African Governments Urged To Invest In Climate Research

By Jean d’Amour Mugabo

Academics have called on African governments to invest more in climate research in a bid to adequately adapt to the climate change and build resilient development in Africa.

The call was made in Kigali on Thursday at the closing of a four-day workshop organised by African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) under the theme “Unlocking Climate Research for Climate Services.

“Africa is contributing less than 4% to the global emissions but it’s the most at risk of suffering from the effects of climate change. Our governments have to start investing in climate research because, whether they like it or not, they need it,” said Dr. Mouhamadou Bamba Sylla, the AIMS Research Centre Chair in Climate Change Science, adding that donors also have to be more proactive in investing in mitigation and climate research so as to enable Africa’s adaptation.

Dr. Bamba also urged African governments to communicate with scientists to ensure that they are making informed policies. “Governments need to use research findings for development planning. In the narrative of climate services, always add climate change information. Include research scientists in continental or regional initiatives so that they can bring these components in all initiatives,” he said.

Dr. Alima Dajuma, an Ivorian Scholar at AIMS in Kigali who conducted research on how extreme heats are going to affect the living conditions of the African people, said there is a projected expansion of hottest climate zones over Africa during mid and late 21^st century.

“There is need to build energy-efficient buildings for people to be able to live in those extreme heat conditions, we can’t just stop it because the carbon-dioxide is being emitted and doing the effects we are facing now; we only have to adapt to the new conditions. These heat conditions are linked to some health problems such as people developing fatigue, heat cramps and heat collapse,” she told the media on the sidelines of the workshop.

The workshop brought together researchers and officials from different organisations including United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), African Centre of Meteorological Application for Development (ACMAD), Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA, and the consortium of international Agricultural Research Centres (CGIAR), among others.

Frank Rutabingwa, a Senior Regional Advisor at UNECA, also insisted that African governments need to increase funding to the climate change services adding that high dependency on donors is impeding the sustainability of projects in this domain.

Why Africa must unlock climate research for climate services

According to AIMS, Africa is one of the regions in the world where climate risk is high due to the increased frequency and intensity of hazards, high vulnerability and a lack of appropriate responses and means. Citing examples of landslides which claimed 130 lives in Rwanda and massive flooding that killed over 440 people in the Southern Democratic Republic of Congo, AIMS noted that, despite all the frequent and severe effects, most of the climate information available in Africa is mainly weather forecasts and seasonal predictions.

“As the climate warms, climate information is key and should inform sustainable development in Africa. To achieve national development plans and the African development agenda (Vision 2063), Africa must invest in climate research to understand how future climate trends are likely to impact the development plans,” reads AIMS statement. It adds that AIMS, through its Mathematical Sciences for Climate Resilience programme, is helping address the climate data gaps in Africa.

The African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) is a pan-African network of centres of Excellence for post-graduate training in mathematical sciences, research and public engagement in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). The climate science research hub was established in 2018 with the funding from the Government of Canada through the International Development Research Centre