WINDGOEK, Namibia (PAMACC News) -  The Weather and Climate Information Services for Africa (WISER) funded Climate Research for Development (CR4D) has moved into high gear with the establishment of a grant management mechanism framework.

According to Frank Rutabingwa of the African Climate Policy Centre (ACPC) of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the key objective of the framework is to support “African-led small, but potentially scalable research grant management facility in African institutions that will support CR4D research priorities.”

“A comprehensive project document on WISER funded CR4D research definition, oversight and uptake has been developed,” Rutabingwa said, adding that 2, 847,000 pounds have been secured from the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID).

Rutabingwa was speaking in Windhoek, Namibia, at the fourth Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) meeting.

The meeting was held ahead of a two day write-shop to produce an African Regional Climate Outlook Forum (RCOFs) Best Practices document emanating from ACPC’s knowledge exchange workshops organised earlier in the year. The aim is to have a document that serves as a reference by all RCCs.

CR4D which was launched in 2015, aims at advancing new frontiers of African climate research to enhance co-production of climate information and services for development planning,

Research for development is therefore seen as a critical and complimentary component to achieve the overall goal of the WISER progarmme, which is to stimulate the uptake of climate information by policy makers and vulnerable groups including the youth and women.

Most importantly, Africa’s increasingly variable weather and climate, experts say, threatens development in sectors such as agriculture and food security, water, energy, infrastructure, and health are already sensitive to weather related shocks.

Further, experts believe research is critical in the operationalization of the Paris Agreement whose rule book is expected to be finalised at COP 24, and that African countries would need to be better prepared in the implementation of their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

James Murombedzi, ACPC officer-in-charge, says the centre is fully committed to support member countries in their efforts to fight climate change and achieve sustainable development.

“The ECA is fully committed to supporting member States regarding the NDCs, taking into account the need for urgent and adequate climate action while staying on course to achieve the goals of Agenda 2063 and the sustainable development goals,” he said.

COP 24 is seen as the make or break meeting since the landmark Paris Agreement in 2015. It is being held against the backdrop of a year of record-breaking climate impacts, and the landmark special report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC); “Global Warming of 1.50C” which unequivocally concluded that the world is not on track to limiting global temperature rise to below 1.50C.   

It is generally agreed that 2015 was a landmark year in the development of coherent global frameworks to guide development planning. The agreements concluded in 2015 include: the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 (SFDRR); the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development; African Union’s Agenda 2063; the Addis Ababa Action Agenda; and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

For Africa, whose economies have been severely affected by global warming and climate change, successful implementation of any of these frameworks is fundamentally contingent on actions taken regionally and globally to address the negative impacts of climate change on the one hand, and/or to explore and use some of the development opportunities from climate change.

As most of the 2015 development frameworks demonstrably point out, very little could be achieved by way of implementation of these frameworks without a complete mastery of the collection and analysis processes of climate data, which is the basis for reliable information for action on climate change at all sectoral levels.

NAIROBI, Kenya (PAMACC News) - After losing a renewable energy patent to a powerful organization five years ago, George Otieno, a Kenyan technical innovator, is still searching for elusive justice.

Even after hiring a lawyer several times to represent him in court, his case has never made it past the gates of justice.

Otieno suspects his lawyer was bribed by the organization to drop the case, but he cannot do anything about it since he does not have the financial muscle to keep pursuingit, he says.
“I have tried several times to use a lawyer to take this organization to court. But the lawyer always turns me down. I do not know what to do next,” says Otieno, who is also a member of the Kenya Renewable Energy Association (KREA).

Like hundreds of innovators in Kenya, Otieno is a victim of poor policies that fail to inspire solutions meant to help the country adopt to the pressures of climate change.
But if an October meeting of policy makers in Nairobi that was reviewing progress in the implementation of climate change policies in Africa is anything to go by, Otieno might just be getting there.

“It is time to translate policy on climate change into action to be able to halt emissions and have an organized transition to a carbon neutral future in the shortest time possible,” James Murombedzi, the Officer in Charge of the Economic Commission for the African Climate Policy Center (ACPC), told delegates.

Murombedzi’s reasoning echoes everyday efforts that are being tried by Kenyans like Otieno. To help such civilians, governments must work with all sectors of society despite their interests, because climate governance is complex, says Murombedzi.

According to him, Africa is endowed with sufficient knowledge and technology to battle climate change. The only missing piece is strong policies that support these skills to be able to secure the continent’s preparedness against climate change, he says.

