Author: Peter Taggart

To connect to and collaborate with the African earth observation community, KADI participated in the  7^th symposium of the African Group on Earth Observations (AfriGEO) which held in Swakopmund, Namibia from 18-23^rd September 2023. KADI was presented in the session, ‘Data and Infrastructure’ which focused on existing infrastructure, barriers to data sharing, best case scenarios of data access, and where we need to be going as Africa. The session outcomes were related to data democratization, data access and sharing policies and frameworks, increased discoverability of existing EO content and connecting the geospatial community.

A general overview of the KADI project was presented with specific contributions made during the feedback and discussion to the following topics:

• The need for increased collaboration and interoperability between in situ data and remote sensing data.
• The importance of African ownership and a co-creation approach in the identification and design of climate services for Africa.
• The need to strengthen and promote data sharing and open science principles.
• The need for different forms of collaboration (e.g. national, regional, sectoral, disciplines and institutions).

One of the takeaways from AfriGEO is the fact that funding for knowledge sharing is a huge barrier to build human capital in Africa. The solution requires policy buy in – creating the space and being actively involved in knowledge sharing initiatives.

Open Science Conference of the World Climate Research Programme

October 23 – 27, 2023

The 2nd Open Science Conference of the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) will take place in Kigali, Rwanda, at the Kigali Convention Centre (KCC), from 23 to 27 October 2023, hosted by the Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA) on behalf of the Government of Rwanda. Meeting in the heart of the African continent will promote strong engagement with research communities, stakeholders and practitioners from Rwanda and the broader African region.

This once-in-a-decade conference will bring together the climate, environment, and related communities to discuss the latest developments in climate science and explore the transformative actions urgently needed to ensure a sustainable future.

KADI presentations at the WCRP

Below you can find a list of presentations from the KADI project partners

Monday 23rd October, 10:00 -12:30

François Engelbrecht: Climate change and the Durban floods: the need for attribution science in the Global South (Oral presentation in Session 24)

François Engelbrecht: The WMO Integrated Processing and Prediction System (WIPPS): towards seamless access to Earth System Predictions (Oral presentation in Session 39)

Tuesday 24th October, 10:00- 12:30

François Engelbrecht: An African-based Earth System model: verification of land-atmosphere fluxes (Keynote presentation in Session 11)

Wednesday 25th October, 14:00-16:00

Matthew Saunders: Designing a pan-African climate observation system to deliver societal benefit through climate action: The KADI project (Keynote presentation in Session 36)

Thomas Bornman: Development of a pilot Coastal GHG Observing System in southern Africa (Oral presentation in Session 36)

Poster presentations

Monday 23rd October, poster number S39-03

Marisa Gonzales et al: Diversifying climate service co-production processes in Africa with knowledge and data driven research infrastructures

Wednesday 25th October, poster number S36-02

Joerg Klausen et al: Taking stock of observing capabilities for designing a pan-African atmospheric and climate research infrastructure (KADI): Lessons learnt from Kenya and best practices

 

More information about the programme and registration can be found on the event website.

In collaboration with the European Commission’s Directorate General for International Partnerships, KADI co-organised a side event  at the GEO Week and ministerial summit which took place in Cape Town, South Africa from 6-10^th November 2023. The theme of the side event was ‘Co-creating climate services from data to knowledge in Africa’.

The event addressed the importance of partnership and co-creation in the climate services landscape. Establishing strong partnerships which lead to co-design of tailored solutions is, in many cases, the efficient way forward to also ensure ownership of the solutions. Following a policy-driven initial flash talk by the moderator, the panel discussed the importance of data, information (model) and service both in the context of adaptation and mitigation, building on the EU flagship initiatives Regional Centres of Excellence in Africa. The session then moved to showcase a concrete example, the KADI project which develops co-designed services to address climate-related challenges in Africa, with a dedicated focus on strategic pilots (i.e.cities). Based on the presentations and feedback from the session, the following key messages were highlighted.

• Climate services need innovative ground observations.
• There is a strong need for knowledge exchange and communication which includes and targets decision-makers;
• The role of citizens and the private sector is crucial for developing relevant climate services.
• Africa does not need data. Africa needs collaboration and partnerships to make use of already existing data. Most of the data collection and usage are not connected or aware of the existence of others. To promote transferability to similar contexts or there is a need to increase support for data sharing and collaboration.

KADI also sent a quote that features on the event website. The quote was related to co-design of climate services and tailored to support African policy-makers as well as linking in-situ with remote sensing in Africa.