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Advancing African Climate Science Research & Knowledge to Inform Adaptation Decision-Making in Africa
Africa is the continent most vulnerable to natural variations in our climate and human-induced climate change, and to associated extremes like droughts and floods. There is an urgent need to strengthen scientific understanding of the present and future climate and ensure that this knowledge is available and relevant to decision makers.
The Africa Climate Conference 2013 (ACC2013), in Arusha, Tanzania 15-18 October, aims to strengthen the relationship between the scientific and policy-making communities. The expected outcome from the conference is a set of concrete research proposals to address the critical gaps in our understanding of the African climate system and to lay the foundations for science-based decision-making for the rest of the 21st Century
The conference seeks to foster the twin-track approach of researching the use of existing climate information for decision-making, while improving predictability and skill of climate science outputs (ACPC, 2011) by catalyzing activities across the continent for improved and more salient climate science
ACC13 is organized under the auspices of the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP), the African Climate Policy Center (ACPC) and the Universty of Dar Es Salaam. The first of its kind, the conference brings together nearly 400 stakeholders from Africa and around the world.
The conference will:
- identify the state of knowledge on the African climate system, recognizing current gaps in climate knowledge;
- define and drive an African agenda for future climate research that will inform adaptation decisions out to the mid- to end 21st Century.;
- develop a framework for mainstreaming climate information into decision making,
- establish a network of experts who translate this knowledge into practical applications in areas such as agriculture and food production, water resources management, risk management and adaptation planning.
The outcomes of the Arusha conference will feed into the Third Conference on Climate Change and Development in Africa (CCDA–III) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 21 – 23 October 2013. The theme of this year’s conference is “Africa on the rise: can the opportunities from climate change spring the continent to transformative development www.climdev-africa.org/ccda
For more information: http://www.climdev-africa.org/acc2013
