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MALI

Mali counts 703 communes in 56 Cercles and a population of 20.25 M people.

Climate Vulnerability:

Mali, like many other countries in West Africa, has been hit hard by the effects of climate change. In this predominantly arid country, less than a quarter of land is suitable for cultivation. Land degradation and the dependence of the country’s farms on rainfall, make Mali extremely vulnerable to random climatic events. Climate change in Mali is marked by an average reduction in annual rainfall of 20 per cent, combined with limited geographic and temporal distribution when it does occur; increasingly high temperatures; more frequent periods of drought and flooding; decreased water levels in major rivers, marked deterioration in soil quality and greater ecosystem fragility.

National Response

One of the main objectives of Mali’s 2019–2023 Strategic Framework for Economic Recovery and Sustainable Development is to ensure a healthy environment and strengthen resilience to climate change. To achieve these goals, the Malian authorities facilitate better integration of climate challenges in planning processes at the national and local levels; and build the population’s capacity to increase the resilience of ecological, economic and social systems to the effects of climate change by incorporating adaptation measures, primarily in the most vulnerable sectors. Mali’s intended nationally determined contributions prioritize the transition towards a green and resilient economic pathway. LoCAL directives are aligned with the objectives and priorities of the country’s strategic framework, UN Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) 2020–2024 and the nationally determined contributions.

LOCAL-MALI

Brief:

LoCAL in Mali is supporting local government action on local climate change adaptation and resilience measures by integrating climate funding in budget transfer mechanisms and in the planning and allocation of local resources. Specifically, LoCAL aims to strengthen technical and institutional capacities in the pilot communes to ensure better local governance of adaptation to climate change, enable communes to create infrastructure and local services which are resilient to climate change through targeted funding, and promote increased awareness among local leaders and local communities about the impact of climate change and the relevance of a local approach to adaptation and resilience.

The Environment and Sustainable Development Agency (AEDD, Agence de l’Environnement et du Développement Durable), which serves as the national designated authority, is responsible for administering LoCAL in partnership with the other members of the National Steering Committee, using the Local Authorities National Investment Agency (ANICT, Agence Nationale d’Investissement des Collectivités Territoriales) structure for funding the communes. This is done with technical support from UNCDF and under the general direction of the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralization.

LoCAL in Mali aims to demonstrate and highlight the role of local governments in promoting local climate change adaptation and resilience measures by integrating climate funding in budget transfer mechanisms and in the planning and allocation of local resources. Since inception in 2015, LoCAL has invested in 36 local adaptation initiatives in Mali, accounting for about $250,000 and directly benefiting more than 70,000 people, mostly women. A joint programme with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization and LoCAL, established in 2019 to support risk management and mitigate inter-community conflicts through the PBCRG system, demonstrates LoCAL’s flexibility and potential to contribute to peace-building.

3 Localities engaged

36 Adaptation investments

70,000 Direct Beneficiaries

Budget: 250,000 USD

Action on Climate Change:

■ Interventions financed included setting up market gardening plots for women’s groups
in three localities in Sandaré and Simby (approximatley 11 hectares in all), equipped with supplementary pools, hedges and wire fencing, and solar panels to provide energy to an automated water pump; as well as resilient seeds provision. Grants were also used to build women’s capacities, with trainings in agricultural techniques, and procurement of agricultural inputs and seeds.
■ Sandaré also financed a fish farm project, complementing the garden plot effort, with two ponds and a well to ensure a steady supply of water to the ponds. The irrigation system
is made of PVC piping, and the well is equipped with an automatic solar pump system. The integrated garden/fish farm project is maintained by the Jama Jigui women’s group comprising 53 members, of whom 50 are women.

■ Additional interventions included forest rehabilitation in Simby and two irrigation systems and a solar-based well-water pump in Sandaré. All the stakeholders involved in the LoCAL mechanism – elected leaders, beneficiaries, officers of decentralized state services – have been sensitized and trained to better understand the issues and challenges related to climate change.
■ The fourth PBCRG cycle, to benefit the two pilot communes in Kayes and two in Mopti, was released in 2020. The communes have been working to develop their annual investment plans for 2021. Interventions identified a focus on building the climate resilience of local agricultural practices as a key livelihood option for these rural communes, especially for women.

