EFFECTIVE USE OF CLIMATE SCIENCE TO IMPROVE ADAPTATION IN AFRICA

This policy brief by the Stockholm Environment Institute outlines recommendations to improve the use of climate science for 'anticipatory adaptation' in Africa. It emphasizes the need to bridge the gap between climate scientists and decision-makers, enhance local technical capacity for downscaling climate models, and leverage existing regional networks and platforms to manage climate change risks.

• Africa faces high vulnerability to climate change due to a combination of poverty, lack of infrastructure, and a direct dependence on the natural environment for livelihoods, particularly in Eastern and Southern Africa where households rely on a marginalised natural resource base.
• To enable 'anticipatory adaptation', the brief recommends improving the quality of downscaling efforts by 'rescuing' and digitising historical climate data, as Global climate models (GCMs) are not expected to improve significantly in the near future.
• There is a critical need to bridge the communication gap between climate science producers and information users. This requires building the capacity of users to interpret projections, improving scientists' understanding of user needs, and supporting 'translators' who can convert scientific concepts into applicable language without distortion.
• The brief suggests establishing regional climate-science centres and utilizing collaborative 'platforms'—such as the weAdapt platform—to share knowledge, store local climate information, and provide tools for assessing climate impacts.
• Donor aid should shift away from supply-driven, one-off projects toward longer-term funding that strengthens existing African institutional capacity and networks. It should integrate both 'climate-driven' (impact-first) and 'development-first' (integration-throughout) approaches.

APA

Ziervogel, G., Downing, T., & Shale, M. (2008). EFFECTIVE USE OF CLIMATE SCIENCE TO IMPROVE ADAPTATION IN AFRICA. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/SEI-Africa-agriculture-PB.pdf

Chicago

Ziervogel, Gina, Tom Downing, and Moliehi Shale. EFFECTIVE USE OF CLIMATE SCIENCE TO IMPROVE ADAPTATION IN AFRICA. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2008. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/SEI-Africa-agriculture-PB.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Ziervogel |first1=Gina |last2=Downing |first2=Tom |last3=Shale |first3=Moliehi |title=EFFECTIVE USE OF CLIMATE SCIENCE TO IMPROVE ADAPTATION IN AFRICA |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=May 2008 |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/SEI-Africa-agriculture-PB.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ziervogel2008effective, author = {Ziervogel, Gina and Downing, Tom and Shale, Moliehi}, title = {{EFFECTIVE USE OF CLIMATE SCIENCE TO IMPROVE ADAPTATION IN AFRICA}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2008}, month = may, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/SEI-Africa-agriculture-PB.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }