Mainstreaming Climate Change in Zambia’s 6th National Development Plan (2010)

Zambia Department of Water Supply and Sanitation/ Dept for Economic Planning; funded by the RCCP

During the period 2009 -2010, the Zambian Government developed their Sixth National Development Plan (SNDP). The SNDP, like its predecessor plans, provides a blueprint for growth and socio-economic development across the country and across all sectors that contribute to the economy. By the time of drafting this plan, the country had become increasingly aware of the implications of climate change for Zambia, recognising that this additional stress factor would lower resilience across the country and sectors and negatively impact development if left unaddressed.

At the request of the Zambian Government, specifically, the Department for Economic Planning and the Department of Water, OneWorld, under the RCCP, developed and proposed new text for the country’s Sixth National Development Plan (SNDP), with a view to directing national strategies on adaptation to climate variability and change. The work involved a review of the 5th National Development Plan and the identification of entry points for integrating a focus on building climate resilience; a review of climate-related vulnerabilities in Zambia (in the water and related sectors) and a relevant literature review. Capacity building and technical assistance-based workshops with stakeholders to develop an agreed framework for the integration of climate change, followed by continued technical assistance in finalising the water sector chapter, supported the objectives of mainstreaming of appropriate climate change responses into the Water and Sanitation section of Zambia’s SNDP.

The Climate Change Unit and the Ministries of Economic Development and Water and Energy motivated for the integration of climate change into the sector plans across the SNDP. The first sector to develop text, with the support of experts (OneWorld), was the water sector. Through advisory services and department sector experts, text was drafted and proposed. A workshop was held to debate the approach, and priorities and to agree a process of finalisation of this text. The workshop included experts, government experts and Directors, civil society and donors. The experts presented proposals and working groups modified and validated both the proposal and approach. This approach was then taken across all the sectors and climate change was integrated into Zambia’s SNDP, published in February 2011. This is the first national development plan in Africa to have taken this approach of considering climate-compatible development. The significance is that the SNDP guides budget allocations, meaning that Zambia will include climate change spend in its development spending budgets across the relevant sectors, in addition to accessing climate and donor finance.