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Agriculture and Climate Change: Beyond Copenhagen2010-04-29Agriculture has a unique place in human development. It will be seriously afftected by climate change. Adapting agriculture is critical to food security and the nutrition of the world’s population. As a major source of greenhouse gases, agriculture also carries substantial potential for mitigation. In 2009, Platform members and partners worked to enhance understanding of the relation between agriculture, climate change, food security and development. In 2010 they will continue their contribution to the climate change debate. Download document South Africa Talks Climate2010-03-31What do people think about climate change in South Africa? Can communication and media strategies be tailored to support South Africa's response to climate change? Between August and October 2009, the BBC World Service Trust conducted research in South Africa to gauge public understanding of climate change. The research consisted of 16 focus group discussions with South African citizens, as well as 18 in-depth interviews with opinion leaders from government, religious institutions, the private sector, the media and civil society. Findings included: Many South Africans do not see climate change as having any special relevance to South Africa or the rest of the African continent. however, when prompted to think about the impacts of climate change locally, they link it to national issues which they are already concerned about, such as the loss of wildlife and increased flooding. Many South Africans use climate change as an umbrella term to refer to the destruction occurring in their natural surroundings, with changes in the weather and seasons forming part of the broader environmental changes people have observed over the course of their lifetimes. Most South Africans tend to view climate change as a ‘green’ issue that only the wealthy can afford to worry about. they are less aware of the potentially far-reaching social and economic consequences of climate change on South Africa, in terms of migration, food export revenues, and tourism. Despite recognising South Africa’s contribution to climate change, citizens express reluctance to moderate their lifestyles to reduce carbon emissions, especially as they see little government or private sector leadership on the issue. South Africans say that they do not want to sacrifice things important to them (cars or electricity, for example) unless the government reassures them that their actions can have a real impact. South Africans tend to view the destruction of the environment as an inevitable consequence of their country’s development. Opinion leaders believe that, while many South Africans are aware of climate change, they see it as a remote threat and are yet to realise the dramatic impact it could have on their livelihoods in the future. There is a feeling amongst the public that, politically and individually, South Africa lacks the will to tackle climate change in a cohesive and committed manner. South Africans believe that issues like HIV and AIDS dominate both government and NGO agendas, to the detriment of environmental issues. South Africans frequently mention recycling as a viable way to tackle climate change and environmental degradation. however, many are unclear how recycling links to climate change and often cite personal and systemic barriers to recycling (lack of time or lack of recycling facilities, for example). Read more... Supporting African Participation in the ICID 2010 Conference on Climate, Sustainability and Development in Semi Arid regions2010-03-29There will be two categories of applicants:
Have your say on Green Growth2010-03-19The OECD’s Green Growth Strategy team is setting up a protected website to gather views and inputs from a wide range of stakeholders. This initiative is part of the OECD’s broader efforts to promote an informed dialogue and enhance cooperation on key green growth issues. Country delegates, including non-OECD members, NGOs and other relevant stakeholders can participate in online discussion, collaboration and information sharing, as well as comment on the first draft of the Green Growth Strategy interim report (to be posted on this website in mid-March). To join this online community, please send the OECD Green Growth Strategy team (greengrowth@oecd.org) your title (Mr/Miss/Ms/Mrs), last name, first name and e-mail address. For more information on the OECD’s work on Green Growth: www.oecd.org/greengrowth Cities in a Post-2012 Climate Policy Framework: Climate Financing for City Development? Views from Local Governments, Experts, and Businesses2010-03-16This study investigates how suitable the international climate financing architecture is for cities and local governments in the developing world by integrating views from senior City Decision Makers, International Climate and Urban Experts, and International Business Representatives. The report discusses city level greenhouse gas inventories andt provides an interesting account of the position of local governments in the international climate negotiations. The study was prepared by ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability, with the support of the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) via the sector project 'Policy Advisory Services for Urban and Municipal Development' of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ). Read document online Micro-level practices to adapt to climate change for African small-scale farmers2010-02-23This paper discusses micro-level practices for adapting to climate change that are available to small-scale farmers in Africa. The