Climate Change In Mali: Institutional Analysis of l’Agence de l’Environnement et du Développement Durable (AEDD) and l’Agence Nationale de la Météorologie (Mali-Météo)

This technical assessment report reviews an institutional analysis of the Agence de l’Environnement et du Développement Durable (AEDD) and the Agence Nationale de la Météorologie (Mali-Météo), carried out in close collaboration with USAID/Mali. The purpose of the report is to identify capacity and needs within the two institutions, and gather vetted and specific recommendations to help the agencies respond to climate change challenges.

The assessment was carried out during a field visit to Mali from January 11-24, 2014. The assessment team reviewed Mali’s National Adaptive Capacity Framework (NAC), as well as internally reviewed the two institutions with five core functions as priority: 1) assessments to guide decision-making; 2) prioritization to respond to climate change issues; 3) coordination of disparate actors from the national to the local level; 4) information management in support of adaptation and mitigation measures; 5) climate risk reduction priorities and actions; and 6) an additional function to the NAC – institutional sustainability.

AEDD coordinates and implements Mali’s National Policy for Environmental Protection, and harmonization among sub-policies, as well as the national climate change policy. AEDD works closely with Mali-Météo, which is the country’s weather and climate services agency. The assessment proposed a range of options to expand capacity and strengthen the agencies’ response to climate change (see excerpt).

Excerpt from the report:

The recommended options employ the NAC and USAID assessment frameworks structured around the six institutional functions below:

• Assessment: Support the creation of an Information and Data Management Charter that spells out how intersectorial information on climate change issues is to be collected, housed, and used by government and the general public. Invest in the expansion of the data management system being implemented by the World Bank National System of Integrated Management of Environmental Information (SNGIE) to cover the entire country.
• Prioritization: Strengthen the mainstreaming of “climate-proofing” into mainline ministries to go beyond the current agriculture, water, and livestock production sectors. Expand climate-proofing into the Plan de Développement Economique, Social et Culturel (PDSEC) regional-, cercle-, and commune-level plans. Support the expansion of the AEDD into the eight regions so that public education, coordination, and monitoring of climate change adaptation and mitigation can occur at this scale.
• Coordination: Contribute to the mapping of climate change interventions in Mali. Long-term support for updating the data bases and accompanying maps will be needed for years to come. Expand climate vulnerability mapping at the regional level but build the capacity of regional and local stakeholders to participate in the process. International funding agencies need to decide whether to inject contributions into the Mali Climate Fund. Donor agencies face two choices—they can either obtain a seat at the AEDD table by contributing to this basket fund, or they can design, implement,and monitor regional and local climate change adaptation and mitigation projects through the specific multi-lateral or bilateral project cycle of each donor.
• Information Management: Support the AEDD Climate Fund communication and outreach plan. Provide complementary funding to the AEDD Information Center, which is currently the object of expected World Bank support, but expand these information centers into the regions. The debate on climate change is excessively concentrated in Bamako. Concerted efforts are needed to get information out to the regions and down to the level of communes.
• Climate Risk Management: Support the decentralization of AEDD to the regional level. Expand the capacity of the agency to build the climate change “reflex” into all sectors of society while recognizing that the agency is itself still in its early stages. AEDD staff are passionate about their mission and need support to expand into the regions.
• Institutional Sustainability: Contribute to the preparation of an AEDD long-term business plan to help prepare the agency for longer-term financial autonomy. Reinforce the technical skills of current AEDD staff, but support the development of partnerships with international academic and research institutions to provide targeted short-term training to address internal knowledge needs.