COMMUNITY-BASED ADAPTATION GENDER-RSPONSIVE ACTION LAUNCHED

 

By Daily News Reporter

CARE International Zambia and its program partners have launched a BMUV-IKI funded project: Community Based Adaptation: Scaling up Community Action for Livelihoods and Ecosystems in Southern Africa and Beyond (CBA-SCALE+) in Lusaka.

 

And this is a multi-country and multi-year project covering Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique; and it is being implemented by a consortium of 4 partners.

 

The overall objective of the CBA-SCALE+ is to build community resilience to climate change while protecting ecosystems and biodiversity and it will be implemented in all the 12 wards of Zimba District, Southern Province of Zambia.

 

The specific objectives are as follows:

• To strengthen the planning and implementation of inclusive, gender-responsive and nature-based community-based adaptation (CBA) actions.

• To create an enabling environment for implementation of community-based adaptation (CBA) actions.

• To capture learning with the goal of driving increased support for and replication of inclusive, gender-responsive and nature-based CBA.

 

Speaking during at the launch Ministry of Green Economy and Environment Dr Dought Chibamba stated that this project aims to empower local people, especially women and girls, to take ownership of their futures, to innovate, and to adapt in the face of adversity.  

“By scaling these community actions, we not only build resilience of the people in Zimba district and Southern Province but also create ripples of positive change that resonate across all other districts,” Chibamba said.  

He also said that the government under the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment, it will try out the policies and guidelines on the ground such as the National Adaptation Policy as this will help to identify what is working and what is not and will greatly inform and contribute towards policy review and strengthening at all levels of governance.

“This will also greatly enhance efforts to scale community actions for livelihoods and ecosystems in all corners of this country and beyond Southern Africa,” Chibamba said.   

And CARE International Zambia Country Director Chikwe Mbweeda said that this project is very crucial and strategic as it comes at a time when climate change is reaching alarming levels in our country and is deeply disrupting livelihoods and the ecosystem.

“The project will therefore go a long way in contributing towards our desire to see a society that is free from poverty among the communities in Zimba district of this country,” she said.   

She added that CBA SCALE+ project it will provide a great opportunity to leverage the tested approaches such as the Farmer Field Business School, Village Savings and Loans Associations, Social Analysis and Actions.

“The design of the project also integrates our pillars of locally led, gender equal and globally scale and I am confident that this alignment to our strategy will help the project to deliver gender-equitable impact in the lives of women and girls and for the majority of those affected by climate change,” Mbweeda said. 

 

She urged all partners to have a collective responsibility to promote a sustainable world for all.

“Let us leverage our collective expertise, resources, and networks to make a meaningful difference in the lives of those most affected by climate change, especially women and girls,” she said.