analysis is based on a review of 17 studies about practices that boost small-scale farmers’ resilience or reduce their vulnerability to observed or expected changes in climate; it includes data from more than 16 countries in Africa, the Americas, Europe, and Asia. The review shows that African smallholders are already using a wide variety of creative practices to deal with climate risks; these can be further adjusted to the challenge of climate change by planned adaptation programs. We found 104 different practices relevant to climate change adaptation and organized them in five categories: farm management and technology; farm financial management; diversification on and beyond the farm; government interventions in infrastructure, health, and risk reduction; and knowledge management, networks, and governance. We conclude that adaptation policies should complement farmers’ autonomous response to climate change through the development of new drought-resistant varieties and improved weather forecasts, the provision of financial services, improvement of rural transportation infrastructure, investments in public healthcare and public welfare programs, and policies that improve local governance and coordinate donor activities. Read document online Second Pre-AMCEN African Civil Society Consultative Workshop2009-10-22The African civil society working on climate change on the platform of PACJA, an alliance of civil society organizations operating in 43 countries across Africa, met in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 19 - 20 October 2009 at the second Pre-AMCEN Civil Society Organisations Climate Equity consultative workshop. Recognizing that the consolidation of the negotiation texts has reached a critical stage, the group present at the meeting reaffirm its support for the African common position on climate change and call upon the High Level Experts Climate Change Negotiators from Africa to consider the following issues: Future of the Kyoto Protocol
Attempts to undermine unity of the G77 and China/African Group
Distortion of responsibilities of parties under the Kyoto Protocol
Support and Solidarity
Download document Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA) Political Statement2009-10-22Statement to the Second Meeting of the African High Level Expert Panel on Climate Change, 21 - 23 October 2009, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia by Augustine Njamnishi, PACJA Representative, Central Africa Download document Up-coming Carbon Markets Conferences2009-09-01
FANRPAN 2009 Regional Policy Dialogue and Annual General Meeting2009-08-31Maputo, 31 August 2009 - 4 September 2009 Theme: True Contribution of Agriculture to Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction in Southern African countries
Pocket guide to the Copenhagen Climate Treaty (WWF)2009-06-22The world’s financial and climate crises have a common cause: living beyond our means. The world is running up huge ecological debts, just as it has run up huge financial debts. Neither is sustainable. Our leaders cannot successfully put capitalism back together again without at the same time fixing the greatest single consequence of unsustainability – climate change. The links between finance and climate are not always obvious because of the way the world’s economy is accounted. Nature, our most fundamental capital asset, does not appear on company balance sheets or in most national economic data. So its depreciation goes unnoticed. Nobody is called to account for the fact that we are spending our natural capital like there is no tomorrow. When the financial system crashed, some countries bailed it out by printing money. When the planet’s life support systems are trashed, no such solution is available. We CANNOT make another planet. By filling the atmosphere with the gases that cause climate change we are undermining the planet’s basic life support system. As the former World Bank chief economist, Lord Stern, argued in his influential report on the economics of climate change in 2006, the failure to put a price on those emissions is "the greatest market failure the world has seen". But fixing that failure is a great enterprise. Our economic system – our civilization – is only possible if the basic resources of the atmosphere, oceans, forests and soils, and fundamental processes like the climate system and its carbon and hydrological cycles, remain intact. To make economics and ecology into enemies is to doom both. But to reconcile them is to open up the possibility of a richer, more sustainable, more profitable and fairer world. Yet, while politicians have spent recent months throwing trillions of dollars at a solution to the financial crisis, they have yet to truly address the still more serious crisis of a crashing climate system. The chance to make good that mistake comes in Copenhagen in December this year, when the world comes together with the intention of setting rules for controlling the gases that are creating that crisis and deciding how to deal with the unavoidable impacts of climate change. Download document Assunto: Candidaturas: Observadores da Sociedade Civil para CIFs2009-06-22Information in connection with the above, received from The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is appended hereunder. The relevant details are provided on the document. The application form is also attached. Issued by Nelson Moodley, on behalf of Professor Cheryl Potgieter, University Dean of Research Read more... Special session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) on climate change2009-05-25The twelfth session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN), held in Johannesburg in