Regional Research Call – Africa START

The 'Regional Research Call – Africa START' document outlines a funding initiative managed by the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) to support research on 'Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security' across Africa. The program focuses on the sustainability of ecosystem services, aiming to provide policy-relevant research, build regional research capacity, and facilitate knowledge sharing. The call is co-financed by the US National Science Foundation and the Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) programme.

• CDKN is supporting 16 research awards focused on how global environmental change affects food security and agriculture in Africa, with a total funding value of £300,000. An additional £150,000 has been allocated for management costs and the hosting of a regional learning forum.
• Research projects in West Africa are addressing specific land-use and climate challenges: in Southwest Nigeria, the focus is on the link between forest ecosystem services and food security; in Southern Benin, research targets the management of underutilized inland valleys facing increased floods and rainfall variability; and in Senegal and Ghana, the use of Earth Observation methods is being applied to monitor agro-forestry systems in the Sahel and short-grass Savannah zones.
• In Central and East Africa, research is targeting forest degradation and biodiversity. Projects in Southwest Cameroon are examining tradeoffs between REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) initiatives and food security in the Congo River Basin. In Uganda, research at the Budongo Forest Reserve is investigating a decline in tree fruiting phenology over the last 15 years, which may be linked to increased minimum temperatures in the 1990s.
• Several projects focus on water resource management and climate risks in East and Southern Africa. In Ethiopia's Upper Awash Basin and central Rift Valley, research is investigating how climate-driven drought may force a shift from scarce surface water to contaminated groundwater. In Southern Africa, efforts are being made to improve the delivery and interpretation of seasonal climate forecasts for rainfed agriculture. In Botswana's Okavango Delta, research is integrating traditional and scientific knowledge to address rainfall variability.
• Coastal and urban resilience is a key theme, with projects analyzing flood risk in the Niger Delta through a blend of indigenous and scientific methods, and evaluating the role of urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) in East and West African cities to mitigate food price spikes caused by extreme climate events.
• Research in Southern and North Africa addresses specific regional vulnerabilities: in Zimbabwe's Hwange District, the focus is on the co-dependence of rainfed agriculture and tourism; in South Africa's Eastern Cape, the link between declining ecosystem services and biodiversity harvesting is being studied; and in North Africa, a network is being developed to assess the sensitivity of coastal lagoon fisheries to Mediterranean warming.

APA

Climate and Development Knowledge Network (n.d.). Regional Research Call – Africa START. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/Africa-Research-Call-START2.pdf

Chicago

Climate and Development Knowledge Network. Regional Research Call – Africa START. n.d. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/Africa-Research-Call-START2.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |title=Regional Research Call – Africa START |url=https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/Africa-Research-Call-START2.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climateanddevelopmentknowledgenetworkndregional, author = {{Climate and Development Knowledge Network}}, title = {{Regional Research Call – Africa START}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, url = {https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/Africa-Research-Call-START2.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }