Making the linkages between climate change adaptation and spatial planning in Malawi

The projected impacts of climate change are likely to reverse social and economic development in sub-Saharan Africa, exacerbating the challenges of advancing sustainable development and meeting the millennium Development Goals (mDGs). Given the rapid and widespread urbanization occurring throughout sub-Saharan Africa, in particular Malawi, these challenges will be increasingly concentrated in cities. However, climate change and sustainable development policies in Malawi focus largely on rural areas. As a consequence, the new environmental and demographic challenges facing cities and the clear and immediate need for spatial planning are not addressed. This paper draws on current literature to make the linkages between climate change adaptation and spatial planning and to investigate the potential of densification and disaster risk management as adaptation measures. However, policy gaps, the acute shortages of trained land professionals and arrested political decentralization remain significant challenges for policy implementation. The recommendations outlined in this paper are intended to inform more appropriate adaptations over the long term by identifying where further research is required and by identifying specific actions that can be taken by policymakers to improve Malawi's planned adaptation in urban areas. Due to the lack of research that exists on climate change adaptation from an urban perspective in Malawi, this paper is intended to provoke wider discussions of this subject across the planning, development and environmental management community. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.