Category: Events

Clustering Session 3: Energy Systems and Modelling with Considerations to Water-Energy-Food Nexus
Date: October 10th
Time: 16:30 – 18:00 CET

KADI will participate in Session 3 of the  LEAP RE stakeholder forum with a presentation and a panel discussion. KADI’s participation will address the importance of the envisaged research infrastructure for energy systems modelling in Africa as well as the identified climate service needs. KADI has been connected to the LEAP RE network and is listed as a related project in the initiatives portfolio. KADI will also participate in in the cluster meetings for the projects to find collaboration point.

 

Building a climate cluster of EU projects in Africa

As part of its objective to support the climate component of the climate change and sustainable energy partnership (CCSE), KADI is facilitating the building of a climate cluster for projects and initiatives with similar topics funded by the European commission. The integration of KADI into the climate cluster serves to bolster the climate change initiatives within the CCSE partnership. The first step towards this was identifying and engaging with similar existing initiatives like  Focus-Africa,  Down2Earth, CONFER,  ALBTAROSS , SAFE4ALL, and GMES and Africa.

KADI plays a pivotal role in both adapting to and mitigating the impacts of climate change. The project coordination institution, ICOS ERIC, collects and transforms climate data to facilitate the implementation of technological and systemic solutions essential for managing and disseminating climate-related information effectively. Through KADI, a holistic knowledge framework for climate action is being fostered.

KADI is committed to supporting African countries in strategies to:

Integrate existing climate services by:

• Addressing priority areas and disseminating required climate information
• Identifying key stakeholder networks
• Engaging with funding initiatives
• Providing knowledge sharing and training
• Ensuring participatory engagement

Strengthen the links between climate service needs and:

• Policy formulation, policy cooperation and integration,
• Funding approaches
• Access to data and data management
• Expertise, knowledge, and experience sharing
• Combination of in situ and satellite observation

Strengthen seemingly ‘new’ aspects of climate science:

• Human experiences as a vital dimension of research infrastructures
• Impact pathways
• Development of “softer” scientific infrastructures, prioritising user spaces

 

10-12th September, 2024
Palais des Congrès
Versailles, France and online

The 6th ICOS Science Conference will be held 10th-12th September 2024 at the Versailles Palais des Congrès, France, and online.

This year’s theme is “From GHG observations through science to services”. The sessions chosen for this year’s conference reflect some highly topical issues as well as emerging trends within the fields of atmospheric, ecosystem, and ocean sciences. On top of reflecting ICOS’s three domains, the sessions incorporate broader themes such as climate services and science communication.

KADI project partners are chairing a session, as well as presenting numerous talks and posters. You can see the summary of the relevant presentations below. For the full conference programme check out the conference website.

 

Plenary Presentation

The African Greenhouse Gas Budget (2010-2019): a synthesis of the most recent data and models by Yolandi Ernst

Tuesday September 10 (10:45 – 12:00)

Oral Presentations

• 14:00-15:30 Tuesday, 10 September, 2024, Foyer Condé
  Session 3: RI Cooperation, co-location and other lessons learned

Gregor Feig et al.: Expanded Freshwater and Terrestrial Environmental Observation Network: A Landscape Scale Environmental Research Infrastructure in South Africa

• 16:00-17:30 Tuesday, 10 September, 2024, Foyer Condé
  Session 7: Exchange of reactive gases and aerosols

Tamryn Hamilton et al.: Temporal trends in high-resolution flux of Nitrogen-Dioxide (NO2) from a grazed African Savanna

• 10:45-12:30 Wednesday, 11 September, 2024, Foyer Condé
  Session 11: Science Communication

Faith Jumbi et al.: Participatory hydrological modelling for collective exploration of catchment management: promoting water stewardship across a multi-stakeholder platform

• 16:30-18:00 Thursday, 12 September, 2024, Foyer Condé
  Session 31: GHG obs in education, services and decision-making

Bernet, L. et al: Towards a pan-African Research Infrastructure for Atmospheric, Climate and Ecosystem Services: Three Decades of International Collaboration in Kenya.

Poster Presentations

• Poster session 1, 13:00-14:00 on Tuesday September 10

Verification of an earth system model CCAM using the ground-based measurements across South Africa.

Nolusindiso Ndara, Jessica Steinkopf, Amukelani Maluleke, Gregor Feig, Francois Engelbrecht

• Poster session 10, 13:30-14:30 on Wednesday September 11

Review of existing research infrastructures and design of a concept for pan African research infrastructure.
Nolusindiso Ndara, Marisa Gonzalez, Rebecca Garland, Gregor Feig

Two years measurements of carbon dioxide, energy and water vapor fluxes above a young oil palm plantation (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) established in southeast Benin, West Africa.
Ossénatou Mamadou, Renaud Koukoui, Armand Mariscal, Miriam Hounsinou, Jean-Martial Cohard, Christophe Peugeot

Session organised by KADI
“In situ data for policy support”

16:30 – 18:00 on Wednesday September 11

Convenors

Werner L Kutsch   (ICOS ERIC), Sanna Sorvari Sundet  (LUKE: Natural Resources Institute Finland),  Theresia Bilola   (ICOS ERIC),  Matt Saunders  (TCD), Marisa Gonzalez (UP).

Session Description 

A common denominator in the multiple environmental crises we are facing is that societal solutions strongly depend on the transfer of scientific knowledge into political and private enterprise as well as society at large. Science has, more than ever, become a key factor for our common future: the scale of these challenges requires large amounts of data, provided by large scale infrastructures. While this important role of science has become clearly evident, these crisis-driven developments have also changed the science itself (towards more applied science) and this transition will change science policy and resource distribution both towards and within the scientific system.

This session will explore the pathways from scientific observations to climate-derived and other environmental services. It welcomes insights on service co-design and service design labs. Examples of services could be: monitoring and verification of emission reduction as support of national inventories and NDCs, monitoring of Carbon Dioxide Removal activities, climate carbon feedback description, scenarios as part of national action plans and citizen science approaches supporting adaptation to climate change.

13-14th August 2024
Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development (RCMRD)
Nairobi, Kenya

The theme of RCMRD International Conference 2024 is “EARTH: Our only Home”. At the conference RCMRD and Partners provide you with an excellent opportunity to present your institution, innovations, share experiences, ideas, methods, technological advancements, and engage with key players from the broader industry from all over the globe.

The conference objectives are:

• To bring together various user domains within and beyond Earth Observations (EO) to understand the science and policy interaction
• To spur ideas on effective utilization of Earth observation information in decision making
• To enhance integration approaches for societal benefits

 

KADI at Panel session on Earth observation opportunities in Development

 

KADI project coordinator Dr. Theresia Bilola is on the panel at the session “Earth Observation utilization globally” (Thursday 15 August, 9:00-10:00).

Click here for more information about the event.

Are you in Nairobi for the conference and would like to meet up to learn more about KADI project and climate research infrastructure developments in Africa? Get in touch with Theresia on Theresia.bilola (at) icos-ri.eu

 

 

12-15 August 2024
Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development (RCMRD)
Nairobi, Kenya

AfriGEO is an initiative of the African Community in Group of Earth Observations (GEO) aimed at providing a coordination framework and platform for Africa’s participation in GEO. It aims to be a Pan African initiative to raise awareness and develop capacity in EO for governments, research organizations, academia, and the commercial sector; to provide a framework for strengthening partnerships and collaborations within Africa; to be a gateway into Africa for international partners, and to be a support mechanism for the implementation of GEO objectives and programmes in Africa in line with the GEO-Post 2025 Strategy.

The 8th AfriGEO Symposium focuses on AfriGEO’s priority topics:

• Agriculture, Food Security, Soil Moisture and Agricultural Outreach Support
• Biodiversity, Land degradation and Sustainable Forest Management
• Land Cover for Africa, Land administration, Sustainable Urban Development
• Blue economy and Water Resource Management
• Climate Services and Adaptation
• Health, air quality and Disaster Management
• Innovation, Data and Infrastructure

 

KADI project in Plenary Session “Data & Infrastructure: a roadmap to economic development”

 

KADI project is represented at the symposium by Dr. Theresia Bilola, project coordinator.  Theresia is taking part in the plenary session on data and infrastructure on Wednesday 14th August as one of the panelists.

The session focuses on existing data infrastructure, and linkage between data access, data utilization and economic development in Africa. The existing data infrastructure programmes that exist in the various institutions in Africa and the envisaged outcome will also be discussed in the session. In addition, challenges and opportunities in data utilization in Africa will be identified.

Click here for more information about the event.

