Download: http://pubs.iied.org/14622IIED

CARE’s climate change Adaptation Learning Programme for Africa (ALP) has recently contributed to a special edition of Joto Afrika magazine, highlighting experiences of ALP’s work on community-based adaptation to climate change in Mozambique, Ghana, Kenya and Niger.

Joto Afrika special issue 11: Community Based Adaptation – Experiences from Africa
Joto Afrika is a series of printed briefings and online resources about adapting to climate change in sub-Saharan Africa, published by ALIN in East Africa. The series helps adaptation practitioners and policy-makers understand the issues, constraints and opportunities that poor people face in adapting to climate change and escaping poverty in a practical way.

This special issue looks at the experiences of communities who are adapting to a changing climate in Mozambique, Kenya, Niger and Ghana and considers a range of new and innovative approaches. Developed as part of CARE’s Adaptation Learning Programme for Africa, these include farmer field schools in Mozambique, community adaptation action planning in Niger, the role of community monitors in adaptation in Ghana and Participatory Scenario Planning in Kenya. Adaptive capacity – key to successful adaptation – is reflected through a selection of women’s voices on vulnerability, resilience and climate change.

Joto Afrika issue 11 can be downloaded both from CARE site or from ALIN site.

If you would like further information about ALP, or the stories in this issue of Joto Afrika, please contact FionaPercy: fionaATcareclimatechange.org or me, Jo Barrett: jbarrettATcareclimatechange.org
Best wishes,

Jo

Jo Barrett  | CARE  |  Climate Change Press and Communications Officer |
Poverty, Environment and Climate Change Network

London, UK  |  www.careclimatechange.org
T: +44 (0)7940 703911  | Twitter: @CareClimate
email: jbarrettATcareclimatechange.org  |  skype: jobarrett.care

The International Climate Change Information Programme (ICCIP)- in cooperation with Springer- is  preparing a landmark, multi-volume reference work  titled the Handbook of Climate Change Adaptation. This is an addition to the series “Climate Change Management” which, since it was launched in 2008,  has become the world´s leading book series on the topic: http://www.springer.com/series/8740

The Handbook of Climate Change Adaptation  will provide a concrete  contribution towards addressing the perceived need for high-quality, interdisciplinary papers, which can be used not only as a valuable information source but also as tools to support teaching and research and, as an added value, help to assist in  decision-making.

Although the  Handbook of Climate Change Adaptation is on the one hand grounded in the best science and meets the highest scientific standards, it aims on the other hand as far as possible to be inclusive methodologically, and be practice-based. It will also be fully international in its coverage and authorship, as befits a topic of such importance to humankind.

The  Handbook of Climate Change Adaptation is structured around 4 volumes:

Volume 1. Climate Change Impacts and Management
Volume 2. Policy and Climate Change
Volume 3. Climate Change Adaptation, Agriculture  and Water Security
Volume 4. Climate Change  Adaptation Technologies

A set of cross-cutting issues will be included, such as the socio-economics of climate change, resilience,  economics, trade, growth, development, justice, poverty, health, populations, security, international politics, the UN process,  democracy, education, information and communication. The Millennium Development Goals also represent a major element to be considered.
Due to its scope, approach and global impact, this is probably one of the most significant book projects in the field of climate change of this Decade.

This is a final call for abstracts from suitable qualified researchers.The final deadline for submissions of abstracts is the 30th April 2013. Details on the schedule and structure will be discussed with interested colleagues.
Expressions  of interest should be sent to ICCIP at:  infoATiccip.net or beidsATbeids.de.

Some of the present day challenges faced by Sarawak farming communities include unpredictable climatic effects, market uncertainties and unplanned development. Despite development ushering in advantages such as electricity, clean water and good roads for these rural communities, these efforts can often have undesirable side effects. If a balance is not achieved between development and conservation one unwanted consequence can be the loss of important genetic resources and diversity. Increased human encroachment due to the increasing area farmed with oil palm and in general monoculture is wiping out a number of traditional crops as traditionally managed fields are destroyed to make way for more profitable ventures. Conservation efforts undertaken at community level can help to maintain threatened crops and varieties and help to ensure that the food basket is secured and long established income generating activities are not maintained.

