The China-Africa Forest Governance Learning Platform has brought together forest governance players from China and eight African countries. It has been producing evidence on the nature of these engagements, linking actors from both sides, and identifying policy and research gaps.
Generating better evidence for sustainable development research and evaluation
How can we generate better evidence for sustainable development research and evaluation? Take a look at IIED’s reflections and a practical toolkit on ‘Better Evidence in Action’.
Through the DCF project, NEF, IED Afrique and IIED work with communities in Senegal and Mali to establish frameworks to manage climate adaptation funds (CAF) that support local investments in resilience. Local governments are given discretionary authority over CAFs which finance community investments. The investments are selected through participatory processes, and take account of the concerns of the most vulnerable groups. Three funds with a value of £500,000 have been created in each selected region of Mali and Senegal, to be distributed among targeted communities.
Findings from the DCF project will be presented at CBA11 (register to attend below).
New publications this month
In India, many people living on the outskirts of cities, or peri-urban areas, face poverty, increasing marginalisation and food insecurity. Yet peri-urban agriculture could be a major contributor to poverty alleviation and food security.
India’s peri-urban frontier: rural-urban transformations and food security examines the need to improve nutrition through a more holistic, food security-based perspective. It discusses examples of specific policies and programmes and considers knowledge gaps, challenges, and mechanisms that might help facilitate pro-poor food security developments.
Africa’s farmland in changing hands: A review of literature and case studies from sub-Saharan Africa summarises findings from a research project – including case studies in Ghana, Senegal, Mozambique, and Uganda – to address three main questions:
How is land access changing in rural Africa, and what are the major drivers of change? How are these changes affecting rural livelihoods? What are the implications of these changes for development policy and practice?
Forest cover in sub-Saharan Africa declined by nearly 10 per cent between 2000 and 2010. Of this loss, 75 per cent was caused by the conversion of forest to agriculture, largely for food production.
Reconciling forest conservation with food production in sub-Saharan Africa examines the trade-offs between conserving forests and increasing food production. It explores how these trade-offs might be better managed through informed choices about where and how to intensify agriculture, and which areas of natural forest to conserve and which to lose.
The 11th International Conference on Community-Based Adaptation (CBA11)
The CBA11 theme is ‘Ecosystem-based adaptation’ and will examine the benefits and challenges of incorporating natural resources and ecosystems into climate adaptation work.
It is your last chance to register for field trips. Field trips taking place over three days before the conference give delegates the chance to understand the realities of community-based adaptation on the ground. This video shows a field trip that took place at CBA10 in Dhaka, Bangladesh, which focused on 'enhancing urban community resilience'.
The Shaping Sustainable Markets research group is looking for someone to coordinate finance, administration, communications, and support the group manager. The post-holder will primarily be responsible for finance, including budget management, financial planning, reporting, monitoring and procurement.
Closing date: 10am on Wednesday, 26 April 2017 (BST)