June 2008 focused its attention on climate change. A ministerial policy dialogue underscored the importance of the decision and outcomes of the United Nations Climate Change Conference held in Bali, Indonesia, in December 2007, in particular the agreement on the Bali Action Plan, which set 2009 as the end date for negotiations on strengthening the climate regime beyond 2012. Representatives also noted that Africa had a shared vision on adaptation and mitigation, using sustainable development policies and measures approach, supported and enabled by finance, technology and capacity-building. It was agreed that Africa must speak with one voice in advancing the continent’s interests in negotiations for the climate regime beyond 2012. Read more... "A Copenhagen Deal Without Agriculture Is No Global Deal"2009-05-0817th Session of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD-17) Chairperson Hon. Minister Gerda Verburg endorses AFOLU The 17th session of the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD 17) opened on Monday morning, 4 May 2009, at UN Headquarters in New York. Delegates adopted the agenda and began discussing the thematic cluster for which they will negotiate policy options: Africa, desertification, drought, agriculture, land and rural development. Opening the meeting, Gerda Verburg, CSD 17 Chair and Minister of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, the Netherlands, said agriculture must be included in climate change negotiations if fundamental mitigation and adaptation goals are to be met. She noted that biofuels are only a limited part of the solution towards sustainability, and highlighted that negotiations should be guided by the principle that we are here to play a role in "making poverty history." Read more... TerrAfrica Climate Brief No. 1 - Sustainable Land Managment in Africa: Opportunities for climate change adaptation2009-04-30Climate change is a threat to livelihood security in Africa Climate change will exacerbate existing vulnerabilities to land degradation, floods and drought in Africa and will challenge farmers to make major changes in farming systems.
TerrAfrica Climate Brief No. 2 - Sustainable Land Managment in Africa: Opportunities for increasing agricultural productivity and greenhouse gas mitigation2009-04-30Land degradation and land use change are the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions in Africa Soil and vegetation on the earth’s land surface store three times the carbon present in the Earth’s atmosphere. Landclearing and degradation turn this valuable carbon sink into a major source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. As land continues to degrade, livelihood options for at least 485 million Africans also dwindle with it.
TerrAfrica Note d’information sur le climat no 1 - La Gestion Durable des Terres en Afrique2009-04-30Le changement climatique constitue une menace pour les modes de subsistance en Afrique Dans les années à venir, le changement climatique accentuera l’exposition aux risques de dégradation des terres, d’inondation et de sécheresse à travers l’Afrique, et les agriculteurs auront plus de peine à opérer des changements structurels dans leurs systèmes d’exploitation.
TerrAfrica Note d’information sur le climat no 2 - La Gestion Durable des Terres en Afrique2009-04-30La dégradation et le changement d’aff ectation des terres constituent les sources principales d’émissions de gaz à eff et de serre en Afrique Les sols et la végétation conservent trois fois le volume de carbone présent dans l’atmosphère de notre planète. Le défrichage et la dégradation sont tels que ces importants puits de carbone se transforment en une source majeure d’émissions de gaz à eff et de serre. Avec la dégradation continue des terres, les choix qui s’off rent à plus de 485 millions d’Africains pour assurer leur subsistance diminuent aussi.
TerrAfrica - Land and Climate: The Role of Sustainable Land Management for Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation in Sub-Saharan Africa2009-04-30Preface Climate change and land degradation are major threats to the survival and livelihoods of millions of people in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Major new opportunities exist to help improve the livelihoods of African smallholder farmers, pastoralists, and other resource users while mitigating emissions of greenhouse gases, reducing land degradation, and addressing other environmental problems in the context of the current negotiations to develop a post-Kyoto climate change framework, and international, national, and local efforts to promote sustainable land management (SLM) and conserve biodiversity. This issue paper is an executive summary of a larger document with the same title. It seeks to help address these threats and achieve the potential of these opportunities by informing policy makers, development practitioners, and others concerned about these issues about the linkages between climate change and SLM, the opportunities and constraints to promoting climate change mitigation and adaptation through SLM, and the policy and institutional options to overcome the constraints and realize the opportunities that are now or are becoming available. Download document TerrAfrica - Climat and Gestion des Terres: Le rôle de la gestion durable des terres dans l’adaptation au changement climatique et la réduction des émissions en Afrique sub-saharienne2009-04-30Le changement climatique et la dégradation des terres constituent de très fortes menaces pour la survie de millions de personnes en Afrique sub-saharienne. Pourtant, il est d’ores et déjà réellement possible de contribuer à améliorer les conditions de vie des