This is why it is becoming difficult for many climate change innovators in countries like Kenya to complete their creations due to policies that protect the beneficiary, rather than the maker of a product, argues Otieno.

“When the government fails to protect Kenyans like me against predatory business players, the spirit of innovation will die because I cannot invest all my time and energy on innovating something I get nothing from,” said Otieno.

Yet, government arms like the Climate Change Directorate argue Kenyans like Otieno are protected by the Kenya Green Economy Strategy and Implementation Plan 2018-2020, which is informed by among others, the need for technology development, innovation and transfer.

Besides, the 2018-2022 National Climate Change Action Plan seeks to set aside Ksh. 11 billion to support technology and innovation and how these skills can be transferred to average Kenyans, argues Charles Mutai at the Directorate.

“The Plan also seeks to ensure that Kenya enhances the use of renewable energy. We are working with other national agencies to promote innovations in this area,” says Mutai.
It is a prospect that raises hopes for troubled Kenyans like Otieno. But experts say a lot of work needs to be done to achieve accommodating and strong climate change policies.
For instance, the current policies are mostly top-down and very technical for the average Kenyan to understand, argues Samuel Kimeu, the executive director at Transparency International (TI), Kenya.

With such policies, he argues, it becomes very difficult to track how climate change finances are spent, making this weakness a breeding ground for corruption.
He is right. Two years since the Kenya Climate Change Act was established, there has never been a public report to show how climate change finances have been spent, critics argue.
Besides, they add, climate change intervention in the country has become an elitist affair, with most of the finances being sucked up by local and international conferences.

“But when there are droughts or floods affecting the poor, the burden of dealing with these calamities is left to the community to solve alone,” says Benjamin Mukulu, the director of environment and natural resource in Kitui County.

Perhaps the solution lies in institutional reforms, before Kenya can achieve strong climate change polices, argues TI’s Kimeu.

But Otieno is not convinced, arguing that corruption is so deeply entrenched into the Kenyan system that everyone is only interested in making quick money.
“I blame the Kenyan mentality. Even if we are given legal lawyers to protect us innovatorsthey will let us down after being bribed. There is a mentality of get rich quick syndrome which is robbing us of our future,” says Otieno.

NAIROBI, Kenya (PAMACC News) - Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has called on African leaders to work in unity to be able to combat effects of climate change.

Saying that climate change is a matter of life and death for Africa and the continent has experienced devastating and unprecedented impacts of climate change on its peoples' lives and livelihoods and national economies.

“Given that our shared ecosystems and natural resources know no boundaries, it is essential that we continue to speak in one voice to safeguard the basis of our development and seek transformative solutions,” Uhuru said last week.

In a speech read on his behalf by Environment Cabinet Secretary KeriakoTobiko, Uhuru said Africa is the most vulnerable continent despite contributing only about four per cent to global greenhouse gas emissions.

Tobikoread the speech when he represented the President to launch the three-day 7th Conference on Climate Change and Development in Africa (CCDA-VII) in a Nairobi hotel.
The conference is convened by Government, in collaboration with Climate Development (CLIMDEV) Africa Partners, Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA) and Think Renewables from Canada.

However, the President said climate change threats present opportunities for innovative and green investments for Africa.

“This is why implementation of the Paris Agreement remains a priority for the continent in order to adapt to the inevitability of climate variability and change,” Uhuru said

He said that achieving the goals of the Agreement require committed leadership from state and non-state actors.

“The theme of this year’s forum, “Policies and actions for effective implementation of the Paris Agreement for resilient economies in Africa”, reflects our collective engagement and commitment to strengthen climate change actions in the context of Africa’s development priorities,” Uhuru said.

He called on Africa to use the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report on Global Warming of 1.50C special report and its impacts in the context of strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change, sustainable development, and efforts to eradicate poverty released this week.

The President said 2018 is a critical year for the operationalization of the Paris Agreement. The nature and extent of parties’ obligations will only be clear once negotiations on the Paris Rule Book are complete, and hopefully adopted in COP 24, in Katowice, Poland in December 2018,” Uhuru said.

He noted that for Africa to address effects of climate change, it needs adequate and predictable resources be mobilised and made available to support adaptation and mitigation action in Africa and other developing world.

Kenya has put in place an enabling policy and legal environment for climate change implementation and has a greenhouse gasemission reduction target of 30 per cent by 2030.
“Our National Climate Action Plan (2018-2022) identifies disaster risk management, food and nutrition security, water and the blue economy, forestry, wildlife and tourism, health, sanitation and human settlements to help us tackle climate change,” Uhuru said.

