Luca Perez, European Commission (EC), presented successful scientific cooperation between the EU and Africa, focusing on the relationship among climate change and water, health and adaptive strategies. Perez summarized the Framework Programme, a seven-year project jointly managed by the EU and 14 associated countries. Etienne Coyette, EC, shared experiences on progress achieved and pointed to science as key to overcoming challenges such as speeding-up implementation, providing concrete results, and mobilizing
stakeholders.
Antonio Bombelli, Euro-Mediterranean Centre for Climate Change (CMCC), underlined the importance of focusing studies in Africa. He shared ClimAFRICA’s objectives to improve information and tools regarding adaptation and action through enhanced scientific cooperation and capacity development. Joseph Nzau Mutemi, IGAD Climate Prediction and Application Centre, welcomed the
increase in governments´ commitments on the food crisis and increasing support for climatic outlooks in real time. Jean-Marie Kileshye Onema, WaterNet, bridged the connection between climate change and economic challenge, ecosystem decline, and human development. He noted the development of a framework for monitoring and predicting a timely warning system to increase long-term resilience. He summarized WaterNet projects and initiatives, such as development of tools for water management and drought mitigation, and addressing human welfare and agricultural drought.
Christiane Gerstetter, Ecologic Institute, explained that Climate Change, Hydro-conflicts and Human Security (CLICO) is carrying out case studies in 11 countries for: addressing the relationship among climate change and conflict and human security, in a mutually beneficial collaboration; exchanging local context, knowledge of networks, and access to data. David Taylor, Trinity College Dublin,
drew attention to the impact of climate change on human health. He introduced the Healthy Futures project which aims to provide science-based support for human and animal health in order to boost adaptive capacity. Jacques Andre Ndione, Quantifying Weather & Climate Impacts (QweCI) on “Healthy Futures”, illustrated how effective increased understanding can improve response time.
Nebo Jovanovic, ESIR Stellenbosch, introduced the work of EUA4FOOD, aimed to address the challenge of growing more food with higher crop yield and less resources on the same land. Jovanovic articulated that past challenges in technology transfer can be avoided with a bottom up and innovation. Martha Bißmann, WIP Renewable Energies, briefly introduced a new project called AfriCAN Climate, which works to disseminate existing research and improve accessibility of knowledge on a web-based interactive platform.
