Working for water justice in Malawi

The CCPM jointly hosted a special event in Edinburgh on the 28th of September to discuss how ensuring fair water access is a key part of Climate Justice.

Over 50 people attended the “Its Just Water” event, which was also supported by Water Witness International (WWI), Just Trading Scotland (JTS), Fairtrade and the Scotland Malawi Partnership (SMP) and was part of the CCPM’s mission to increase Climate Literacy in Scotland.

The keynote address was provided by Howard Msukwa, from Kaporo Smallholder Farmers Association, Northern Malawi supported by JTS, who stressed how pressing the issue of climate change is in Malawi.

“You don't really have the feeling of climate change issues here but they are real and they are affecting us. You need to support small scale farmers & do more to fight climate change.”

Tyler Farrow, International Programme Officer at WWI spoke about their Scottish Government supported work in Malawi on waters stewardship which works with local communities to improve the way that rivers, streams and lakes are managed.

Ciara Commins, CCPM Programme Officer, then spoke about how the CCPM is empowering communities to find their own solutions to water issues while working with other Scottish Government funded projects in Southern Malawi, like the University of Strathclyde and WWI, for a holistic approach that will maximise access to water.

In that spirit of collaboration attendees then came together to play an innovative water management game designed by WWI that emphasised the value of cooperation.