Zambia Launches Climate Resilience Project to Support Local Communities
By Shikanda Kawanga - SDI/PPHPZ
FUNDING community organisations undertaking climate resilience projects is crucial for building a sustainable future. These grassroots initiatives are often best placed to develop context-specific solutions, leveraging local knowledge and networks to enhance climate resilience. By supporting community-led projects, funders can help amplify marginalised voices, promote inclusive decision-making, and foster innovative, community-driven adaptations to climate change. Ultimately, investing in community organisations strengthens their capacity to drive meaningful change, protecting the most vulnerable populations and promoting a more resilient world.
Against this background, the People’s Process on Housing and Poverty (PPHPZ) in Zambia successfully launched the Next Level Grant Facility (NLGF) funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a climate finance project under the Voices for Just Climate Action (VCA) framework. The event was held in Lusaka at the Mulungushi Conference Centre Kenneth Kaunda Wing on 21 January 2025.
In partnership with Slum Dwellers International, HIVOS, WWF, SSN, and Akina Mama wa Afrika, the project will support 110 local community organisations and benefit over 100,000 community members. The project, which will cost about €318,000, is focused on projects related to Climate resilience.
Speaking during the launch, Minister of Green Economy and Environment Mike Mposha said, unlike typical engagements on climate finance advocacy, the gathering was not only to discuss climate finance but also to witness the recognition and awarding of fifty-five climate action grants to community groups that are often excluded from climate finance frameworks.
In a speech delivered on his behalf by Director of Climate Change, Ephraim Shitima, the minister said the climate finance funds being awarded to local climate actors have come at a time when such interventions are urgently needed as the scourge of climate change-induced droughts, floods, and heat waves in Zambia is dire.
In 2024, His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Zambia, Mr. Hakainde Hichilema declared the 2023–2024 farming season drought a national disaster, affecting over 6.6 million people across the country.
“The drought had a significant impact on key sectors of the economy, with the challenges being felt most acutely by vulnerable communities that lack adaptive capacity and disastrous climate impacts are becoming more frequent in Zambia, the need to build community resilience cannot be overemphasized.” he said.
Mr Mposha said the NLGF initiative is in line with the decentralisation agenda that is being implemented by the Government, which can be evidenced by the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) increase, which stands at K36.1 million per constituency thus clearly demonstrating the Government’s commitment to supporting community-led projects,” he said.
“While the Ministry works to improve the financial mechanisms to operationalise the Green Outcome Fund, the support for the climate finance grants and the VCA Programme’s climate financing approaches has been reaffirmed,” he said.
He said that the availability of climate finance enables these communities to structurally address the inherent vulnerabilities that make them more susceptible to climate impacts adding that most climate finance mechanisms exclude the very communities that need funding the most due to their informality.
“The grant facility witnessed is a unique and flexible climate finance mechanism tailored to grassroots community groups, who are often overlooked when attempting to access conventional donor funding from climate financiers,” he said.
Mr Mposha went on to say that the VCA-Next Level Grant is a stellar example and a true definition of inclusivity, spearheading access to climate finance for communities most affected by climate change.
“This endeavour truly aims to explore ways of ensuring that climate finance reaches the lowest levels possible, and the methodology of the VCA alliance, particularly PPHPZ as the fund manager in supporting informal groups that are normally regarded as high-risk, is commendable,” he said.
Speaking earlier, People’s Process on Housing and Poverty in Zambia (PPHPZ) Country Coordinator Nelson Ncube said that the project is expected to reach 110 local community organizations, directly benefiting over 100,000 community members through selected small projects.
“A total of 318,000 Euros will be channelled towards communities to support local projects focused on water, energy, food systems, and gender themes,” he added.
Mr Ncube said that the targeted groups, whether registered or not, must provide strong evidence of climate change work in the districts as the requirements to access the funds have been significantly lowered, considering the nature of most of the profiled groups.
“The application process was highly simplified allowing communities to use local languages, audio and video submissions, as a result of this streamlined approach, 1,200 applications were received from small groups expressing interest thus clearly demonstrating the high demand for such grants, especially in light of the ongoing climate crisis,”.
However, investing in community organisations working on climate resilience is a critical step towards creating a more sustainable and equitable future. By providing financial support, we can empower community members, amplify community voices, and unlock innovative solutions to the climate crisis. Together, we can build a more resilient world, where communities are equipped to thrive in the face of climate change.