PROGRAMME DETAILS

Objectives

LoCAL-Mali aims to demonstrate and highlight the role of commune authorities in promoting local climate change adaptation/resilience measures by integrating climate funding in budget transfer mechanisms and in the planning/allocation of local resources. Specifically, it aims to strengthen technical and institutional capacities in the pilot communes to ensure better local governance of adaptation to climate change, enable communes to create infrastructure and local services which are resilient to climate change through targeted funding, and promote increased awareness among commune councillors and local communities about the impact of climate change phenomena and the relevance of a local approach to adaptation/resilience.

The Environment and Sustainable Development Agency (AEDD, Agence de l’Environnement et du Développement Durable), which serves as the national designated authority, is responsible for administering the LoCAL programme in partnership with the other members of the National Steering Committee, using the Local Authorities National Investment Agency (ANICT, Agence Nationale d’Investissement des Collectivités Territoriales) structure for funding the communes. This is done with technical support from UNCDF and under the general direction of the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralization.

Achievements

  • LoCAL was launched in Mali in 2014, when a memorandum of understanding was signed between UNCDF and the government. LoCAL was initially deployed in two communes In the Kayes region, Sandaré and Simby. Oversight and monitoring mechanisms – including a UNCDF National Coordination Team, a LoCAL-Mali Technical Committee under the authority of the Ministry of the Environment, Sanitation and Sustainable Development and chaired by the AEDD, a Local Support and Orientation Committee established at the circle level and presided over by the circle’s prefect, and a Commune Committee for Technical Support and Orientation – have been established and are fully operational to assist with performance-based climate resilience grant (PBCRG) deployment and ensure LoCAL Is applied consistently In line with national decentralization systems.

  • The first two PBCRG cycles were completed and successfully evaluated in 2016 and in 2017. The communes also continued in planning and implementation of adaptation activities slated for a third year (2018) with the grants channelled in the first phase.

  • The Government of Mali has granted financing through the AEDD to LoCAL since 2016 and pledged further support over the next years. Phase II design was developed during 2016 and 2017, and peer reviewed and validated by the government to set the groundwork for LoCAL expansion. The Phase II design aimed at stronger alignment of the LoCAL PBCRG system with the Fonds National d’Appui aux Collectivités Territoriales (FNACT) managed by ANFICT.

  • ANICT was nominated as the country’s national implementing entity and is pursuing efforts
    for accreditation to the Green Climate Fund (GCF), with a view to scaling up LoCAL. Following its nomination, LoCAL supported ANICT in organizing a national workshop in which 179 participants learned about how the GCF works and what kinds of interventions can be financed through it. Subsequently, LoCAL and ANICT made a joint submission to the Mali National Climate Fund to scale up LoCAL Phase II and gain the necessary experience to access GCF resources. In 2019, LoCAL signed a letter of agreement with ANICT to provide technical and financial assistance to the Government of Mali (ANICT, AEDD) to support its GCF accreditation.

  • LoCAL has acquired strong synergy and ownership within the UN system in Mali. Accordingly, it contributes to UNDAF goals as stated in Mali’s UNDAF 2020–2024. Further, a joint programme with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization and UNCDF/LoCAL was established in 2019 to support risk management and mitigate inter-community conflicts through the PBCRG system. The $800,000, 18-month initiative is funded through the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) Peacebuilding Fund. This focus on climate-security-peace issues demonstrates LoCAL flexibility and adaptability and its multidisciplinary/cross-sectoral dimension. Under this initiative, LoCAL expanded beyond the two pilot communes in Kayes to two communes in the Mopti region.

  • Under the MINUSMA PBF initiative, new partnerships were forged with subnational partners – including the Regional Development Agency of Mopti, supporting the two new LoCAL communes in adaptation planning, budgeting and implementation of PBCRG-financed investments – and a local NGO, supporting all four communes in establishing community-based solutions to prevent conflicts over natural resources and promote social cohesion, e.g. through concertation mechanisms and cash-for-work schemes for resilience building interventions.

  • As local climate data production and access have proved to be a challenge, LoCAL began a nation-wide climate risk assessment in 2020. The exercise Is expected to provide critical science- based data to drive adaptation planning at the local level. The downscaling model highlights climate change trends to 2060, and serves as a basis for conclusions regarding current and projected climate risks in light of exposure and localized vulnerabilities across priority sectors.

  • Mali is one of the West African countries (along with Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire and Niger) included in the joint UNCDF-LoCAL–West African Development Bank (BOAD) funding proposal submitted to the GCF in early 2020. The joint proposal aims to scale up LoCAL in 25 additional communes in Mali and includes a component on private finance mobilization to test a blended finance model adapted for local adaptation finance.

Way Forward

■ LoCAL is expected to increase the support it provides through national and international partners. This support will include technical assistance from the treasury and the Inspection and Controls Department of the Ministry of Interior, in collaboration with the Technical Committee and the AEDD; climate risk and vulnerability assessment via the establishment of local information and data collection systems; cost-benefit evaluations, self-assessments and annual performance assessments; and advocacy and visibility actions.
■ LoCAL will build on existing synergies with local and national partners – including the Poverty- Environment Initiative of the United Nations Development Programme–United Nations Environment Programme, UN Volunteers, the Netherlands, ENABEL, the World Bank, the
Near East Foundation/International Institute for Environment and Development, and GIZ – particularly in the areas of climate mainstreaming and capacity strengthening at the local level.
■ The MINUSMA Peacebuilding Fund serves as a LoCAL-Mali bridging phase, expanded to an additional two communes, as the country mobilizes additional finance to implement Phase II. LoCAL-Mali seeks to scale up the mechanism to a larger number of communes, ultimately aiming for national scale-up. To this end, LoCAL, under the leadership of the Government of Mali, will engage partners for resource mobilization, including advancing the BOAD-UNCDF GCF proposal to seek final approval by the Board.
■ LoCAL will continue to provide technical and financial support to ANICT’s GCF accreditation and for operationalization of Phases II and III, continuing to build capacities and expertise on subnational climate finance. National and subnational authorities will be further supported in understanding current and projected climate risks by finalizing the ongoing climate risk assessment

More Information

Climate change adaptation falls within the core mandate of community councils, along with land use planning, natural resource management and infrastructure development. Climate change adaptation requires effective coordination of various stakeholders. As a gateway for development facilitation at the local level as well as custodians of all development, community councils are strategically positioned to play this coordination role. However, community councils seldom have sufficient resources to execute these functions.

The overall outcome of LoCAL-Lesotho is to improve the climate change resilience of the communities in the selected councils as a result of climate change adaptation activities funded through the performance-based climate resilience grant (PBCRG) and capacity development support. By promoting climate change–resilient communities and economies via increasing financing for and investment in climate change adaptation at the local level, LoCAL-Lesotho will directly contribute to one of the country’s development plan pillars – reversing environmental degradation and adapting to climate change.

The objectives for LoCAL-Lesotho are as follows:

• Increased transfer of climate finance to local governments through national institutions and systems for building verifiable climate change adaptation and resilience

• A standard and recognized country-based mechanism which supports direct access to international climate finance

Four outputs are envisaged:

(i) inclusive and accountable climate change adaptation is mainstreamed into local council planning;

(ii) government, local authority and population awareness of and capacities in adaptation and resilience planning are improved;

(iii) an effective country PBCRG finance mechanism is established and operational, providing additional funding to targeted community councils; and

(iv) experience and lessons learned are consolidated and shared.waiting results of annual performance assessment (APA). Lessons are being drawn from the LoCAL pilot to expand the LoCAL and its PBCRG mechanism to additional community councils in Lesotho and to attract additional finance to be channelled through the LoCAL mechanism to finance locally led adaptation and increase resilience of communities and local economies. This intends to prepare for a fully integrated mechanism into the country systems and a scaling-up country-wide.

Objectives

Achievements

Way Forward

Stories from the Field

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