahmed, World Bank; Ted Sitimawina, Secretary, Ministry of Development Planning and Cooperation, Malawi; and Paul Steele, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Participants then convened in plenary sessions to discuss Climate change challenges and the African response, National government’s role in mainstreaming climate and environment, and Local solutions for environment, climate change and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) before convening in break-out groups, which considered the above themes in more depth.

Daily web highlights

Monday, 1 March | Tuesday, 2 March | Wednesday, 3 March | Thursday, 4 March | Friday, 5 March

Tlhokomelo Phuthego, Ministry of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism, Botswana, noted a number of challenges faced by the Ministry including: policy and institutional fragmentation; capacity and budgetary constraints; and weaknesses in institutional and sectoral policy coordination.

Ted Sitimawina, Secretary, Ministry of Development Planning and Cooperation, Malawi, welcoming participants to the meeting, noted that Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the most vulnerable areas of the world and needs enhanced support to cope with climate change.

John Horberry, UNEP, defined environmental mainstreaming as the informed inclusion of relevant environmental concerns into the decisions of institutions, emphasizing that donor programmes need to be more environmentally responsible.

Clarisse Coulibaly, UNDP, Themba Kalua, UN Poverty Environment Initiative (PEI), Tlhokomelo Phuthego, Department of Environmental Affairs, Botswana, and Michael Mmangisa, Malawi.

Participants convened in break-out groups on the topics: Responding to climate change in Africa; Mainstreaming climate and environment; and Local solutions initiative for PEP.

Daily web highlights

Monday, 1 March | Tuesday, 2 March | Wednesday, 3 March | Thursday, 4 March | Friday, 5 March