Different partners drawn from policymakers from central and local governments, national and international research organizations, civil society, the private sector and the media have formed a Learning Alliance which will facilitate the sharing of information, knowledge, and experiences on issues of climate change.
The Alliance was launched on 16 December 2014 at a meeting, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, sponsored by the Policy Action for Climate Change Adaptation (PACCA) project. The initiative aims to use interdisciplinary science-based recommendations to influence the development and implementation of policies that encourage the adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices across multiple scales and actors.
Speaking at the workshop, Dr Julius Ningu, the Director for Environment at the Vice Presidents’ Office, noted that climate change had affected every sector in different ways and therefore, there were many actors on the ground working on climate change adaptation through different initiatives.
“However, there is little sharing and learning across the different actors and initiatives,” he said.. “Therefore I commend the PACCA project for initiating the formation of a Learning Alliance to encourage communication and dialogue among policy actors and on- the- ground implementers of climate change adaption initiatives to enhance cooperation in the policy implementation process in the country.,”
He continued: “I urge all of you to participate actively in the discussions to reach a common underst anding on the status of the climate policy in the country, the challenges, gaps, and opportunities, and agree on areas for collective learning and climate policy intervention.”
“The Learning Alliance will work as a platform where different stakeholders will come together to exchange climate change knowledge and engage in actions that seek to influence policy and actions,”’ added Perez Muchunguzi, a multi-stakeholder specialist with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) based in Kampala, Ug anda.
By the end of the workshop, the participants identified the challenges and gaps in the climate change adaptation initiatives for the Learning Alliance to address. These included a lack of adequate financial resources, human capacity, and institutions and policies to adequately address climate change issues adequately as well as constraints related to the generating and sharing of knowledge and a general lack of awareness on climate change issues. They therefore formed four working groups to address each of these constraints.
PACCA is a project of the Climate Change Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) of the CGIAR , led by IITA and being implemented in both Ug anda and Tanzania. In Tanzania, the project is coordinated by the Environmental Management Unit (EMU) of the Ministry of Agriculture Food Security and Cooperatives (MAFC) as well as the Vice President’s Office. It is being implemented in collaboration with the International /livestock Research Institute (ILRI), International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), Bioversity International, and World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF).
For more information, please contact:
Catherine Njuguna, c.njuguna@cgiar.org
About IITA, www.iita.org
IITA is one of the world’s leading research partners in finding solutions for hunger, malnutrition, and poverty. Its award-winning research for development (R4D) approach addresses the development needs of tropical countries. IITA works with partners to enhance crop quality and productivity, reduce producer and consumer risks, and generate wealth from agriculture. IITA is a nonprofit organization founded in 1967 and governed by a Board of Trustees. IITA works on the following crops: cowpea, soybean, banana/plantain, yam, cassava, and maize. IITA is a member of CGIAR, a global agriculture research partnership for a food secure future.
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