Strengthening Capacities and Promoting Research in AfricaStrengthening adaptive capacity at local and national levels is key to successful adaptation planning and practice.

Essecially in Africa, adaptation to climate change is confronted with a number of challenges. There is an urgent need to increase knowledge and collaboration among researchers, prectitioners and policy makers in order to identify and implement strategies to strengthen national and local capacities for action.

With around 80 participants and the presence of both African and European speakers, the workshop brought together a wide range of expertise from researchers, practitioners and policy makers working in various fields related to adaptation to climate change in Africa.

The question of how to strengthen capacities in Africa was approached from two sides: The first day had a strong thematic focus by looking at adaptation to climate change in the fields of agriculture and water. The second day focused on the question of how to support capacity building for research on adaptation to climate change in Africa. The workshop was a contribution to the Nairobi Work Programme of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Presentations and discussions related to adaptation to climate change in the agriculture and water sector focused especially on existing research needs and gaps and priorities for action. In this context a variety of African speakers shared their experiences with regard to the availability of meteorological data, the usefulness of climate models and the translation of this information to practitioners, farmers and other stakeholders. Gaps identified did not only include the paucity of climate and socio-economic data, but also gaps in communication between and among producers and users of climatic data. Further, it was discussed how to strengthen adaptive capacity of local actors in different social-ecological contexts. The topics covered various issues like the role of micro insurance for adaptation to climate change, adaptive water management and innovative water storage practices. On the whole, the discussions throughout the day were related to four main aspects:

• First, how to design adaptation strategies and measures.
• Secondly, how to disseminate this information to practitioners.
• Thirdly, how to ensure that people on the local level understand and imply the given information.
• Finally, how to integrate development and climate policy in order to make sure that adaptation measures reach the poor.

It was highlighted that adaptation is a local matter so as a consequence it is important to think about how to construct international and national frameworks to help local needs. Although not addressed explicitly, the issues discussed during the first day also underscored the importance of supporting research capacity in Africa which was at the centre of discussion during the second day of the workshop.

The second day explored ways of building and strengthening research capacity in Africa on adaptation to climate change. A number of different existing as well as emerging initiatives and support programmes were presented, highlighting the needs and challenges as well as success factors for building research capacity in the support of adaptation action in Africa. Among the various approaches to foster research capacity in Africa, examples of building north-south research partnerships and knowledge sharing networks were mentioned. One of the questions was, how to design the support of proposed regional centres or networks under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

The presentation of current initiatives served as a stimulus for lively discussions in break out groups conducted in the afternoon. Although the need for further supporting capacity building was generally acknowledged, there was an increasing concern about the partly overlapping initiatives and lack of coordination among donors and the different initiatives. The combination of top-down and bottom-up approaches was mentioned as an important challenge. National Universities were seen as important entry points in supporting research on adaptation to climate change which until now are not yet well integrated into existing and planned initiatives.

On the whole, the workshop made clear that there is a need for better integration of development and climate change adaptation policies. The coordination both among donors as well as within recipient countries has to be improved. Regional research centres could play an important role in terms of facilitating knowledge transfer across the micro, meso and macro levels. The strong African presence at the workshop produced stimulating and interesting discussions, that were marked by different perspectives of disciplines and national backgrounds with regards to adaptation to climate change.