In any conservation initiative, a Community Biodiversity Register (CBR) has been found to be an important tool that can be used by local communities [1] to document the resources within a community in terms of biodiversity, traditional knowledge and good practices. The information collected also leads to an increased awareness of the available useful diversity maintained by farmers and communities and about the importance of conservation. A positive and indirect effect is community empowerment.  A CBR also contributes to creating a sense of ownership of a community towards their biological resources. It represents a valuable instrument for community conservation and helps to safeguard indigenous knowledge as well as local crop and livestock resources.

The villages of Gahat and Skrang are home to Bidayuh and Iban indigenous peoples. These villages hold an abundance of traditional hill paddy varieties which are cultivated mainly for local consumption and are culturally valued and intricately linked with the social systems of these communities. Other crops such as Job’s tears (Coix lacryma-jobi L.), cucumber (Cucumis sativus), maize (Zea mays), long beans (Vigna spp), brinjal (Solanum melongena), and various different fruits are also grown alongside the hill paddy as ‘catch crops’ [2].

Recognizing the diversity contained within these production systems and their potential to improve livelihoods, in the context of the project “Climate Change and Indigenous Communities: Strengthening Adaptability, Resilience, and Innovation”, the Platform for Agrobiodiversity Research (PAR) together with its partner in Sarawak, Semongok Agriculture Research Centre (ARC), organized a Community Biodiversity Register (CBR) training workshop from the 25-26^th February 2012 at the village of Gahat. The workshop aimed at increasing the communities’ appreciation of the genetic resources that they manage, strengthening their capacity to maintain these resources and  fostering exchange of varieties and seeds within and amongst the communities.

Nineteen farmers (community representatives) from the project locations in Gahat and Skrang (namely the Skrang villages of Mujan, Mejong, Nanga Tebat, Murat and the Gahat one of Mawang) and three resource persons from Bioversity International, PAR and Semongok ARC participated in this workshop. The workshop introduced the rationale behind the CBR and its process, with participants gaining familiarity with the related stages leading towards the compilation and management of a CBR.

To complement the information collected through the CBR, a socioeconomic survey was formulated in the communities’ local language (Bahasa Malaysia). Its content  was discussed amongst workshop participants to ensure their ease in dealing with the questions when conducting the actual survey which begun upon their return to the respective communities.

The survey which is currently ongoing involves 204 respondents and is expected to be completed by the end of March 2012.

A related session during the workshop focused on validating data from a previous survey which was conducted in 2010.  Working modalities for each village were also agreed upon whereby a village representative and an assistant were elected to ensure a smooth completion of the survey and CBR. Once the CBR is developed, information gathered will be used towards addressing key questions related to diversity maintenance within a community including resources which are valued most, the need to conserve these resources and how are these resources used.

Overall this project is interested in supporting communities as they strive to cope with uncertainty. More specifically the maintenance of traditional varieties has been found to be an important element of coping with climate change and the project aimed to work with communities on how best to do this. The workshop is seen as timely for strengthening the capacities of the indigenous farmers in Sarawak through knowledge creation and awareness for diversity maintenance. Engaging farmers through  workshops such as this give the opportunity for the creation of informal networks of communication which bank on the value of ‘insiders’ within a community who are often times excluded by the mainstream research community. In general, the farmers were enthusiastic in adopting the CBR methodology and considered it as a beneficial documentation tool for monitoring their biodiversity assets.

