AfDB launches African Development Report 2012 with inputs from Kulima

AFDB ADRThe African Development Bank has launched its 2012 African Development Report on the theme "Towards Green Growth in Africa".  The report describes the rationale for, and challenges to, green growth in Africa, looking at agriculture, forestry and energy security, as well as the contribution of technology, finance and planning in the creation of constructive enabling environments.  Dr Katharine Vincent and colleagues Dr Rob Byrne and Dr David Ockwell (from the University of Sussex) contributed to chapter five on "Energy security, fossil fuels and opportunities for low-carbon development". 

Kulima directors present at SADC RVAA Climate Change Seminar

RVAA Climate Change SeminarDr Katharine Vincent and Ms Tracy Cull have been in Durban for the SADC Regional Vulnerability Assessment and Analysis Climate Change Seminar.  Organised by the SADC RVAA programme, and attended by members of southern African national Vulnerability Assessment Committees and partners, the purpose of the seminar is to raise awareness of climate change.  Katharine and Tracy gave a presentation on introduction to climate change and projected impacts for the SADC region; and also chaired and facilitated a thematic session on innovations in climate change and livelihoods. 

Kulima completes project on climate change, health, agriculture and disasters analysis in Mozambique

MaputoKulima Integrated Development Solutions, together with partners CSIR and Universidade Eduardo Mondlane, have completed a project on climate change, health, agriculture and disasters analysis in Mozambique.  The project, funded by CDKN, comprised 3 work packages: a stakeholder and institutional analysis and scoping study; a qualitative analysis of how projected climate change may influence epidemiology of malaria and diarrhoeal diseases, including fieldwork in 4 districts; and assessing entry points into the existing Mozambican policy context for addressing future risks, taking into account good practice from other countries.  The final report is available here.

Kulima begins project to develop plan of action on climate change for Mozambique’s Ministry of Health

MaputoFollowing on from the completion of the CDKN-funded project on climate change, health, disasters and agriculture in Mozambique, Kulima and partners (CSIR and the Universidade Eduardo Mondlane) will continue to support the Ministry of Health (MISAU). The project extension will develop a plan of action and a prioritised and costed policy research agenda on climate change, using a stakeholder consultation that builds on the findings of the first project. The plan of action will build upon the implications of the first study for the forthcoming Health Sector Strategic Plan, whilst the prioritised and costed research agenda should facilitate MISAU and MICOA to better elaborate the health action plan section of the recently-announced National Climate Change Strategy.   

 

 

Kulima director attends expert workshop on assessing climate change vulnerability in fisheries and aquaculture

PACFADr Katharine Vincent is currently in Windhoek attending an expert workshop on assessing climate change vulnerability in fisheries and aquaculture.  The workshop, convened by the Global Partnership for Climate, Fisheries and Aquaculture (PACFA) and UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), aims to pull together knowledge on vulnerability assessment methodologies and how they can be applied to the fisheries and aquaculture sector as part of an adaptation planning process.  Katharine will be presenting on the PROVIA guidance for assessing climate vulnerability impacts and adaptation, as well as contributing to discussions from her extensive experience of vulnerability assessment methodologies.

Dr Katharine Vincent presents at workshop on climate change and disaster reduction education

WitsDr Katharine Vincent made a presentation on "Climate change education: progress and next steps" (by skype!) at a workshop entitled "Higher education and climate change: Awareness, access and knowledge sharing across EU and non-EU programs" held at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.  The workshop was hosted by the Global Change Sustainability Research Institute and forms part of the Erasmus Mundus program LEAN-CC: Linking European, African and Asian Academic Networks on Climate Change, which involves 5 European and 5 non-European universities on climate change education. 

Kulima directors participate in Cities at Risk Workshop in Durban

STARTDr Katharine Vincent and Ms Tracy Cull are currently in Durban for the Cities at Risk workshop, convened by START, ICSU and the new Future Earth research programme and hosted by the City of Durban/eThekwini Municipality.  Attended by scientists, policy-makers and practitioners from across the African continent, the workshop intends to build on the experiences of START and its partners on urban vulnerability and adaptation in Asia and Africa to co-design a plan for short-, medium- and long-term research and capacity building in urban vulnerability and resilience on the African continent.  Katharine will make a presentation on "Current and potential ramifications of climate variability and change in African cities", whilst Tracy will speak on "Gender aspects of urban vulnerability and resilience".

 

Kulima quoted in article “Gender relations are changing along with climate”

Venda woman farmerAn article written by Jaspreet Kindra and published today by IRIN cites Kulima and its involvement in the project on engendering disaster risk reduction with CARE in Mozambique.  The article, entitled "Gender relations are changing along with climate", highlights how socio-cultural construction of gender roles (what is approrpiate behaviour for women and men) determines how disasters affect men and women, and how understanding the reasons for differential vulnerability is essential to design responses that enable both men and women to reduce their disaster risk.

Kulima runs first training course on new gender-sensitive Climate Vulnerability Capacity Analysis methodology

GCVCA trainingKulima is running the first training of trainers course in Maputo this week on the new gender-sensitive Climate Vulnerability Capacity Analysis (GCVCA) toolkit, developed in conjunction with CARE Mozambique as part of the project on engendering disaster risk reduction.  The course will be attended by CARE staff from Angoche and Homoine districts, as well as government representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry for Women and Social Action, National Disaster Management Institute and Ministry for the Coordination of Environmental Affairs.  GCVCA is a participatory methodology that aims to empower communities as they identify the vulnerability and adaptive capacity of both men and women in the face of climate change, and will be used by CARE in projects in Angoche and Homoine throughout 2013.

Kulima writes guest blog on Mozambique flooding for CDKN

urban MaputoIn a guest blog, published today on the CDKN website, Dr Katharine Vincent and Ms Tracy Cull outline the extent of flooding from heavy rains in Mozambique, and ask why it is receiving so little media coverage.  The physical magnitude of flooding has reached similar proportions to the year 2000, yet despite this, the international media is barely reporting the issue.  Floods began in mid January in the south of the country (around the Limpopo basin), and have subsequently occurred in the central region (Zambezi basin) and to the north (Cabo Delgado and Niassa provinces), affecting 250,000 people to date.  Mozambique's National Disaster Management Institute has responded, with the assistance of humanitarian partners.