petits exploitants agricoles africains, éleveurs de bétail et autres utilisateurs de ressources naturelles tout en atténuant l’émission de gaz à effet de serre, en réduisant la dégradation des terres et en s’efforçant de corriger les impacts des changements et variations climatiques dans le cadre d’interventions locales, nationales et internationales. Le présent document prend en compte ces menaces et suggère des exemples d’actions destinées à informer les décideurs, les praticiens du développement et autres parties prenantes sur les liens existant entre le changement climatique et la gestion durable des terres (GDT), sur les perspectives et contraintes inhérentes à la promotion de l’atténuation des impacts du changement climatique au moyen de la GDT, ainsi que sur les options politiques et institutionnelles disponibles pour surmonter les obstacles et concrétiser les potentialités actuelles. Download document Municipal Responses to Climate Change in South Africa2009-04-30This study assesses the extent of progress made in institutionalising climate change policy responses within three metropolitan municipalities in South Africa – Cape Town, eThekwini (Durban) and Johannesburg. By focusing on the progress in some of South Africa’s largest metropolitan areas on the issue of climate change policy development and implementation, the study serves to highlight South Africa’s readiness and capacity at local government level to deal with climate change and related environmental problems. Many countries in different parts of the African continent are facing urgent environmental threats to their economies due to the phenomenon of climate change. South Africa, despite its relative wealth and greater endowment of financial resources and infrastructure, also faces similar problems and threats to its economy. It is acknowledged in South Africa that climate change poses a range of human, environmental and economic security challenges that call for decisive and coordinated action by government. To this end, and in keeping with Goldblatt and Middleton’s (2007) observation, the formulation of effective climate change responses requires ‘multi-level governance’ structures that span the entirety of the policy process. From the design of policy tools and interventions to their actual implementation, such a multi-level governance agenda must necessarily include the elaboration of these and other climate change interventions at local level as well; that is, at the level of municipal decision-making and responses to climate change. This paper therefore reports on the findings of a short study conducted on the level of progress made by the South African government in terms of policies, programmes and strategies put in place to address the challenges posed by climate change. Specifically, the aim of this paper is to assess the extent to which climate change has been adopted as a priority policy issue within local government and how far local authorities have gone in implementing mitigation and adaptation strategies in this regard. Download document Report of Climate Change Round Table - Zimbabwe2009-04-15Executive Summary Climate change is one of the biggest threats facing mankind today. Science has clearly demonstrated that there is extreme urgency in taking real action to avoid irreversible damages to our planet. Reports of the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) state that Africa will suffer the most from the impacts of climate change. The serious under-development of the continent signifies high vulnerability to climate change impacts. The global nature of climate change requires the widest cooperation and participation in an effective and appropriate international response comprising mitigation and adaptation measures based on the principles of the Convention. Irrespective of a country’s contributions to the problem we shall all be affected and must therefore act now to combat climate change. The international community, in the spirit of the United Nations Charter and strong believe in multilateralism, has responded by adopting the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The UNFCCC provides an international framework for mitigating the cause of climate change and its effects at both international and national level. Indeed it commits countries to integrate climate change issues into their national planning process, sub regional or regional programmes. Climate change is a global problem that requires solutions at both global and local scales. Download document Scholarship opportunities: Graduate Study in Environmental Management & Development, and Climate Change2009-04-01The Australian National University (ANU) is the leading university in Australia and it has been ranked among the top twenty in the world. There are a number of scholarship opportunities for students from a range of African nations who are eligible to apply for study at the Master’s level in the Environmental Management and Development program and the Climate Change program. Download document Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change2009-03-27The Parties to this Protocol, Being Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, hereinafter referred to as “the Convention”, In pursuit of the ultimate objective of the Convention as stated in its Article 2, Recalling the provisions of the Convention, Being guided by Article 3 of the Convention, Pursuant to the Berlin Mandate adopted by decision 1/CP.1 of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention at its first session, Have agreed as follows... Download document Climate Risk Management and Adaptation Strategy2009-03-13Climate change poses serious threats to sustained