The President as part of tapping into the opportunities in biodiversity, Kenya will hosting the first Sustainable Blue Economy Conference next month to promote sustainable investments in oceans, seas, lakes, and rivers.

“I invite you all to attend and actively participate in the Conference so as to raise the African voice in matters of Blue Economy and Ocean governance,” Uhuru said.  
Tobiko stressed the need to include indigenous knowledge, marginalized and indigenous communities, private sector, the youth and women.
“Scientists need to work closely with indigenous people to learn from them on how to address climate change. The communities have solutions to the problems we are facing now. Let us not spend more time in boardrooms,” Tobiko said.

Vihiga Governor Dr Wilbur Otichillo who represented the Council of Governors (CoG) stressed the need for working together to achieve climate change goals.
“The national government has built capacities of counties. Counties now should have their own county determined contributions to address climate change since this is a devolved function,” Otichillo said.

Dr James Murombedzi, head of Africa Climate Policy Centre (ACPC) said climate change is happening at a rate much faster than previously estimated.
“Global warming is outstripping all our efforts to resolve it.The impacts of global warming are also already much greater than predicted, particularly in developing countriesLimiting global warming to 1.5 degrees will cost $2.4 trillion of investments in the global energy system every year between 2016 – 2035. The cost of not doing anything will be much, much higher,” Murombedzi said.

MithikaMwenda, the secretary general of PACJA said political leaders hold the key for the effective implementation of the Paris Agreement.
“Our leaders should remain focused and resist attempts to scatter the unified African voice to deny us a strong bargain of the Paris rulebook which will define whether the agreement will follow the previous efforts which have remained in the shelves of government offices without implementation,” Mwenda said.

NAIROBI, Kenya (PAMACC News) - Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation and the World Bank are working towards an agricultural observatory platform that will enable institutions access high resolution agro-meteorological data.

The partnership is to support Kenya Climate Resilient Agriculture (KCSAP) project under the Ministry of Agriculture Livestock, Fisheries and Irrigation to pilot the Agricultural Observatory Platform for the sector for one year.

The data that will be received from satellites will help policy makers and farmers optimize on data that supports agro weather, market, climate and advisory markets.

Speaking during the launch of the pilot Agricultural Observatory Platform, KALRO Director General Dr. Eliud Kireger said the biggest challenge in agriculture performance has been lack of accurate, timely and reliable weather.

“This data will be able to give accurate information as it will observe information such as temperature, weather and rainfall that will be availed to scientists to make sense of it and in turn  provide digital meteorological information using modern ICT tools,” he said.

Kireger added that depending on the focus given through the platform, information collected will also be availed to policy makers and farmers to make timely and informed decisions.
For the farmers, the DG said they will be able get information on how to prepare early depending on indication of the weather such as early rainfall, poor rainfall or even lack of and thus plan.

He said that the policy makers and through the observatory platform will  now be able to advise farmers through the Agricultural extension systems  on  even the variety of maize they need to plant depending on the area data.

Kireger noted that the two-year Agricultural Observatory Platform will  be able to aggregate field and farm level data into able information that provides insight in addressing the challenge of where it rained, where crops failed and how many people were impacted.

The Lead Agriculture Economist from the World Bank, Ladisy Komba Chengula said that the system will be up and running by end of the month.

He explained that with only 23 meteorological sites that are providing agro weather data and mostly concentrated in Central and rift valley  the current observatory platform will be providing data on  rains, temperature, wind and speed in an area of 9 by 9 kms square.

“This access is high resolution, reliable and it means we will be having 7,200 agro weather stations that will be giving data,” he said.

Chengula explained that the current 23 Kenya Meteorological Department (KMD) owns the ground stations that compliments the data gotten from the satellite and will cost yearly subscription of USD 50,000 which is a subsidy considering one MET stations would cost USD10, 000.

“The biggest climate risk Kenya has is drought which alternates with floods even with good rains, this platform will see scientism be able to predict when floods will happen and in which area,” he said.

Agronomists says two weeks delay of rains means that 40 percent reduction of yields will occur but with this system one can be able to postpone in order not to incur losses and this is the kind of scientific message that is pertinent for any production decisions that farmers or policy makers can make,” he said.

The system will operate through all the 47 counties, as well as the East African Region and this system is not only for local monitoring but traders can be able to look at what is happening in other areas.

The observatory platform is the first of its kind in Africa  and being implemented in Kenya and Ethiopia  before being replicated in other countries in Africa upon the success.