Zambia - Atlas of our Changing Environment

Civil Society Environment Fund

Combating environmental threats and improving environmental sustainability requires action and engagement from all levels of society, including the private sector and civil society. Studies undertaken have identified four problems or challenges faced by civil society organisations (CSOs) engaged in environmental issues. The challenges are: • Limited access to funding, particularly for institutional support; • Inadequate technical and institutional capacity in some CSOs working on environmental and natural resource management; • Lack of coordinating mechanism for CSOs working in this field; and, • Inadequate consideration of cross-cutting issues in these activities. In order to address these challenges, the Civil Society Environment Fund was established in 2010 to strengthen the ability of civil society organizations The Integrated Land Use Assessment initiative is aimed at improving the monitoring and management of land resources, and contributing to poverty alleviation, food security and sustainable economic growth. The initiative has been implemented in order to: • Assist land use institutions in developing and strengthening their capacity to collect, compile, process and disseminate reliable up-to-date information to policy makers; • Plan and carry out national land use assessments; • Develop up-to-date integrated land use information systems; and, • Set up a long term land use monitoring system. The collected data is used to inform national policies and action plans related to agriculture and forestry (Zambia Forestry Department, 2009).

to participate in the promotion of sustainable environment and natural resources management, thus contributing to Zambia’s development efforts. The purpose of the fund is to develop the capacity of Zambian civil society organizations to be able to work for environmentally sustainable development. The project will be completed in 2013. Some of the civil society organizations supported through the fund include the Community Based Natural Resources Management Forum, Conservation Lower Zambezi, Citizens for a Better Environment, Green Living Movement, African Wildlife Foundation, and Livingstone Green Initiative. Support is provided to these organisations in many areas, including organizational structure, innovative projects and capacity building (Civil Society Environment Fund, 2013).

Integrated Land Use Assessment

Integrated Land Use Assessment Project vehicle handover UN-REDD Programme, 2012

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Chapter 3 - Track ing Zambia’s Environmental Per formance