ASSAR's annual meeting - Bangalore, India

The ASSAR team makes progress as decisions taken during its annual meeting begin to take shape.

Each year, members of the international and interdisciplinary ASSAR project team meet to review the progress made and strategise the way ahead. Throughout the year the ASSAR team works in diverse locations across Africa and Asia, so these annual meetings provide rare but important opportunities for face to face interactions that facilitate productive discussions and debates, nurture working relationships, and develop and instil a common project purpose and unified project strategy. This year's meeting, hosted by the Indian Institute for Human Settlements in Bangalore, India, brought together approximately 50 of the ASSAR team members from 16 different research institutions and practitioner organisations.

During a jam-packed five days, the team discussed the project's progress and challenges, and debated, work-shopped and brainstormed its content and actions. The four regional project groups (Southern Africa, West Africa, East Africa and India) worked together to refine the project's research questions, and to discuss the potential strategies and sites to use for their region-specific research. The team also discussed how to weave ASSAR's cross-regional themes - which include topics like gender, well-being, climate science and research-into-use - into the project's research programmes. Importantly, the team committed to ensuring that ASSAR produces meaningful, high quality work that achieves extensive and valuable development impacts at multiple scales - from individuals to businesses to governments.

But it wasn't all boardrooms and briefcases. During the meeting the ASSAR team also had the opportunity to see the amazing work of the Watershed Organisation Trust (WOTR) - a key ASSAR partner. Heading into the rural areas of Maharashtra, the team witnessed first-hand how 20 years of innovative management of watershed systems has transformed this dry and barren area into a landscape that supports people, biodiversity, crops and livestock.

As a community-focused organisation, WOTR's watershed management activities are centred on social upliftment, and it was incredible to hear from the people in these areas how they believe they have been educated and empowered to manage not only their land, water and biodiversity, but also their health, livelihoods and well-being.

As this annual meeting drew to a close it was clear that a great deal had been achieved. The ASSAR team left with a more holistic and unified understanding of the project purpose, with a more defined research plan, and with the ability to better understand and visualise the kind of impacts that ASSAR can have across the semi-arid areas of Africa and Asia.

In the weeks since the meeting the ASSAR team has been working at full steam. The four regional groups have begun writing the first drafts of their regional diagnostic studies - reports that provide a high-level snapshot of the climate adaptation environments in each of the ASSAR regions. The regional groups are also planning their first field visits to their study sites, during which they'll be engaging with local and national stakeholders. These engagements will not only ensure that ASSAR's work meets local and national needs, but will also help the regional groups to identify the most appropriate ways to develop tailored adaptation knowledge and to build adaptive capacities in their regions.

The ASSAR cross-cutting working groups, which are not region-specific but rather made up of members from each regional team, have also been making great progress. Some of these groups have begun to develop training courses for the ASSAR team members to improve their capacity to conduct specialised research. For example, in a course in mid-2015 the gender working group will teach the ASSAR team members how to conduct gender-sensitive research and how to mainstream gender issues into all of ASSAR's activities. Other cross-cutting working groups are developing frameworks for research topics like well-being, governance, vulnerability and biophysical impacts to ensure that the work done within each region is directly comparable with the work done in other regions.

With the ASSAR momentum now in full flow, the coming months should be very busy and productive. This will set the scene for more fascinating discussions and promote further project development at the next annual meeting, which will be held in May 2015 in Botswana.

Written by Tali Hoffman

See more at: http://www.assar.uct.ac.za/news/assars-annual-meeting-bangalore-india#sthash.sO4CDXmg.dpuf

A Provincial Vision for China’s Adaptation - Workshop in Beijing

As the second phase of the Adapting to Climate Change in China project (ACCC) begins, a province-level seminar was held in Beijing, to communicate and discuss key adaptation action points with representatives from different provinces. The aim was to ensure that these adaptation action points are in line with the real situation of each province and lay the foundations for successful progress and implementation. The seminar was organized by its project management office (PMO), directed by INTASAVE Asia-Pacific, China office, with support by Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the National Development and Reform Commission, China (NDRC).

Director General Su Wei from NDRC reviewed the cooperation between China and Switzerland in the field of climate change. He first reviewed the achievements the first phase of the ACCC project had made, and then expressed his expectations towards this next phase. Director General Su Wei hoped that experts, international organizations and local DRCs could use Phase 2 as an opportunity to carry out adaptation plans in specific prioritised areas.