economic growth and poverty reduction, the quality of life, and political stability in the world. According to the IPCC, Africa is the most vulnerable continent to climate change and climate variability; and the situation is aggravated by the interaction of multiple stresses occurring at various levels, compounded by low adaptive capacity. Climate change experts project that all sub-regions of the continent will experience a temperature rise very likely larger than the global mean annual warming. At the same time, most parts of the continent are expected to experience reduced average annual rainfall and increased aridity and droughts. The combination of reduced rainfall and hotter temperatures is expected to result in a net drying and increased aridity for a greater proportion of the continent. It is important to note that all African countries are likely to be drastically affected by climate change. In the light of this mounting evidence, the Heads of State and Government of the G8 States, at their Gleneagles Summit in July 2005, called upon the World Bank and Regional Development Banks (RDBs) to prepare specific proposals on challenges related to climate change and poverty reduction. The present Bank strategy on Climate Risk Management and Adaptation is based on lessons learnt, as well as several regional stakeholder consultation forums and the recommendations of the President’s Working Group on Climate Change. The overall goal of the Bank’s Climate Risk Management and Adaptation Strategy (CRMA) is to ensure progress towards eradication of poverty and contribute to sustainable improvement in people’s livelihoods taking into account CRMA. The specific objectives are: (i) To reduce vulnerability within the RMCs to climate variability and promote climate resilience in past and future Bank-financed development investments making them more effective; (ii) To build capacity and knowledge within the RMCs to address the challenges of climate change and ensure sustainability through policy and regulatory reforms. Download document Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD): An Options Assessment Report2009-03-01The Bali Road Map should lead to a Copenhagen agreement that commits to climate stabilization at a maximum 2°C temperature increase, consistent with atmospheric CO2 concentrations below 450 parts per million (ppm). Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) will address a source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions larger than the entire global transportation sector. Without REDD, the 2°C climate stabilization goal will not be reached. This report assesses several important considerations for a future REDD mechanism within the UNFCCC, and strives to clarify and inform some of the critical choices that will need to be made about including REDD in a Copenhagen agreement. 1 At the international level, a good outcome for REDD would create the enabling conditions for effective implementation in REDD countries, including:
Agriculture and Climate Change: An agenda for negotiation in Copenhagen2009-03-01If fundamental climate change mitigation and adaptation goals are to be met, international climate negotiations must include agriculture. Agriculture and climate change are linked in important ways, and this brief focuses on three: (1) climate change will have large effects on agriculture, but precisely where and how much are uncertain, (2) agriculture can help mitigate climate change, and (3) poor farmers will need help adapting to climate change. As negotiations get underway in advance of the meeting of the 15th Conference of Parties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Copenhagen in December 2009, this brief suggests negotiating outcomes for both mitigation and adaptation funding that will support climate change goals while enhancing the well-being of people who manage and depend on agriculture, especially in the developing world. Climate change will affect agriculture, but it is uncertain where and how much Climate change will have dramatic consequences for agriculture. Water sources will become more variable, droughts and floods will stress agricultural systems, some coastal food-producing areas will be inundated by the seas, and food production will fall in some places in the interior. Developing economies and the poorest of the poor likely will be hardest hit. Overall, however, substantial uncertainty remains about where the effects will be greatest. Agricultural outcomes are determined by complex interactions among people, policies, and nature. Crops and animals are affected by changes in temperature and precipitation, but they are also influenced by human investments such as irrigation systems, transportation infrastructure, and animal shelters. Given the uncertainties about where climate change will take place and how farmers will respond, much is still unknown about the effects of climate change on agricultural production, consumption, and human well-being, making it difficult to move forward on policies to combat the effects of climate change. Download document FANRPAN participates at the United Nations CSD-17 Intergovernmental Preparatory Meeting2009-02-24Statement by the Scientific and Technological Community at the United Nations Commission for Sustainable Development (CSD-17) Presented by Lindiwe Majele Sibanda on 24 February 2009. Download document Climate Change, Development and Energy problems in South Africa2009-02-01In climate terms, South Africa is already living on the edge. Much of it is arid or semi-arid and the whole country is subject to droughts and floods. Even small variations in rainfall or temperatures would exacerbate this already stressed environment. Most South African crops are grown in areas that are only just climatically suitable and with limited water supplies. But that climate is set to change for the worse because of rising global emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs). Indeed, there are already ominous signs of change – that dry seasons are becoming longer and wet seasons starting later. Rainfall is reported to be becoming even more variable, with rain coming in more concentrated, violent bursts. When the Government of South Africa used internationally agreed scientific computer models to explore the potential impacts of climate change on South Africa over the next 50 years, it predicted:
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat releases Assembly Document2009-01-27The UNFCCC Secretariat has released the revised "Assembly Document", containing the ideas and proposals presented by parties and accredited observer organisations on the elements contained in paragraph 1 of the Bali Action Plan (BAP), received by 6 December 2008. The Assembly Document consists of five chapters on the five elements of the BAP, namely on:
Climate Change Vulnerability Mapping South East Asia2009-01-01The United Nations Climate Change Conference held in Bali, Indonesia, in December 2007 acknowledged, among other things, the need for enhanced action on adaptation and the provision of financial resources for it. This, in turn, implies the need for financial and technology transfer from the rich to the poor countries. In general, most developing countries in Asia have the least capacity to adapt to climate change and are therefore in need of whatever external support they can get to build their capacity (Francisco 2008). As the long history of international climate change agreements tells us, resource transfers from rich to poor countries not only require a common and shared vision among the countries, but also involve long and complex political processes. Acknowledging the fact that in a resource-constrained world, there is a benefit and cost to every action, it is then essential for the resources available to be well targeted to the people who need them the most; those located in the areas most vulnerable to climate change. The identification and characterization of the vulnerable communities and sectors were identified as priority concerns by the participants of the EEPSEA Climate Change Adaptation Conference held in Bali in February 2008. Identification of the most vulnerable groups by way of determining the most vulnerable regions within countries and in Southeast Asia as a whole is thus an urgent task for development agencies. This paper addresses this need. Download document Double Jeopardy: What the Climate Crisis Means for the Poor2009-01-01From August 1 to 3, 2008, more than fifty preeminent policymakers, practitioners, and thought leaders from around the world convened at the Aspen Institute to explore the links between global climate change and poverty alleviation. Starting from the premise that climate solutions must empower the poor by improving livelihoods, health, and well-being, and that poverty alleviation itself must become a central strategy for both mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and reducing vulnerability to the adverse effects of climate change, the roundtable sought to shape a common agenda to tackle two of the greatest challenges of our time. The roundtable was hosted by Richard C. Blum and the Brookings Institution’s Global Economy and Development Program, with the support of honorary co-chairs Walter Isaacson of the Aspen Institute and Mary Robinson of Realizing Rights: The Ethical Globalization Initiative. Previous roundtables have focused on America’s role in the fight against global poverty (2004); the private sector’s role in international development (2005); poverty, insecurity, and conflict (2006); and international development’s changing landscape (2007). Reports from those expert gatherings are available at http://www.brookings.edu/global/Brookings-Blum-Roundtable.aspx. Roundtable participants offered a wide range of individual and institutional expertise, as global policy negotiators, technologists, financial leaders, social entrepreneurs, health and humanitarian experts, and climate science pioneers. Rather than summarizing the conference proceedings, this essay—like those from previous years—attempts to weave together the informed exchanges, varied perspectives, fresh insights, and innovative proposals that emerged during the three-day discussion. A companion volume—Climate Change and Global Poverty: A Billion Lives in the Balance? (Brookings Institution Press, forthcoming)—contains chapters by experts that provide in-depth analysis of the topics addressed in Aspen. Download document Launching the Africa Bio-Carbon Initiative2008-12-10Highlights from the Official Side Event at CoP-14, Poznan, Poland The Africa Bio-Carbon Initiative was launched on the 10th of December in Poznan at the 14th Conference of Parties to the Kyoto Protocol by a grouping of 26 African countries in East and Southern Africa. The Initiative advocates for a broader eligibility for bio-carbon in the Kyoto and related regional and national frameworks for climate change. This objective will contribute to the overarching goal of increasing the benefits for sustainable agriculture and land-use practices, biodiversity conservation, maintenance of environmental services, successful adaptation to climate change, and improvements in rural livelihoods, in addition to the delivery of cost-effective and verifiable reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in Eastern and Southern Africa and beyond.