Read more on Community Biodiversity Registers

Subedi A, BR Sthapit, MP Upadhyay and D Gauchan (eds) 2005. Learning from Community Biodiversity Register in Nepal – Proceedings of the National Workshop 27-28 October 2005, Khumaltar, Nepal
http://idl-bnc.idrc.ca/dspace/bitstream/10625/27838/1/122788.pdf

Seshan. S. 1999. Community Biodiversity Registry: a tool for empowering people. Green Foundation. Leisa India Supplement, December 1999. p21
http://www.agriculturesnetwork.org/magazines/india/3-restoring-bio-diversity/community-biodiversity-registry-a-tool-for/at_download/article_pdf

Community Biodiversity Register: Consolidating community role in management of agricultural biodiversity. Good practice n. 9 from On-farm conservation of agricultural biodiversity in Nepal – Volume II Di Sthapit, B.R.,Upadhyay, M.P.,Shrestha, P.K.,Jarvis, D.I. (eds.)
http://agrobiodiversityplatform.org/files/2012/03/GP9-Community-Biodiversity-Register.pdf

For indigenous peoples, resilience is rooted in traditional knowledge, as their capacity to adapt to environmental change is based first and foremost on in-depth understanding of the land. As climate change increasingly impacts indigenous landscapes, communities are responding and adapting in unique ways.

In a recent statement to the Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change (IIPFCC) stated:

“…[W]e reiterate the need for recognition of our traditional knowledge, which we have sustainably used and practiced for generations; and the need to integrate such knowledge in global, national and sub-national efforts. This knowledge is our vital contribution to climate change adaptation and mitigation.”

• Land use, climate change adaptation and indigenous peoples

CGIAR centres are adapting in response to climate change. Among these changes are closer direct interactions with farmers, national extension services, NGOs and aid agencies and closer cooperation with the private sector. The details of these broader operational strategies, along with the information on flows, can be found in the working paper.

The main findings of the paper will be summarized in three forthcoming CCAFS blogs which will be posted on September 14, 21, and 28, 2012. The authors welcome comments and observations which can be posted directly on the CCAFS blog. Or alternatively, you could send them directly Ronnie Vernooy at r.vernooyATcgiar.org

• Flows under stress: availability of plant genetic resources in times of climate and policy change

One of the new projects approved by the ITPGRFA’s Benefit Sharing Fund aims to contribute to the formulation of a participatory and science-based strategic Action Plan to strengthen the conservation of plant genetic resources and their enhanced use in adapting to climate change in Mesoamerica.

The treasure of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture (PGRFA) that the region holds is a potential source for adaptation for agro-ecoystems around the world.

However, in order to realize this potential, regional PGRFA conservation and use need to be strengthened and integrated in wider policy agendas on climate change adaptation, disaster preparedness and food security.

• Genetic Resources Policy – A Bioversity International Blog

The full text report can be downloaded from here.

Wednesday, 18 April 14:30 – 15:30 CET.

CCAFS second science seminar covering the topic of managing pests and disease in a changing climate.
To read more about it in PAR CC events section open the post and click here

In its final report, the Commission on Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change proposes specific policy responses to the global challenge of feeding a world confronted by climate change, population growth, poverty, food price spikes and degraded ecosystems.

The report gives a complete overview of the current state of the food system and specifies a holistic approach to transforming the food system and defining a path towards long-term sustainability. It highlights specific opportunities under the mandates of the Rio+20 Earth Summit, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Group of 20 (G20) nations.

Download the reports

The final report Achieving Food Security in the Face of Climate Change is now available, along with key background studies. A Summary for Policy Makers is available in English, French and Spanish.

Video – How to feed the world in 2050: actions in a changing climate

The Commission launched an animated video that describes the major strategies for moving the planet towards a food secure future. To achieve a ‘safe operating space’ for people and the planet, humanity must operate within three limits: the quantity of food that can be produced under a given climate; the quantity needed by a growing and changing population; and the effect of food production on climate.

The Commission was set up by the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) with support from the Global Donor Platform for Rural Development.