research

Blog post written jointly by Marta G. Rivera-Ferre, Marina di Masso, Mara Miele, and CCAFS.

Local traditional knowledge (LTK) is advocated by many international development and research institutes, as well as by local NGOs and grassroots civil society. When discussed within the climate change adaptation community, it is heralded as a crucial untapped knowledge source that may hold the key to sustainable adaptation to climate change. Yet organizations and scientific literature have been much more vague as to how to tap into these resources; whether they will remain relevant in the context of accelerating, unprecedented changes (in climate, economic structures, and demographics); and to what extent locally-produced and -tailored practices might be transferable/scalable to other areas.

To help answer these questions, CCAFS released an Open Call for research on the role of LTK in South Asian agriculture. A Spanish team, led by Dr. Marta Guadalupe Rivera-Ferre of the Center for Research on Agro-food Economics and Development (CREDA), was selected, and in conjunction with CCAFS, the researchers have begun exploring the nuances of LTK. In particular, the team has chosen to examine how LTK can manage risks of and adapt to projected climatic risks related to water (shortages and flooding). Read more »

Selon le rapport de 2007 du Groupe intergouvernemental sur les changements climatiques (PDF), dans un monde plus chaud de 4C les rendements du blé pourraient diminuer de 60% ou augmenter de 40%. Comment la science peut elle gérer de tels niveaux d'incertitude de sorte à aider, plutôt qu’á paralyser, les prises de décisions politiques? Une partie de la réponse réside dans l'amélioration de l’estimation  des incertitudes et des risques, comme sont en train de le faire actuellement des programmes scientifiques multidisciplinaires tels que EQUIP (à l'université de Leeds ). Une autre partie de la réponse se trouve dans une meilleure communication entre Science et Politique.

L’article de Nick Pidgeon et Baruch Fischhoff Le rôle des sciences sociales et de la décision dans la communication de l’incertitude liée aux risques climatiques, passe en revue la vaste série d’opinions sur la communication des risques climatiques pour se concentrer enfin sur celles qui à l’évidence fonctionnent. Les auteurs partagent largement les opinions exposées par le Rapport Stern sur l'économie du changement climatique,  et les Académies Nationales, selon lesquelles nous devrions nous concentrer  sur les risques, les coûts  et les bénéfices de voies spécifiques d’action et non pas sur les persistantes incertitudes qui entourent les déterminants, les processus et les impacts climatiques. Plutôt que d’inviter à des délais infinis - le temps qu’on cherche à obtenir de plus grandes certitudes - cette orientation permettrait de favoriser la prise de décisions. Read more »

There are many ways to describe Maurice Kwadha: farmer, entrepreneur, and climate-smart are some of them.

But some in Kombewa, in western Kenya’s Nyando Basin, used to call him a madman. Once, when he was collecting discarded milk packets at the local market, he was physically attacked by someone who thought he had lost his mind. But Maurice had a plan. And his small farm, with its burgeoning tree nursery, is the proof.

Standing in the afternoon sun at his farm in Kochiel village, he’s full of smiles. The day before he hosted a special event for World Food Day – which saw over 100 people, including the area’s provincial commissioner – take a tour of his farm. Even though Maurice has less than half-a-hectare of land, what he’s done with it is nothing short of inspiring, and is perhaps one of the best examples of climate-smart, sustainable, agricultural intensification in the region, if not the country. It’s little wonder it’s starting to get attention. Read more »

The future of food security and the need for farmers to adapt to a changing climate was recently discussed by CCAFS Theme Leader Gerald C. Nelson when he was interviewed by the National Public Radio (USA). Also participating in the radio program ‘Feeding a Hotter; More Crowded Planet’ was the President o the Earth Policy Institute (EPI) Lester Brown and the director of Oxfam America Gawain Kripke.

Gerald C. Nelson, Senior Research Fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and leader of the CCAFS policy analysis research together with the other participants, discussed the challenges of keeping food supplies secure in the face of a changing climate and potential solutions. Since nearly one billion people worldwide don’t have reliable access to food, something climate change might increase, solutions are more than critical.  Read more »