COMESA-FANRPAN Launch the Africa-wide Civil Society Climate Change Initiative for Policy Dialogues (ACCID)2008-11-26The inaugural ACCID Regional workshop was held on 26-27 November 2008, at the Farm Inn, Pretoria, South Africa. The workshop was attended by 21 representatives from 14 selected civil society organisations which have both national and regional mandates in terms of membership and representation. Related documents
HIV/AIDS Mortality and the Role of Woodland Resources in the Maintenance of Household Food Security in a Rural District of South Africa2008-11-01Summary This study examined food security among HIV/AIDS-impacted households (compared to non-HIV/AIDS-impacted households) in rural South Africa, with a particular focus on the role of savanna woodland resources (e.g. wild foods) in shaping household resilience following the death of a prime-age adult. The study was conducted in the Agincourt health and demographic surveillance site in the rural north-east of South Africa. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 290 rural households in May and June 2006. Households were stratified by their experience of an HIV-related death of a prime-age adult in the previous two years as follows: HIV death (n=109), quick non-HIV death (n=71) and no adult death (control) (n=110). Experience of a mortality, as well as household socio-demographic data, were provided by the Agincourt Health and Demographic Surveillance System which is run by the University of the Witwatersrand/Medical Research Council’s Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit (Agincourt Unit). A survey questionnaire was used to quantify household food security, livelihoods, use of woodland resources, and impacts of the experience of an adult death on the household. Food security was assessed in terms dietary diversity, experience of hunger, short-term coping strategies, and longer term adaptive strategies. Survey interviews were conducted in the local language by experienced local fieldworkers from the Agincourt Unit. Detailed qualitative interviews were also conducted by the researchers, with assistance from local interpreters, in 17 mortality-impacted households. Satellite imagery was used to quantify woodland cover around each of the study villages. Download document COMESA Climate Initiative2008-06-23COMESA Carbon Finance Workshop 23rd to 24th June 2008 in Johannesburg, Republic of South Africa. The Secretariat for the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) in collaboration with its partners, World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Michigan State University (MSU), the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR, and World Agroforestry Center (ICRAF), Food, Agricultural, Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN) and Africa Practice convened a Carbon Finance workshop from the 23rd to 24th June 2008 in Johannesburg, Republic of South Africa. The workshop was convened under broader COMESA wide approach and program on Climate Change within the context of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) and the Environmental Action Plan of NEPAD. The main objective of the meeting was to explore the feasibility of setting up a Carbon facility that will enable Africa to participate in Carbon market. The meeting was attended by government representatives from COMESA member States. In addition, representatives of WWF, CIFOR, IFC, PTA Bank, NEPAD, SADC, UNDP, TFC UK, DANIDA, Clinton Foundation, Genesis Analytics, Global Mechanism, Global Ventage, IIED, Terra Global Capital, ICRAF, Global Environment Fund, CARE International, South Pole Carbon Management, Eco security, EnviroTrade, GTZ Madagascar and Hichens Harrison. Mr Sindiso Ngwenya, Secretary General ad interim of COMESA officially opened the meeting. He underscored the importance of COMESA’s role and the need to bring all the other Regional Economic communities on board in the Climate negotiations "COMESA region and Africa in General should immediately find space and participate fully in the Global Climate Change negotiations with a unified position", noted Mr Ngwenya. He urged the meeting to follow up with another workshop but a concrete action plan which should include the framework of the fund, policy reform and advocacy strategy and pilot project on how the region should proceed with the establishment of the Africa Carbon Facility. COMESA would like to table the out puts of this meeting at the forth coming COMESA –EAC – SADC tripartite Summit. Dr Lindiwe Sibanda , CEO of FANRPAN , in her presentation she noted that local communities and indeed government need to see tangible benefits of participating in the carbon fund. For this to happen there is need for credible evidence that will detail the players and benefits in the whole value chain. There is also need to make sure that land policies are addressed and governments creates an enabling environment. Private investors called for COMESA to take a leading role in raising the African voice in the UNFCC Conference of the Parties (COP) negotiations to ensure the Africa’s carbon stocks are fully incorporated (Agriculture, forestry, Aforestation). They called for strengthening of Africa’s platforms for policy dialogues. that Agriculture and support the development of necessary institutions and policies, the integration of sustainable agricultural and land-use practices into agricultural development strategies in Africa. The COMESA Climate initiative will address climate, agriculture, conservation, and livelihoods through building knowledge and capacity and through place-based efforts in selected countries of Eastern and Southern Africa and as well as to help the member states to COMESA up with a Common position during the Conference of Parties.
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