Zambia’s land resources offer many sustainable land management (SLM)-friendly business opportunities for private sector investments in the energy, water, forestry, agriculture, mining, tourism, infrastructure, trade and finance sectors, amongst others.
By the same coin, these investments play a potentially huge role in sustaining poverty reduction, climate change adaptation, biodiversity conservation, ecosystem services provision and the overall achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and implementation of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).
This was the premise that led the Global Mechanism (GM) in collaboration with the Ministry of Local Government, Housing, Early Education and Environmental Protection (MLGHEEEP) of Zambia to convene a dialogue with key exponents in the private sector on “Expanding Business Opportunities through Sustainable Land Management (SLM): A Leadership Dialogue with the Private Sector ”.
The meeting was not only the first of its kind ever held in Zambia as part of the Government’s commitment to engage the business community in an innovative partnership to support SLM, in the context of the Sixth National development Plan (SNDP) and Zambia’s vision 2020, but also the first organized by the GM in the context of developing integrated financing strategies (IFSs).
In their opening remarks, the Deputy Minister of MLGHEEEP, H.E Esther Banda and the Managing Director of the GM, underscored the Government and GM’s commitment to the dialogue with private sector in advancing SLM.
The meeting drew in international and local banks such as Barclays Bank and Finance Bank, the Zambian Development Agency (ZDA), Zambian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ZACCI) , Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA), utility operators in the hydropower industry , consultants working in the finance and business sector, sugar corporations, selected ministries and Government departments such as Ministry of Commerce and Trade media (TV and radio) and development partners including the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the African Development Bank (AfDB).
Key issues raised during the dialogue included the need to:
- create an enabling environment for the business sector to engage;
- assess the different risks associated with investments into SLM including issues of land ownership;
- address the key drivers of land degradation such as deforestation and charcoal-burning activities, through regulatory frameworks;
- reflect the real value of the land beyond productive values to include other ecosystem services such as regulatory, aesthetic and other cultural values;
- collect information on the revenue levied through the carbon tax and how this may be leveraged for SLM; and
- invest in infrastructure to increase the market price of land and to engender investments in SLM.
Eight key ways to promote the engagement of the business sector emerged from the discussions:
- improving the enabling policy environment by taking stock of SLM policies that are currently being implemented and emerging policy opportunities through which private sector engagement can be enhanced;
- enhancing private sector investments in SLM, by developing clear incentives and modalities for engagement;
- attracting and facilitating new foreign and domestic direct investments into SLM-smart ventures, technologies, and opportunities as well as reflecting the real value of natural resources in land-based transactions, such as those related to mining and logging concessions, agri-business operations, land banks royalties,
- aligning existing investment policies to SLM in the amendment of the ZDA Act;
- exploring opportunities offered by the public-private partnership policy and appropriate entry points for SLM;
- establishing a business forum for SLM to continue dialogue with the business sector through yearly meetings with the objective of information exchange and enhancing the public-private-partnerships;
- exploiting opportunities offered by other governmental initiatives, through consultations with the Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry (MCTI) and Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) on the industrialization policy and identify opportunities to integrate SLM; and
- exploring partnership with the AfDB through the Farm Block concept, Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) process and incentive and market-based mechanisms.
The next steps for the GM and the Government will be to:
- develop a clear strategy to engage the business sector in Zambia as part of the IFS based on outcomes of the business meeting;
- undertake analytical work to assess the enabling environment required for business sector engagement in SLM, including types of risks related to investing in SLM and risk mitigating model as part of the IIF/IFS;
- follow-up on existing SLM-related initiatives that can be up-scaled such as those implemented by the Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation Limited (ZESCO), the Zambia Association of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ZACCI ) and ZDA; and
- hold further consultations with government and ZRA on how the carbon tax may be leveraged for SLM related activities in view of the contribution SLM makes to climate adaptation and mitigation.
The GM would like to take this opportunity to thank all those involved for contributing to this unique opportunity to discuss mutually beneficial objectives and shared values for the sustainable development of Zambia.
For more information:
Ms Elsie Attafuah, Programme Officer, East and Southern Africa
Tel. +39 06 5459 2577
e.attafuah (at) global-mechanism.org
