RIfS Africa Task Team

The Africa Task Team defines and addresses regional-specific challenges on climate information for society in Africa. The Task Team facilitates and steers this work for RIfS in Africa, and could become a model for how RIfS organizes similar activities in other regions of the world.

This Task Team is majority African in membership and co-chaired by researchers living and working on the continent. The problem of the “missing middle” between climate research and stakeholder contexts appears in every region, and this Task Team focuses on the specific issues within Africa, and help shape the agenda for investment in research capacity in the coming years. 

Africa-based coordinating staff is supporting the Task Team during an initial 2 year period, thanks to a partnership with the CLARE project (see below).

Expected outcomes

• Foster collaboration and partnerships around frontier research on the generation, analysis, construction, and communication of robust climate change information aligned and engaged with stakeholder contexts;
• Develop climate literacy and relevant capacity among the web of actors engaged in managing climate risk and building resilience to climate impacts;
• Build an Africa Community of Practice around transdisciplinary approaches to climate and society;
• Synthesize lessons from pilot studies around the continent.

The team is tasked to:

• Define and participate in pilot projects;
• Collectively advocate for the development of the pan-African research community;
• Develop a prioritization of needed resources to develop research capacity on the African continent in the coming years;
• Contribute to journal articles and/or white papers on these issues;
• Work with the RIfS Working Group on Robust Information to share African perspectives about robust climate change information for decisions with counterparts in other parts of the world.

About CLARE

CLARE  is  a  flagship  research  programme  on  climate  adaptation  and resilience,  funded  mostly  (about  90%)  by  UK  Aid  through  the  Foreign Commonwealth  and  Development  Office  (FCDO),  and  co-funded  by  the International  Development  Research  Centre  (IDRC),  Canada.  CLARE  is bridging critical gaps between science and action by championing Southern leadership  to  enable  socially  inclusive  and  sustainable  action  to  build resilience to climate change and natural hazards. Learn more about CLARE: www.clareprogramme.org

RIfS has partnered with CLARE for an initial two year period to support a Science Officer based in Africa to help coordinate across diverse, but related, efforts around the continent. There will also be two postdocs based at African institutions to work on pilot projects identified by the Task Team. The Task Team provides guidance for these personnel.

Members

Abba Omar Sabina	Member	University of Cape Town
Amanda Grossi	Member	Alliance of Biodiversity International – CIAT
Ayansina Ayanlade	Member	Obafemi Awolowo University
Cheikh Modou Noreyni Fall	Member	Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar
Eman Ahmad	Member	GOPP Egypt
Mastawesha Misganaw Engdaw	Member	Alliance of Biodiversity International – CIAT
Mouhamadou Bamba Sylla	Member	African Institute for Mathematical Sciences Research and Innovation Centre
Moussa Diakhate	Member	Amadou-Mahtar M’Bow University
Romaric christel Odoulami	Member	University of Cape Town
Safietiou Sanfo	Member	WASCAL
Wilma Nchito	Member	University of Zambia
Bruce Hewitson	Ex-officio Member (and RIfS SSG co-chair)	University of Cape Town

Please direct your questions to any task team members, or the RIfS IPO: admin@wcrp-rifs.org