Using climate information to achieve long-term development objectives in Malawi

This policy brief details a pilot study on the use of climate information for decision-making in Malawi. It finds that while short-term weather and seasonal forecasts are used, medium- to long-term climate projections (5–40 years) are not currently integrated into national policy or planning, despite their availability. The document identifies barriers such as inappropriate spatial and temporal scales, technical jargon, and short policy cycles, while highlighting opportunities to integrate climate projections into long-term economic modelling and infrastructure design.

• Malawian ministries and departments do not currently utilize medium- to long-term climate projections (covering 5 to 40 years) for planning and policy-making, even though regionally-downscaled information and IPCC projections are available.
• Several barriers hinder the use of climate information, including a mismatch in spatial and temporal scales, difficulty interpreting technical jargon, and the timing of information delivery. Specifically, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (MoAFS) requires downscaling for agro-ecological zones, and the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA) needs specific timing and spatial distribution of extreme events rather than probabilistic averages.
• The structure of Malawi's policy cycles creates a temporal mismatch with climate information. While Vision 2020 provides a long-term trajectory, the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy (MGDSII) operationalizes this through five-year plans, and sectoral planning is limited to a maximum five-year timeframe, making it difficult to integrate medium- to long-term data.
• There is a lack of integration between scientific climate data and indigenous knowledge. Strengthening these links is seen as a way to increase the credibility and acceptability of scientific information, as rural populations maintain trust in traditional prediction systems.
• Decision-makers identified specific opportunities for using climate information to improve resilience, such as using medium-term (5–40 year) projections for infrastructure. For instance, the Ministry of Irrigation and Water Development (MoIWD) noted that such data is essential for the location and design of future dams.
• The Ministry of Economic Planning and Development (MEP&D) sees potential for incorporating climate projections into economic models. Although they currently do not use climate information for timescales of five years or more when appraising policies, they are experienced in 10–15 year economic modelling using population growth scenarios.
• Increasing the use of climate information requires capacity building and the establishment of standardized projections. Many ministries reported that staff have limited capacity to understand climate information, and a country-wide set of standardized projections would reduce reliance on overlapping sources.

APA

Vincent, K., Cull, T., Chanika, D., Dougill, A., Stringer, L., Dixon, J., & Mkwambisi, D. (2015). Using climate information to achieve long-term development objectives in Malawi. Climate and Development Knowledge Network. http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/FCFA_PolicyBrief_Malawi_WEB.pdf

Chicago

Vincent, Katharine, Tracy Cull, Diana Chanika, Andy Dougill, Lindsay Stringer, Jami Dixon, and David Mkwambisi. Using climate information to achieve long-term development objectives in Malawi. Climate and Development Knowledge Network, 2015. http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/FCFA_PolicyBrief_Malawi_WEB.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Vincent |first1=Katharine |last2=Cull |first2=Tracy |last3=Chanika |first3=Diana |last4=Dougill |first4=Andy |last5=Stringer |first5=Lindsay |last6=Dixon |first6=Jami |last7=Mkwambisi |first7=David |title=Using climate information to achieve long-term development objectives in Malawi |publisher=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |date=January 2015 |url=http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/FCFA_PolicyBrief_Malawi_WEB.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{vincent2015using, author = {Vincent, Katharine and Cull, Tracy and Chanika, Diana and Dougill, Andy and Stringer, Lindsay and Dixon, Jami and Mkwambisi, David}, title = {{Using climate information to achieve long-term development objectives in Malawi}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, year = {2015}, month = jan, url = {http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/FCFA_PolicyBrief_Malawi_WEB.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }