Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability 

Zambia is a country richly endowed with natural resources including minerals, forests and land. However, corruption remains endemic in the management of natural resources. Corruption manifests in a myriad of ways such as land administration, licencing of minerals and benefits sharing of climate forest initiatives with host communities bearing the brunt of this corruption. The climate crisis and energy transition are anticipated to exacerbate the corruption risks specific to land, extractives and climate financing.

Our actions seek to contribute to CSOs and communities demanding transparency and accountability in climate financing, benefit sharing, mining licence award processes and environmental impact mitigation measures.

Communities’ and citizens’ participation will be enhanced resulting in an increased demand for accountability in land administration and environmental governance and in mining licensing, contracting, and environmental permitting, specifically environmental impact assessments (EIAs). This will lead to civil society to collaborate with target communities and duty bearers (government and mining companies) to respond and address communities’ demands.

• Facilitating the disclosure and simplification of information relating to international agreements, legislation, regulations, and guidelines for climate financing
• Enhancing transparency and accountability in carbon market mechanisms such as REDD+ using social accountability approaches
• Generating evidence on corruption risks in land acquisition and administration considering the effects of corruption and mal-administration in large scale land-based investments and projects on land rights including displacements
• In mining, promoting disclosure of agreements, including contracts, Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) and beneficial ownership information by leveraging on the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI).