By Rahim Abdul
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Malawi has called for stronger policies and legal frameworks to protect vulnerable communities from the growing effects of climate change and environmental degradation.
The call was made by UNDP Malawi Technical Adviser on Rule of Law, Dr. Rowland Cole, during a media engagement on environmental and climate justice held in Lilongwe on August 31, 2026.
The engagement sought to promote evidence-based and ethical reporting on environmental and climate justice issues while encouraging the media to contribute to public awareness and accountability.
Dr. Cole said climate change continues to disproportionately affect vulnerable groups, particularly women and children, who face challenges including displacement, inequality and loss of livelihoods.
He said Malawi needs to strengthen its systems to ensure that communities affected by climate change have access to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.
According to Cole, protecting the environment should not only be viewed as an environmental responsibility but also as a matter of justice and human rights.
He further emphasised the importance of ensuring that climate-related policies adequately respond to the needs of communities that are most exposed to environmental disasters.
Speaking during the same engagement, Malawi Human Rights Commission (MHRC) Executive Secretary Habiba Osman said journalists have an important role to play in highlighting climate change and environmental degradation.
Osman said the media can help raise public awareness about the impact of environmental challenges, including floods, while also holding authorities and other stakeholders accountable.
She further called for the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment to be expressly included in Malawi’s Constitution.
Osman observed that climate change concerns are not adequately embedded in existing policies and called for stronger legal and policy measures to address the challenges facing communities.
UNDP Malawi, which has been operating in the country since 1964, continues to support development initiatives aimed at helping countries achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which all UN member states have committed to achieving by 2030.
