Participation and planning for climate change: Lessons from an experimental project in Maputo, Mozambique

The project 'Public, Private, People Partnerships for Climate Compatible Development' (4PCCD) focused on the Chamanculo C neighbourhood in Maputo to test participatory planning methods. By establishing a community-led Climate Planning Committee (CPC), the project enabled residents to integrate climate concerns with local development priorities, such as drainage and waste management. The findings suggest that local citizens are eager to engage in climate action and that participatory methods can bridge the gap between technical climate information and the lived experience of vulnerable urban populations.

• Maputo faces significant climate vulnerabilities, including temperature increases, sea level rise, and extreme precipitation, which are exacerbated by high poverty levels and a lack of basic infrastructure. Approximately 70% of the city's residents live in informal settlements lacking water, sanitation, and drainage.
• In the Chamanculo C neighbourhood, vulnerability is specifically linked to soil characteristics, deficient drainage, and the presence of accumulated waste up to 5 metres high, which blocks drainage canals and increases runoff.
• The project utilised Participatory Action Plan Development (PAPD), a methodology designed to build local consensus and share power between marginalised citizens and institutions. This process involves six steps: preparation, problem census/prioritisation, information gathering, analysis of solutions, public feedback, and action planning.
• A central achievement of the project was the creation of a community-led Climate Planning Committee (CPC), which took leadership of the planning process and developed a Community Plan for Climate Change Adaptation.
• Residents of Chamanculo C prioritised improving drainage, repairing water supply networks, and creating a recycling centre for waste management, while explicitly rejecting relocation due to the potential impact on their livelihoods.
• The project successfully established new communication channels and networks between the community and various stakeholders, including the Maputo Municipality, the Ministry of Environment, the water utility FIPAG, and the National Environment Fund (FUNAB).
• The project demonstrated that climate change information is most effective when linked to previous experiences of disasters and integrated into local development priorities, rather than presented as purely technical data.

APA

Broto, V. C., Boyd, E., Ensor, J., Seventine, C., Macucule, D. A., & Allen, C. (2015). Participation and planning for climate change: Lessons from an experimental project in Maputo, Mozambique. Climate and Development Knowledge Network. http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/CDKN_Maputo-Mozambique_BP.pdf

Chicago

Broto, Vanesa Castán, Emily Boyd, Jonathan Ensor, Carlos Seventine, Domingos Augusto Macucule, and Charlotte Allen. Participation and planning for climate change: Lessons from an experimental project in Maputo, Mozambique. Climate and Development Knowledge Network, 2015. http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/CDKN_Maputo-Mozambique_BP.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Broto |first1=Vanesa Castán |last2=Boyd |first2=Emily |last3=Ensor |first3=Jonathan |last4=Seventine |first4=Carlos |last5=Macucule |first5=Domingos Augusto |last6=Allen |first6=Charlotte |title=Participation and planning for climate change: Lessons from an experimental project in Maputo, Mozambique |publisher=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |date=August 2015 |url=http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/CDKN_Maputo-Mozambique_BP.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{broto2015participation, author = {Broto, Vanesa Castán and Boyd, Emily and Ensor, Jonathan and Seventine, Carlos and Macucule, Domingos Augusto and Allen, Charlotte}, title = {{Participation and planning for climate change: Lessons from an experimental project in Maputo, Mozambique}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, year = {2015}, month = aug, url = {http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/CDKN_Maputo-Mozambique_BP.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }