RATIONALE
Climate change, materialized by increased temperatures, changes in rainfall regimes and more intense and frequent extreme climate events, is a world-wide concern with far-reaching adverse impacts on all aspects of life. It is the significant environmental challenge in the current scenario that poses serious threats to biodiversity, particularly forests and wildlife resources. Wildlife is interrelated with weather conditions that affect the distribution of vegetation and the shape of habitat that supports the broad range of wildlife species (Rajpar et al., 2022)[1].
In recent years, there has been a marked increase in global awareness of the intricate and critical interplay between climate change and human life, as highlighted by Zhou et al. (2020)[2]. Recognizing the pressing urgency of addressing these challenges, the international community has actively called for coordinated and sustained efforts to mitigate climate change. This has been underscored through significant agreements such as the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 13 on climate action, which aims to address the complex and multifaceted issues associated with climate change.
The devastating impact of climate change has had a profound effect on Africa’s abundant biodiversity and the lives of millions of vulnerable people. It is estimated that nearly 99% of Africa’s 624 million hectares of forest, which is mostly natural, is affected by climate change, impacting a significant number of wildlife populations[3]. It is crucial for all stakeholders to intensify their efforts to address climate change, restore Africa’s forests, including those in delicate drylands and islands, and protect its diverse biodiversity.
Addressing climate change involves many aspects from adapted practices / technologies, human capacities, enabling institutional and policy framework, and accessing financial resources. On each of these aspects, countries and institutions have made different levels of progress, some having successfully implemented some climate actions while others facing many difficulties to kick start. This context offers opportunities for sharing knowledge, experiences, best practices and lessons among stakeholders.
In view of this, the African Forest Forum (AFF) in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)’s Regional Office for Africa will hold a three-week Community of Practice (CoP) that integrates both a webinar series and web-based discussions focused on “Climate Change in African Forestry and Wildlife Sectors”. The CoP will aim to serve as an efficient and easily accessible way for peer-to-peer sharing of stakeholders/countries’ knowledge, experiences, expertise, and lessons learned on past and ongoing interventions/initiatives to address climate change in forestry and wildlife sectors.
OBJECTIVES OF THE COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE
The objectives of this CoP are twofold:
- Offer an opportunity and platform for stakeholders to share knowledge, experiences and best practices on how to address climate change in forestry and wildlife sectors, encompassing practices, innovations / technologies, policy and institutional frameworks, mobilization of financial resources, and among others.
- Based on the challenges and opportunities, identify and recommend key actionable areas for consideration by AFWC members and FAO in the next session of the African Forestry and Wildlife Commission (AFWC).
METHODOLOGY
The CoP on “Climate Change in the African Forestry and Wildlife Sectors” will be held virtually via Howspace, from 09th to 27th September 2024. The 3-week long CoP will adopt a two-tiered approach (web-based discussion and webinar series):
- An open-ended web-based discussion for the first and third weeks of the CoP using the chat functions of the platform, where stakeholders are invited to share their experiences and ask or answer questions at their available time. The discussion will be guided by key questions.
- One week webinar series featuring daily presentations by selected experts. The webinars will cover specific topics related to climate change in forestry and wildlife sectors, which are linked to the CoP thematic areas. The goal of these webinars is to facilitate comprehensive and insightful discussions on climate change in Africa’s forestry and wildlife sectors, and to encourage the sharing of experiences among community members, guest speakers, and experts.
SYNOPSIS OF THE 3-WEEK COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE
Week 1: Web-based discussion on the overview of Climate Change in African Forestry and Wildlife Sectors
During the first week of web-based discussions, stakeholders will be brought up to speed on the climate change-related issues affecting African forests and wildlife populations including how to address them, while also becoming familiar with the Howspace tool. Daily summaries on proposed themes will be posted, enabling stakeholders to access resources and use the Chat function to ask questions for understanding, which will receive prompt responses. The main expected outcomes are:
- Gained an understanding of how the Howspace platform works;
- Built common understanding of stakeholders on the impacts of climate change in forestry and wildlife sectors in Africa;
- Improved understanding among stakeholders on practices / technologies addressing climate change in forestry and wildlife sectors through exchange of knowledge and experiences;
- Enhanced knowledge of stakeholders on suitable policies and institutional set-up for addressing climate change in forestry and wildlife sectors;
- Improved stakeholders’ knowledge on funding opportunities for climate actions in forestry and wildlife sectors and key aspects to consider when developing projects targeting climate finance.
Week 2: Webinar series and live discussion on Climate Change in the African Forestry and Wildlife Sectors
The webinar series will begin in week 2 of the CoP and will address both forestry and wildlife sectors. It aims to help stakeholders understand the impact of climate change on the African forestry and wildlife sectors, as well as how to address the issues, including practices / technologies, policies, institutional set-up, and funding opportunities. The week 2 webinar series will feature PowerPoint presentations by selected experts to better inform stakeholders. It is expected that at the end of week 2, stakeholders have:
- Gained knowledge on the global and regional trends and implications of climate change for forestry and wildlife departments, understood their impacts in these sectors as well as their contribution to global warming.
- Understood the adaptation and mitigation practices, innovations / technologies available to address climate change in both forestry and wildlife sectors.
- Gained better insight on policies and institutional framework that are conducive for climate actions in the forestry and wildlife sectors
- Gained knowledge on the funding opportunities for implementing mitigation and adaptation activities in the forestry and wildlife sectors, with a special focus on carbon finance.
- Discussed the challenges and opportunities in addressing climate change in forestry and wildlife sectors and identified actions that need to be taken.
Week 3: Chat exchange on lessons learned and experience sharing on Climate Change in the African Forestry and Wildlife Sectors
In week 3, we will consolidate, validate, and distill the lessons and best practices learned during the CoP. The moderator will prepare comprehensive summaries of key messages for discussion with stakeholders. Ultimately, we will develop a robust strategy and action plan to ensure continued interaction and peer-to-peer learning within the community beyond the webinar sessions.
Week 3 will also provide an opportunity to discuss with CoP participants, a draft roadmap that synthesize key actionable areas / actions, implementation steps, suggested lead actors (to initiate / undertake the actions), other actors that might be involved, timelines, etc.
TARGET
All stakeholders in the forestry and wildlife sectors, from government’s forestry and wildlife administrations, non-governmental organizations, research, academia, private sector, media as well as youth and women-based organizations, will be invited from across Africa and beyond for this CoP. Particularly, the African Forestry and Wildlife Commission (AFWC)’s working group members will be urged to attend. These stakeholders will be contacted via email and phone calls. Moreover, social media platforms will be utilized to promote this CoP and engage other interested individuals.
DATES
The 3-week long CoP will commence on 09th to 27th September 2024 from 12.00 noon -3.00 pm Nairobi time/ 9.00 am to 12:00 noon GMT via Howspace daily. Specifically:
- Week 1: 09th – 13th September 2024
- Week 2: 16th – 20th September 2024
- Week 3: 23rd – 27th September 2024
HOW TO JOIN
To join the Community of Practice, click on the registration link found below:
https://african-forestry-community.in.howspace.com/
To download the Concept Note, CLICK HERE.
[1] Rajpar M. N., Baig M. B., Behnassi M., Reed M. R., 2022. Impacts of Climate Change on Biodiversity Resources, Especially Forests and Wildlife Distribution. M. Behnassi et al. (eds.), The Food Security, Biodiversity, and Climate Nexus, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-12586-7_4
[2] Zhou, L., Rudhumbu, N., Shumba, J., & Olumide, A. (2020). Role of higher education institutions in the implementation of sustainable development goals. Sustainable development goals and institutions of higher education, 87-96
[3] FAO. 2022. The State of the World’s Forests 2022. Forest pathways for green recovery and building inclusive, resilient and sustainable economies. Rome, FAO. https://doi.org/10.4060/cb9360en