Projects

The Malawi Corridor Initiative (MCI) represents one of GCA’s leading initiatives.  Our project is assisting government, local communities and businesses to establish a wildlife corridor in Malawi that will protect biodiversity, sustain critical water resources and increase the income levels of rural people that live within and adjacent to the corridor.  CEED methodologies will be implemented widely, and GCA applies business-nature mechanisms that support sustainable local entrepreneurship integrated with enhanced conservation of natural resources in order to develop a corridor that links Malawi’s parks, protected areas and adjacent community landscapes. 

Malawi’s economy is 95 percent agricultural based and 90 percent of the population lives below the poverty line in rural areas. Malawi’s environmental challenges are deforestation, loss of wildlife, land degradation, water pollution, and siltation of fish spawning grounds. The MCI will benefit existing businesses and create opportunities for sustainable businesses to emerge. Communities will benefit from small business development training, technical assistance and start-up assistance to support tourism, agricultural and forest/woodland product ventures. Parks will benefit from local participation in management. Business-nature relationships will become more widely replicated, with an increased focus on biodiversity conservation and sustainable resource use.  GCA’s work is resulting in new partnerships with business and conservation groups to strengthen local economies through improved resource use and conservation for communities living adjacent to protected areas. The corridor will promote genetic exchange of wildlife populations, maintain healthy ecosystems, and improve economic opportunities in a region of extreme poverty.

Carbon-Poverty Reduction as a Tool for Rural Communities – GCA Director of Programs, James Tolisano, has been working closely in partnership with Michael Brown of Satya, Inc., a for-profit firm based in Washington, D.C., and Dr. Hartmut Holzknecht of the Australia National University (and a citizen of Papua New Guinea), to develop an innovative methodology for empowering rural landholders to participate in forest-based carbon sequestration projects.  The focus of the methodology is on building the capacity of rural stakeholders to strengthen their ability to plan, negotiate and manage forest-based carbon projects.  Specifically, the project provides the carbon “sellers” with the administrative, technical and small business management tools necessary to negotiate with local and international “buyers” and participate in the emerging global climate market.  The methodology will be tested at selected sites in Papua New Guinea, Brazil and the Congo Basin.