Mr. Philippe Zahner, Development Counsellor, SDC shared Switzerland’s experience, remarking that Switzerland was the first country that passed the national climate change strategy. He briefly talked about their development model in the field of climate change and expressed his hope that they could lend support to China’s adaptation through their continued funding of the ACCC project, and learn more lessons from different provinces in China.

Dr. Rebecca Nadin, Project Director of ACCC and Regional Director of INTASAVE Asia-Pacific introduced the project with a welcome speech. As the project management team, INTASAVE Asia-Pacific will take charge of the ACCC implementation in the following 3 years. This is a continuation for INTASAVE on supporting climate change adaptation in China.

About ACCC

The Adapting to Climate Change in China (ACCC) project brings together Chinese policy makers, research and policy institutions, as well as international organizations and experts, to develop practical approaches to climate change adaptation policy planning. The first phase of the ACCC project (2009-2013) was designed as a “research-into-use” project, and focused on developing evidence-based climate change adaptation policy in China, at both the national and provincial levels. It made notable contributions to the formulation of the National Adaptation Strategy through building on cross-sectorial partnerships, capacity building work and scientific and policy advances. However, significant support is still required in order to achieve more in-depth and ambitious mainstreaming process on adaptive planning.

ACCC II (2014-2017) builds on the work of Phase 1 and aims:

• To mainstream climate change adaptation into development policies at national and provincial levels
• To support the formulation and implementation of integrated Provincial Adaptation Plans (PAPs) across priority sectors and share these experiences and lessons with other developing countries.

INTASAVE Asia-Pacific are the project implementers for Phase 2. The project is funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) in partnership with China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

Read more about ACCC at www.ccadaptation.org.cn

Or contact ACCC Communications Officer, Kay Zhang, at kay.zhang@intasave.org.cn

News from Namibia

A common criticism of research projects is that they exist in a vacuum, and lack consideration for how to put the research findings into practice. To avoid this, and to ensure that the project yields tangible, practical and actionable value, ASSAR is endeavouring to develop comprehensive 'research-into-use' strategies across its regions. These strategies are something that the Southern African Team kept high on their agenda during their recent field trip.

Within ASSAR, the Southern African team focuses on the semi-arid areas of Botswana, Namibia and South Africa. Their mandate is to work with local experts and stakeholders to identify factors that will help people adapt to climate change in ways that support their livelihoods and ensure their wellbeing.

To get this work off the ground, in November 2014, Dian Spear, Salma Hegga and Margaret Angula drove some 2375 km through the semi-arid landscapes of north-central Namibia. Their goals for this trip included understanding the needs and interests of critical stakeholders from governmental and non-governmental fields, and figuring out how to work together - throughout the project life - to ensure that these needs are met.

Through these meetings the ASSAR team was able to develop their existing collaborations, forge links with new stakeholders, and identify stakeholders to reach out to in future. In the process they developed a better understanding of the context and status of climate change adaptation in Namibia. They also learned more about the perceptions, roles, concerns and needs of different stakeholders at different scales, from constituent levels, to regional and national levels.

From a strategic point of view, the team also became aware of the importance of following appropriate protocols when conducting work at multiple scales and with multiple and interconnected stakeholders. Lastly, and very importantly, the connections that the Southern African team developed with the Namibian stakeholders helped to identify potential pathways for putting their research into use, and making sure it has practical value.

With three years of research ahead of them this trip marks only the very beginning of the Southern African work process, yet it was critical for obtaining early support for the project by the people who matter most. As the team continues on its journey we will continue to document their activities, successes and challenges. Watch this space!

Written by Tali Hoffman
See more at: http://www.assar.uct.ac.za/news/news-namibia#sthash.sXaKx1RF.dpuf

A Sense of Scale

Have you ever wondered if small-scale renewable projects are worth their time and effort compared to large-scale projects?

This question came into stark focus on a visit to a community in Olosho-Oibor, Kenya in May this year, a visit that was a precursor to a meeting of the Solar Nano Grids (SONG) project.

Olosho-Oibor Community Energy Supply

Coming over the hills and down into the plains we arrive at the community of Olosho-Oibor, consisting of about 8,000 people spread over an area of 20 km2 and being of the Maasai people, they are mainly pastoralists. The community has a centrally located hub of a school, dispensary, church and some small commercial enterprises, which is located about 25 km from the nearest grid connection.

In 2009 UNIDO and AUSAID funded an off-grid electrical generation system consisting of a 7kWp solar PV array, a 3kWp wind turbine, a 9kVA vegetable oil/diesel generator (almost never used) and a battery bank. The community contributed to the project by digging trenches and laying underground cables to the dispensary, school and church.

The school receives a small amount of energy nevertheless it has enabled the it to have more light for work in the evenings - raising the standard of educational attainment to such an extent that it is one of the best schools in the area.

Similarly, the dispensary is able to deal with emergencies at night, and the electrical vaccine refrigerator enables safe storage of the vital medications. Down the road, a rescue centre for girls has been started which has also been electrified and is in the process of expanding to give a home to over 60 girls from the neighbouring area.

Further, three new businesses have started increasing the local quality of life. For example the presence of a mobile phone charging shop has enabled the increased use of mobile phones and hence access to banking facilities using M-PESA.

Interestingly, one of the unexpected uses was that the community bought a projector and screen and now there are regular community screenings of UK premiership football games!

This off-grid community now belongs to the global village.

Ngong Hills Wind Farm

In contrast, driving northwards from Nairobi, crossing the Ngong Hills, there is a lot of activity erecting another large wind turbine of the Ngong power station wind farm. This wind farm is rapidly increasing its capacity from 5.1 MW to 25.5 MW and is estimated that it will provide 75 GWh of electricity per annum. Most of this energy is destined for the rapidly growing city of Nairobi and this wind farm will supplement the largely hydro-based electrical generation capacity, providing some resilience to drier years for the Kenya Electricity Generating Company and mitigating the need for more large-scale diesel generation.

Big or Small?

So which is better? Both projects are providing low carbon energy. The wind farm produces substantial amounts of energy that would otherwise have been produced by large diesel generators. This is all good. The community scale project produces far less energy, but has a disproportionately increased benefit to the people who would not otherwise have access to electricity. This is also good.

Maybe the question posed is not the right question. Its not about having either big or small scale projects - its that both have their own important role to play: the large-scale renewable energy projects are good to help wean industrialised communities off fossil fuels and small-scale renewable energy projects democratise energy by uplifting rural communities which would otherwise be left behind.

Malcolm McCulloch
Head Energy and Power Group
Dept Engineering Science
University of Oxford

Supporting China’s adaptation - ACCC Phase 2

China faces significant challenges and opportunities in the wake of climate change. The country is many worlds within one, ranging from the subtropics in the south to the snow-covered north, the arid west and the lush coastal east. China’s vast population knows well the brunt of the elements. But all this is changing faster and less predictably than before. The time to act is clear.

Significant progress has been made recently to mainstream climate change adaptation in China. The Adapting to Climate Change in China (ACCC) project has been working on this, supporting decision makers with the information on who and what is at greatest risk from climate change, why they are vulnerable and what they can do. ACCC provides robust, locally relevant and up to date scientific, social and economic information to lay a solid foundation for adaptation responses.

The first phase of ACCC supported the development of the National Adaptation Strategy (NAS), which was announced by Vice Chairman Xie Zhenhua (National Development Reform Commission) at COP19, Warsaw. The NAS sets out key themes and priority work areas and mandates for the drafting of Provincial Adaptation Plans (PAPs) and the selection of pilot provinces. This represents the most critical phase of mainstreaming climate change adaptation process in China.

The second phase, managed by INTASAVE Asia-Pacific, will now support the development of the Provincial Adaptation Plans, including through support tools, capacity building and trialling local adaptation options.

The Adapting to Climate Change in China (ACCC) project brings together Chinese policy makers, research and policy institutions, as well as international organizations and experts, to develop practical approaches to climate change adaptation policy planning. The ACCC phase I (2009-2013) was designed as a “research-into-use” project, and focused on developing evidence-based climate change adaptation policy in China, at both the national and provincial levels. It made notable contributions to the formulation of the NAS through building on cross-sectorial partnerships, capacity building work and scientific and policy advances. However, significant support is still required in order to achieve more in-depth and ambitious mainstreaming process on adaptive planning.

ACCC phase II (2014-2017) builds on the work of phase I and aims:

• To mainstream climate change adaptation into development policies at national and provincial levels 
• To support the formulation and implementation of integrated Provincial Adaptation Plans (PAPs) across priority sectors and share these experiences and lessons with other developing countries.

The ACCC phase II is funded by the Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation. The main institutional Chinese partner is the National Development and Reform Commission.  The project is undertaken in partnership with nearly 20 international, national and provincial bodies. The policy-research work spans climate impacts, vulnerability and risk across six provinces and municipalities (Ningxia, Inner-Mongolia, Jilin, Jiangxi, Guizhou and Qingdao) covering the following sectors:

• Water
• Agriculture 
• Grassland/Animal Husbandry 
• Disaster risk reduction 
• Integrated risk assessment for planning
• Coastal zone management

Towards Community-based Tourism in Jamaican Fish Sanctuary Areas

Under the C-FISH Initiative's Alternative Livelihood component, CARIBSAVE is looking to introduce, enhance and support community-based tourism in sanctuary areas. In order to achieve this, the Travel Foundation, a partner in the C-FISH Fund, undertook exploratory research regarding the market/demand and feasibility of creating bespoke, mainstream excursions that support responsible tourism initiatives at 3 fish sanctuaries in Jamaica. The information gathered from this study will help guide the direction and activities which CARIBSAVE will support in order to develop the community-based tourism. This component is very important for sanctuaries to provide sustainable financing mechanisms for sanctuary management (through C-FISH Fund), income generating activities through crafts and tours, and promote awareness of Jamaica, the sanctuaries and the need for conservation of fisheries.

Trysion Walters from BREDS: Treasure Beach Foundation takes visitors on a tour of the Galleon, St. Elizabeth Fish Sanctuary, Jamaica. These tours are one way that tourism supports the community; fishers with appropriate training can become tour guides, thereby providing them with additional income, and reducing fishing pressure in the area. Photo by Simone Lee.

Visitors support sanctuaries not only through tours, but through purchasing of locally made crafts. Look out for C-FISH branded products in the near future! Photo by Simone Lee

Tourists can also support the local economy through purchasing fruits or agro-processed products such as jams and jellies from community members. In Bluefield's Bay, the Westmoreland Organic Farmers Group offers a number of delicious products to sample! Photo by Brenda Barry

Welcome to Bluefields Bay! This is one of C-FISH grantee fish sanctuaries, and one that we are looking to support through community-based tourism. Bluefields is rich in culture and natural aesthetics. Would you be interested in a tour taking you to Accomopong Maroon Village, a cultural tour of Savanna-la-mar, and a visit to Bluefields Bay – an old pirate bay now turned fish sanctuary? Photo by Brenda Barry.

Feel like visiting a part of the Caribbean sea you probably won't have in front of your hotel? Welcome to Galleon, St. Elizabeth fish sanctuary – one of the C-FISH grantee sites. Take a boat tour with local and knowledgeable fishermen who can show you the juvenile fish, starfish and rays in the sea grass; the wetland birds both resident and migratory living in the mangrove forests. Look out for turtles that nest on the nearby beach and dolphins that frequent the area. Would you be interested in a tour that went to here, the nearby Y.S. Falls, and an opportunity to have a Red Strip on the famous Pelican Bar on wooden stilts in the ocean? Photo by Simone Lee

Oracabessa Bay – one of the C-FISH grantee sites has a lot of potential for community-based tourism. Located on the north coast near other popular tourism sites, visitors can get the opportunity to experience the coral gardening, turtle watching and other conservation activities at this sanctuary. Would you be interested in a tour to Firefly – the historical home of playwright Noel Coward, with an impressive list of celebrity guests – to Oracabessa and James Bond Beach, Oracabessa Bay fish sanctuary and an arts and craft tour? Photo by Simone Lee.


Visit the C-FISH website for more information on the Alternative Livelihood's programme and the broader C-FISH initiative being implemented in five (5) countries across the Caribbean Region!

UN Climate Talks in Lima: INTASAVE’s upcoming events

This year’s UN Climate Talks are set to begin in Lima, Peru next week, where governments will meet to negotiate on key issues for climate change. COP20 will also see many others from the climate community converge on the Peruvian capital and is a key opportunity for sharing experiences, best practices and lesson learned from a whole range of academic and practitioner organisations.

The INTASAVE-CARIBSAVE Group will be running a series of events in at COP20.

DATE: 5th December, 15:00-16:30
ROOM: Caral (130)
Official Side Event:

How can we maximise synergies for mitigation, adaptation & sustainable development policy & practice? 

Opportunities to create co-benefits across mitigation, adaptation and development are notable but AR5 stressed the need to further understanding. To begin this, INTASAVE will present on their global support for win-win policy, the Gabon will showcase their integrated Sustainable Development Policy and NCCSD will share sectoral experience from climate smart agriculture.</p>

Panellists:

• Dr Rebecca Nadin, Asia-Pacific Director, The INTASAVE-CARIBSAVE Group
• Dr Tanguy Gahouma, Permanent Secretary, National Climate Council, Gabon
• Dr Kirit Shelat, Executive Chairman, National Council for Climate Change, Sustainable Development and Public Leadership (NCCSD)