LOCAL COMMUNITY INTIATIVES IN MITIGATING CLIAMTE CHANGE AND PROMOTING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

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LOCAL COMMUNITY INTIATIVES IN MITIGATING CLIAMTE
CHANGE AND PROMOTING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

• Patrick Karani
• BEA International
• www.BEAINTERNATIONAL.ORG

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Introduction

• BEA (Bureau of Environmental Analysis).
• Non-profit Trust Foundation established in Feb
  2002.
• Located in Kenya with Local, National, Regional
  and International Focus on Environmental
  Performance and Quality of Life.
• Program areas
• Climate Change and Carbon Offsets
• Environmental Governance and sustainable
  Development
• Capacity Building education, training and
  information dissemination
• BEA International Staff
• 6 professional, 2 administration and 2
  international advisors
• Collaborating Partners CBNet and Point Carbon.

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Work and Experience

• Policy Research
• Public Awareness
• Education, Training and Capacity Building
• Projects and Programs Design and Implementation

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Site C prior to work commencing, January 1999
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Site C, November 2000
Creek
Runoff
Creek
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Site E, March 2002
Runoff
10 m
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Simulator structure
Atmospheric water
Transpiration
Evaporation
Rain fall
Respiration
Surface water
Plant water
Carbon stock
Photosynthesis
Growth
Runoff
Soil water
Sub simulator for Photosynthesis
Root intake
Infiltration
Evaporation simulator
Ground water
Wind velocity
?sSoil water potential
Mesophyll resistance
rsStomatal resistance
Light intensity
Boundary layer resistance
Transpiration rate
Photosynthetic rate
Leaf area index
Plant growth simulator
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Challenges

• Inadequate supportive legal and regulatory
  frameworks
• Incoherent political will
• Uncertainty on the timing in relevance of climate
  change and development
• Changing and shifting of priorities in budgets
  and RD
• Inadequacy of regional policies on climate
  change
• Inadequate technical skills and
• Inherent institutional and admin. constraints.

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Barriers

• Institutional
• Regulatory authority, including the national and
  regional authorities
• Limited focal points including national and
  regional African focal points
• Institutional and capacity inadequacy for the
  implementation of the space technologies
• Technical
• National and regional human in-capabilities
• Climate change is scientifically oriented and
  Africa is scientifically handicapped
• Research tools are not so advanced
• Inadequacy of regional hardware and software
• Lack of regional master plan
• Financial
• Inadequate domestic savings
• Limited foreign exchange
• Dependence on ODA

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Barriers ctd

• Political will to support climate change
• Political perspective of poverty may be against
  climate change in fear of reallocation of
  resources
• National self interest in development may be
  against regional and international initiatives on
  mitigating climate change
• Skeptism on supporting climate change as a
  priority on national development plans and
• Consideration of poverty alleviation as a high
  priority

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Priority Areas for Improving State of Knowledge

• Research and development to generate relevant and
  adequate data that contribute to the
  understanding of climate change and benefit
  policy making process.
• Education, training, information dissemination
  and capacity building to enhance knowledge and
  skills.
• Public awareness on the linkages between climate
  change and local community sustainable
  development.

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Implementation Activities by SABSTA

• Identify and prepare joint initiatives
• Identify, train and collaborate with local
  intermediaries to prepare research and project
  proposals
• Develop their capacities to diffuse and
  disseminate research skills
• Develop simplified partnership frameworks, share
  and exchange information and experiences
• Develop and enhance local capacity to undertake
  RD in climate change and development
• Encourage and support the participation of local
  stakeholders in climate change.