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What is the Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Knowledge Network?

The Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Knowledge Network (AMKN) is a platform for accessing and sharing current agricultural adaptation and mitigation knowledge from CGIAR Research Programs and Centres, and partners. It brings together farmers’ realities on the ground and links them with multiple and combined research outputs, to highlight current challenges and inspire new ideas. It aims to assist scientists and stakeholders to assess and adjust their actions in order to ensure future food security, improved smallholder farmers’ resilience and livelihoods.

AMKN aggregates, visualizes and interconnects research outputs from the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) focused on addressing risk management, progressive adaptation and pro-poor mitigation options for agricultural and food systems.

The AMKN map allows users to explore a large volume of climatic, environmental, and social information from diverse sources, including data visualization tools, map layers, and multimedia.

What for?

Global food and agricultural systems are facing unprecedented effects from climate change and evidence shows that, on a global scale, food security, the environment and the livelihoods of millions of rural poor depending on agriculture are under threat.

Fulfilling the needs of a constantly growing population is exacerbating the pressure on natural resources. The effects of climate change are becoming more and more apparent.. In the coming decades and across different regions, rising temperatures and more variable rainfall associated with climate change will produce agricultural “winners and losers” whereas demand in food production and improved supplies increases, threatening worldwide malnutrition.

The way ahead for smallholder farmers facing current and coming challenges lies in adapting, learning from others while sharing knowledge and experiences. It is however crucial that the scientific community also brings in new knowledge, technologies and tools to ensure the efficient transfer of promising measures to the more vulnerable communities.

This is where the Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Knowledge Network (AMKN) platform has a huge role to play. It gathers and uses ground based evidence to illustrate the harsh realities facing farmers today, linking them to multiple research products, contributing  to identify promising adaptation and mitigation options to overcome location specific constraints and threats.

What can you find on the AMKN map?

Data layers: Geographic data such as crop suitability, crop yield, soils, drought indices and GHG emissions scenarios

CCAFS sites: Descriptions, related media, and facts and statistics on CCAFS focal research sites in five regions of the world: East Africa, West Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia and Latin America

Blogs: Original posts from the CCAFS, CIAT-DAPA and other online sources relating to climate change, agriculture and food security research in the global tropics

Photos: Photo-sets from around the world highlighting research projects, workshops and events from CCAFS and its partners

Videos: Farmer testimonials, interviews, and informational videos relating to climate change mitigation and adaptation in CCAFS sites and the rest of the world

Agrobiodiversity case studies: Stories from the Platform for Agrobiodiversity Research highlighting benefits, uses and challenges confronting agricultural biodiversity in the tropics

CCAFS activities: Descriptions of specific past and ongoing research being conducted by CCAFS and its partners, including date, location and budget information

Creating a network

The platform aims to attract and engage with a multidisciplinary community: policy makers, practitioners, researchers, donors, etc., involved in climate and environmental change, agricultural development and food security issues across the developing world.

Over time and as CCAFS develops, the platform will make available new knowledge (e.g. data, models, reports, videos, etc.) covering climate, agricultural and policy issues grounded on solid adaptation and mitigation research. AMKN will also create a network of both users and information providers. These multiple contributors will provide new tools and approaches to help stakeholders manage agricultural and food systems in a changing climate.

We have created a feedback forum so that interested users can ask questions and provide suggestions about new knowledge that can be added to the map: join the AMKN community.

Collaboration

The AMKN platform is an initiative of CCAFS, especially Theme 1: Adaptation to Progressive Climate Change, which works to help the more vulnerable farmer communities adjust to climate change through the identification and development of pro-poor adaptation and mitigation practices, technologies and policies for agriculture and food systems. The platform has been  developed in partnership with the Communications and Knowledge Team of the CGIAR Consortium.

Explore the Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Knowledge Network further!