Why invest in resilience?

This policy brief argues for increased investment in resilience in Malawi to mitigate the rising economic costs of extreme weather events. It introduces the 'triple dividend' of resilience—avoided losses, unlocked development potential, and co-benefits—and provides evidence from various sectors and regions showing that such investments are highly cost-effective compared to humanitarian aid.

• Malawi faces significant and increasing economic losses from extreme weather events, with an average annual GDP loss of approximately 1.7% due to droughts and floods, which is more than five times the 0.3% average for Least Developed Countries (LDCs). Specific events include the 2015 floods, which reduced annual GDP growth by 0.6%, and the 2016 drought, which had a cumulative GDP impact of 5.6%.
• Climate projections for Malawi indicate continued warming and a higher likelihood of extreme rainfall, including both droughts and floods. While overall economic growth may not slow in the next two decades, the economic implications are expected to become significantly more severe after 2050, depending on the success of Paris Agreement mitigation targets.
• Investing in resilience provides a 'triple dividend': the first is avoided losses (saving lives and reducing infrastructure/economic damage); the second is the unlocking of development potential (e.g., encouraging household savings and entrepreneurship); and the third consists of co-benefits from disaster risk management that contribute to general development gains.
• Resilience investments are highly cost-effective across multiple sectors, with benefit-cost ratios typically exceeding 3:1 and sometimes reaching 50:1. In infrastructure, the World Bank reports a US$4 return for every dollar invested. In Kenya, Ethiopia, and Somalia, every US$1 spent on safety nets or resilience programming results in net benefits between US$2.3 and US$3.3.
• Climate-smart agriculture interventions in Malawi's Mzimba district, including alternative crop types and soil water conservation training, yielded US$24 of net benefits for every dollar invested. Additionally, the use of drought-tolerant and early-maturing crop varieties can significantly reduce annual drought costs for maize in countries like Angola, Tanzania, and Zambia.
• The document recommends that Malawi operationalise its National Resilience Strategy, capitalise the Climate Change Management Fund, scale up disaster risk financing and social protection, and ensure that Vision 2063 and the creation of one million green jobs integrate climate risk and resilience opportunities.

APA

Climate and Development Knowledge Network (2020). Why invest in resilience? https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/Why-invest-in-resilience_A-BRACC-policy-brief.pdf

Chicago

Climate and Development Knowledge Network. Why invest in resilience? 2020. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/Why-invest-in-resilience_A-BRACC-policy-brief.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |title=Why invest in resilience? |date=October 2020 |url=https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/Why-invest-in-resilience_A-BRACC-policy-brief.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climateanddevelopmentknowledgenetwork2020why, author = {{Climate and Development Knowledge Network}}, title = {{Why invest in resilience?}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, year = {2020}, month = oct, url = {https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/Why-invest-in-resilience_A-BRACC-policy-brief.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }