Photos : Malawi, Support coordination platforms for CSOs including women's organizations and the private sector for P-E mainstreaming to influence national debate and policy making, November 2021

The PEA team in collaboration with the Ministry of Economic Planning Development and Public Sector Reform, the Centre for Environmental Policy and Advocacy (CEPA) and CURE organized the 2021 Civil Society Organizations (CSO) 2021 forum on the 29th of November 2021, under the theme “Environmental Sustainability: Key to equitable Wealth Creation”.

Attended by 26 CSOs (not including Government departments and Academia), the forum sought to enhance the civil society participation in the sustainable management of the environment and natural resources of the country through the promotion of policy coherence and advocacy to leverage poverty reduction and food security in an inclusive manner. In addition, the forum provided the CSO’s, stakeholders and PEA Implementation partners with a platform to discuss Poverty Environment (PEA) issues, including study reports and emerging policy recommendations from PEA commissioned studies with the aim of influencing the inclusion of PEA issues into future policy formulation and implementation thus contributing to the attainment of the SDGs in the country. Furthermore, the forum allowed CSO’s and Stakeholders to get an update from other Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies on a number of Government ENRM initiatives including (1) Current set up for ESIA approval and compliance process, (2) Status of thin plastics ban and (3) Status on the Adopt a Forest.