Future Climate for Africa (FCFA) aims to generate fundamentally new climate science focused on Africa, and to ensure that this science has an impact on human development across the continent.

Watch the video to learn more about FCFA

LOCATIONS COVERED

FCFA is implemented by 5 international research teams working across the African continent:

AMMA-2050 – Burkina Faso and Senegal.
UMFULA – Malawi and Tanzania.
HyCRISTAL – Kenya and Uganda.
FRACTAL – Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Zambia.
IMPALA – Pan-Africa

African Climate Risks Conference

Future Climate for Africa hosted the African Climate Risks Conference (ACRC) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in October 2019 under the theme “dismantling the barriers to urgent climate adaptation action.” It brought together over 350 researchers gathering from 52 different countries across the African continent and abroad to discuss the latest research on African climate. It also provided the opportunity for many FCFA researchers to showcase their findings on the latest climate research from the FCFA programme.

LATEST NEWS

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Using the IPCC’s Interactive Atlas to understand how Africa’s climate is changing

July 2021 Newsletter

Understanding the impact of climate change on urban WASH in Africa through new interactive site

An interactive site recently published by Future Climate for Africa (FCFA) showcases the research of FCFA in urban Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) systems across the continent. It provides an overview of the status of urban WASH systems in countries and cities where FCFA has been working and the climate risks these WASH systems are facing. Further, it aims to highlight the relationship between future climate and effective WASH service delivery in African cities.

Climate researchers from across Africa build their capacity in Python programming at FCFA & GCRF African SWIFT workshop

In a collaborative effort, Future Climate for Africa (FCFA) and GCRF African-SWIFT organised a one-week online Python workshop (from 7th to 12th June 2021) for researchers in Atmospheric Science and Meteorology and forecasters at operational weather centres based in Africa with a keen interest in developing their data analysis skills. The workshop was a virtual, practical-oriented training targeted at equipping participants with relevant Python programming tools for integrating the Python programming language into workflows at National Meteorological Operational and Research centres, analysing climate data and recreating figures suitable for international peer-reviewed journals.

FEATURED RESOURCES

Brief: FRACTAL Principles

September 22, 2021

During the FRACTAL project, trans-disciplinary learning processes were implemented that aimed to support climate resilient development in nine southern African cities. These processes resulted in several lessons for research and society, particularly with regard to working towards inclusive, contextual, proactive climate research and action.

The team brainstormed principles that underpinned climate resilience work in the project. Evidence from the programme was qualitatively analysed using the principles as a framework to uncover the mindsets and practices that supported ‘the FRACTAL approach’.

Impact Story: Building Relationships and Receptivity in Harare

September 21, 2021

The FRACTAL project introduced new approaches to understanding issues and solutions in Harare. These approaches strengthened relationships among stakeholders and decision makers, and increased receptivity to issues of climate variability and change, especially how this receptivity might intersect with development. The project partly helped initiate an ongoing conversation around receptivity issues between various city stakeholders and researchers. Prior to FRACTAL, few (if any) city-focused climate knowledge projects had been implemented, implying that this conversation had not yet started. Stakeholders reflected on broader decision-making processes through FRACTAL (e.g. development decisions). They have reported useful conversations between decision makers and academia and are now more willing to work with one another to co-define issues and solutions.

Impact Story: Moving Towards Integrated and Inclusive Climate Change Planning in Windhoek

September 21, 2021

In Windhoek, FRACTAL contributed to developing the City of Windhoek’s new climate change strategy: the Integrated Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan (ICCSAP). FRACTAL implemented a city learning lab approach in Windhoek to support the development of the ICCSAP. This approach brought a range of stakeholders together, including academics, practitioners, NGOs and other organizations.

During the labs, stakeholder groups unpacked climate-sensitive city issues and governance arrangements, deliberating the significance and implications of various climate scenarios. Other activities emerging from these labs included city exchange programs and transformational leadership training on climate change for decision-makers. The process enabled a different, inclusive approach to developing strategies, and resulted in real benefits for the city of Windhoek.

Impact Story: Working Across Knowledge Types To Integrate Climate and Biodiversity Planning in Durban

September 21, 2021

Durban is a self-funded FRACTAL city. As a result, the city could tailor the approach to FRACTAL research according to their specific needs and align it to current activities and approaches.

The aim for the embedded researcher (ER) was to look at ways to integrate climate information into biodiversity planning. To achieve this the ER worked with stakeholders from eThekwini’s Environmental Planning and Climate Protection Department (EPCPD), academics from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, researchers from FRACTAL, and other stakeholders. The ER found it was important to take time to understand the context, cultures and mandates of a group, and be adaptable with initiatives, programmes and approaches so that products could be tailored better and embedded effectively in the group’s processes and activities.

Impact Story: Enhancing Receptivity to Co-produce Urban Climate Knowledge

September 21, 2021

The development and application of the concept of receptivity among stakeholders offers an alternative framing to that of seeking ‘entry points’ for climate information. Receptivity entails critically reflecting on one’s own knowledge and that offered by others (i.e. recognizing assumptions and framings). By creating an environment that fosters receptivity (e.g. the learning labs), FRACTAL enhanced opportunities to make less partial, narrow judgements and showed how the practices and actions of researchers and decision makers can be based on a broader view of the ‘system’ (e.g. the city-region).

Receptivity to other frames of reference, knowledge and knowledge-making practices is in no way passive. It is a way of engaging with others that is open, considered and reflexive.

Impact Story: The Importance of Relationships and Networks

September 21, 2021

Addressing the cross-cutting problems associated with climate variability and change in southern African cities requires significant action, investment and collaboration to connect often ‘siloed’ departments and organisations. Building strong relationships and networks of stakeholders within and across cities is essential for a coordinated approach. It inspires and supports stakeholders in the cities.

Relationships and networks are strengthened by social learning, group reflections, knowledge sharing and co-production. This story highlights the role of social learning activities (e.g. city exchanges, collaborative research) in developing the relationships and networks needed to deal with the impacts of climate change in FRACTAL city-regions.