COP18

par Caroline Ouanre

La  thématique n’est pas nouvelle. Bien au contraire. Des experts africains sur la question rapprochent l’apparition des premières notions sur le sujet aux années 1968. Mieux, c’est en Afrique que l’on trouverait l’une des premières grandes conventions sur la conservation de la nature et des ressources naturelles…

Mais d’ où vient-il alors que de nos jours encore, la notion paraisse toujours aussi abstraite, surtout à l’heure où la problématique de la protection de l’environnement se pose avec acuité, ou au plan international et du point de vue stricte des changements climatiques, le protocole de Kyoto cherche difficilement un second souffle. Read more »

by Olive Thiong'o

Sustainable policy guidelines and community adaptation strategies need to be included when putting research into practice, to achieve value for money. This was the message by development experts at the Collaborative Adaptation Research Initiative in Africa and Asia (CARIAA) dialogue held in parallel to the COP18 climate negotiations.

The dialogue discussions were focused on the experiences, lessons and key issues to be considered, prior to the launch of the CARIAA CAD program. It’s envisioned that the program will be consortium-led and community-focused, and will attract private investment.

James Kinyangi of the East Africa CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security [CCAFS) took part as an expert on the topic. He put emphasis on partnerships in making reforms. As is the case in CCAFS, multiple partnerships with farmers, the private sector, and the national or regional policy makers work better when it comes to implement the program in the region. Read more »

par Caroline Ouanre 

L‘histoire qui unit la société civile aux négociations sur le climat remonte à 1972. Une histoire vielle de plus de 40 ans qui a encore de beaux jours devant elle car ce n’est pas demain la veille que prendra fin la nécessité de convier à la réflexion tous les maillons gravitant autour de la problématique de l’environnement et des changements climatiques.

L’initiative de convier la société civile aux négociations sur le climat est venue de l’Organisation des Nations Unies (ONU).

C‘est sous le statut d’observateur que la société civile siège à la table des négociations des Conférences des Parties (COP) de la Convention-cadre des Nations Unies sur les changements climatiques, un statut conféré par l’institution onusienne.

Tout à la fois une force de proposition et de contestation, la société civile organise une foule d'événements parallèles aux sessions de négociations. Read more »

by Cecilia Schubert

In a world where some countries will experience temperature peaks over 45-50°C, finding crops and vegetation that can deal with such heat stress will be a struggle. There may in fact be a limit to how much we’ll be able to adapt. But there are things we can do that make us armed enough to tackle the climate challenge. One of these things is looking at what climate smart agriculture can offer smallholder farmers.

If you have followed our blog, I am sure you have heard the term “climate smart agriculture” before. But what are these “climate smart practices”? What do they look like on the farm, and are they really working?

Perhaps it is time to get our minds off the theory and instead get into what is really happening on the ground. We've compiled 14 inspiring examples of large scale successes in climate smart agriculture, from all over the world. And at the recent UN Climate talks in Doha, we heard about a few more.

The presenters at the "Role of the UN in achieving climate smart agriculture" COP18 side event last week gave a rundown of some of the farming practices that can help create farmer resilience while improving food security and in some cases deliver mitigation co-benefits. Read more »