Are you in Nairobi for the symposium and would like to meet up to learn more about KADI project and climate research infrastructure developments in Africa? Get in touch with Theresia on Theresia.bilola(at)icos-ri.eu

Online workshop: Validating African climate service and research infrastructure needs and challenges

July 1st (in English) 9am – 2pm SAST (UTC+2) – registration form

July 8th (in French) 9am – 2pm GMT (UTC+0) – registration form

KADI organises an online workshop in July 2024 to discuss, validate and improve findings from the project activities. We have invited actors who already have engaged with the project activities to take part in the workshop. However, if you would like to join the discussion, we warmly welcome you to the workshop!

Aim of the workshop

In the workshop, we would like to explore with all participants the climate service needs that emerge in different organisations and sectors that work on timely climate related challenges. The aim is to map climate infrastructure requirements or other climate inputs and information that could be supported by a Pan-African research infrastructure. We shall find ways to support various concrete climate service needs related to e.g. temperatures, air quality, CO2 circulation, and other climatic phenomena. In addition to this, we hope to connect with stakeholders who would be interested to continue working with the KADI team during the project, and also afterwards.

There will be two duplicate events, first one taking place on July 1st in English, and the second on July 8th in French.

 

9:00 – 9:45 am	Welcome and introductions An introduction to the project and the key topics of research infrastructures and climate services. Icebreakers using Flinga (https://flinga.fi) and Mentimeter (https://www.mentimeter.com) will get participants familiar with the online interactive tools.
9:45 – 10:45 am	Climate service needs This discussion aims to scope stakeholders’ current relationship to climate services, as well as their needs for additional climate services. Climate service pilots’ system maps as a methodology will also be validated with participants.
10:45 – 11:00 am	Break
11:00 – 12:00 pm	Critical research infrastructure elements This discussion aims to validate our work regarding research infrastructure elements and scoping the stakeholders’ experiences with the elements.
12:00 – 12:15 pm	Break
12:15 – 13:00 pm	Stakeholder champions and closing remarks This discussion aims to summarise the workshop discussion and findings. We will facilitate a way for the participants to show their interest in continuing communication with the KADI teams now and in the future as a stakeholder champion.

 

Would you like to take part in the workshop? You are warmly welcome to register via this Google Form: https://forms.gle/foiQqBYA4RP6AzvMA (in English) and https://forms.gle/otGU7ozArZPT69Az9 (in French).

The KADI project was represented at the 5th Africa Climate Talks at the 10th Session of the Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (ARFSD-10) in April 2024 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. This article provides some context and highlights and interventions from the project’s perspective.

Africa’s GDP is reduced by 5% annually because of climate change. Africa losses 500Billoin dollars of the income generated every year. There is urgent need to stay on track towards Agenda 2030 and Agenda 2063. The key areas for transition are food systems, climate change, digital connectivity, energy security and education. We are at the midpoint of the implementation of the SDGs, in the second 10-year plan for agenda 2063 adopted in February 2024 and on the road to the Summit of the future.

“Africa has data and research in uncoordinated silos which is invisible and therefore not shareable or transferable to similar contexts. Africa needs collaboration and integration.”

The 5th Africa Climate Talks which held on April 22nd emphasised the need to democratise and strengthen Africa’s voice in the global climate negotiations, recognizing Africa’s right to development. The KADI Project starts from identifying climate service needs from the perspective of the African context by African scientists. This is our contribution to amplifying the voices of Africans in defining how to tackle a crisis from which it is experiencing the most tangible impacts. This means co-design and co-creation supporting and working with communities as done in different city pilots in the project.

One way of strengthening Africa’s voice is in terms of generation three of the National Determined Contributions (NDCs), including:

• Mainstreaming the social content and ESG. The structural and economic transition toward net zero must be just and the benefits of transitioning to a net-zero emissions economy must address equity concerns.
• Policy integration of NDCs and systemic integration.
• Mainstreaming of early warning systems of government and institutional actions.

