The Tenure and Global Climate Change (TGCC) program provides USAID with the opportunity to explore the relationship between the governance and tenure of agriculture, forests, and fisheries and the achievement of global climate change programming objectives through technical analysis, field work, and policy support. During this quarter, TGCC continued engagement with donors and civil society on land issues in Zambia, while carrying out training of 32 new staff associated with customary land documentation processes in Chipata; continued support for public consultations associated with the Draft National Land Use Policy in Burma; carried out preparations for field pilot work in Burma; and, developed terms of reference for future mangrove and commodity supply chain work.
Zambia: Grants and subcontracts for the coming year’s agroforestry and tenure implementation were awarded during this quarter including agroforestry work with Community Markets for Conservation (COMACO), land tenure work with the Chipata District Land Alliance (CDLA), and communication, outreach and methodological support with Mwananga Theatre Group and Terra Firma. CDLA held the third round of village meetings across Maguya, Mnukwa and Mshawa Chiefdoms to validate the outcomes of the village governance meetings and mapping activities. CDLA hired more than 30 new field staff, and a three- week training/practical was held to build the team capacity in mobile data collection, map reading and facilitation skills. Household land demarcation and claims began in 16 villages of Maguya Chiefdom. On policy engagement, the quarter culminated in three consultation events: between national government, civil society and cooperating partners; among national civil society organizations; and between traditional authorities and government in Eastern Province. USAID and TGCC agreed on annual work plan directions toward the end of the quarter, including planned expansion activities.
Burma: During this quarter, TGCC opened its Yangon office and began hiring administrative staff. TGCC continued to support the consultation process around the public release of the draft National Land Use Policy, supporting consultations associated with a review of the sixth draft of the Policy. The Technical Steering Committee that will vet TGCC activities and ensure communication and collaboration among project stakeholders at the national level was established. USAID and TGCC agreed on an annual task work plan during a visit to Burma from the USAID Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) and Alternate COR (ACOR).
Other Activities: TGCC completed an annual work plan and submitted a revised annual budget. Following the annual work plan completion, TGCC developed draft concepts with USAID on the Tropical Forest Alliance (TFA) 2020 and on mangroves and tenure. TGCC and USAID held discussions on engagement at the 21st Conference of the Parties for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Challenges: Challenges were encountered in Zambia in Mshawa Chiefdom where the chief has not been formally installed and some communities are resisting the authority of the new Chief Mshawa, and thus rejecting the TGCC work. The new Chief is expected to be installed in early August, and TGCC will hold off on further work until that time. With staff on three different continents, maintaining open communication is a constant challenge. TGCC continued to improve communication and coordination with USAID missions, and a communication protocol was reviewed over the quarter and biweekly phone calls on Burma and Zambia were instituted.
Priorities: Key priorities for the next quarter in Zambia are to further refine field and data processes; launch the second phase of Chipata agroforestry work; and, continue to support dialogue between CSOs, government, and traditional authorities. In Burma, priorities are to develop future legal and policy engagement direction, and agree on pilot site selection and complete initial tenure assessments. Other priorities are to share REDD+ and Resource Tenure Assessments, launch a TFA 2020 and mangrove analyses, and decide on next steps for the Marine Resource Tenure Primer.