In the panel discussions the interventions, comments and highlights from the KADI representatives centered on the following:

• Africa does not lack solutions. It needs collaboration, transferability, and visibility.
• Indigenous knowledge must be given its rightful place. Knowledge and data should be defined in consideration of Africa’s modes of learning, information generation and dissemination. Data is not limited to numbers and statistics. Storytelling and visual communication are vital. This will provide access to reliable, shared, and multi-stakeholder generated data. There is the need to strengthen foundational data systems to reduce fragmentation and duplication within and between countries.
• 90% of the current data on the SDGs in Africa were generated in the last two years. Most of this data is regional. Data from sub national ecosystems are mostly invisible.
• To avoid biases from models developed out of Africa, there is need to facilitate the integration of non-traditional data and use of the expertise of data experts by national agencies.
• There is need for partnerships that support training on data issues.
• In terms of governance, there is need to deliver on strong institutions, policy coordination and integration. The culture of data packaged for policy needs to be strengthened to reduce the disconnect between policies and data.
• There is a need for innovative funding mechanisms that recognize the invaluable interconnectedness between different actors and sectors of society. Funding organizations should talk to each other before talking to recipients. There is need for more involvement of ‘new’ development partners, especially policy and civil society partners. What is the tipping point in terms of quantity and duration of funding? What kinds of funding allow for effective and long-term solutions.
• Africa needs to leverage the power of its biggest human resource – youth – in meaningful ways, not as a token participant.

At the climate talks, Africa’s net zero status was discussed with opinions differing on whether Africa is net zero or not. It is worth highlighting that the continent’s carbon balance is influenced by a dynamic interplay of emissions from human activities and carbon absorption by natural ecosystems. While some regions may still act as carbon sinks, the overall trend indicates a decreasing capacity to absorb carbon, raising concerns about Africa’s net carbon status. Comprehensive and reliable data on emissions and carbon sequestration are essential to accurately assess whether Africa can achieve net zero status. This is also shown in the publication from some of the scientists participating in the KADI project, as described in our earlier article found here.

 

14-19th April, 2024
Vienna (Austria) and online

The EGU General Assembly 2024 brings together geoscientists from all over the world to one meeting covering all disciplines of the Earth, planetary, and space sciences. The EGU aims to provide a forum where scientists, especially early career researchers, can present their work and discuss their ideas with experts in all fields of geoscience.

This year KADI project is being presented in the following presentations:

Oral presentation

Thursday 18th April, 14:55-15:05, Room 2.23

Designing a pan-African climate observation system to deliver societal benefit through climate action: The KADI project

Karlina Ozolina, Theresia Bilola, Matthew Saunders, Emmanuel Salmon, Ingunn Skjelvan, Tommy Bornman, Jörg Klausen, Gregor Feig, Lutz Merbold and Werner L. Kutsch

Poster presentation

Wednesday 17th April, 16:15-18:00, Hall X1, X1.53

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

Jörg Klausen, Sarina Danioth, Patricia Nying’uro, Joyce Kimutai, Kennedy Thiong’o, Martin Steinbacher, Lutz Merbold, Niina Käyhkö, Matthew Saunders, Theresia Bilola, Emmanuel Salmon, and Werner L. Kutsch

If you would like to meet up with the presenters during the conference, we are happy to hear from you!

 

As part of the KADI project, we invite 15 participants from the African continent to join a four-day training course on coastal oceanographic and carbon data collection, analysis and sharing.

The course will take place in Gqeberha, South Africa 12-15 March 2024.
The course will encompass sensor overview, hands-on training, fieldwork, data collection, data analysis and management, and international networking. The participants might be students, technicians, or early career researchers affiliated to educational/research/ governmental institutions working or studying in this field, and thus, it is required that participant have some basic knowledge about oceanography, greenhouse gas/carbon observations and marine systems. Good English language proficiency is required.

The training programme will be delivered by local and international researchers with extensive expertise in the relevant fields.
We will cover your international travel expenses, accommodation, and food during the course. Successful participants will be expected to write a summary report at the end of the training course outlining the benefit of the programme to their work/study.

To apply for a place on this course, please complete the application form below.  Deadline for application 1st of November 2023.

Priority will be given to candidates with a background in marine science or equivalent who are committed to use the acquired competency at their home institutions. In the selection process we aim for a balanced gender composition.

Each candidate will be responsible for obtaining visa to South Africa – if relevant.

The timeline of the process will be as follows:

• Submission of application – 1 November 2023
• Selection of candidates – 15 November 2023
• Reply to all applicants about the selection – 17 November 2023
• Confirmation by candidates – 1 December 2023
• Invitation letters to selected candidates – 5 December 2023
• Training course – 12-15 March 2024

For more info about the training course, please contact the organisers

Dr. Tommy Bornman (tg.bornman@saeon.nrf.ac.za) at SAEON (South Africa),
Dr. Abdirahman M. Omar (abom@norceresearch.no) at NORCE (Norway), or
Dr. Matthew Saunders (saundem@tcd.ie) at TCD (Ireland).

 

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.