Senior Scientist at WASCAL and regional thematic coordinator on Rural-Urban and Cross Border Migration, Dr. Safietou Sanfo has made a strong case for the role of the civil society, including non-governmental organizations and community-based groups, in building awareness, community engagement, empowerment, capacity, and accountability at the local, national, and regional levels as well as acting as advocates, knowledge brokers, and watchdog, all as part of efforts to contribute to adaptation and resilience efforts.
She, therefore, called on stakeholders to foster strong collaboration between civil society and the private sector as an essential element in addressing the challenges of climate change adaptation and building resilient communities and economies.
Dr. Sanfo was speaking at a side event of the inaugural Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi when she joined other speakers in a conversation on “How the Global Stocktake facilitates the regional green growth agenda through adaptation implementation and resilience building.”
Expounding on the inroads made so far, through the engagement of CSOs, she stated that the Independent Global Stocktake West Africa Hub was so far engaging more than 300 members through the active coordination by WASCAL and CSIR, South Africa to empower vulnerable populations, including marginalized groups, to participate in decision-making processes and implement context-specific adaptation strategies.
“Collaboration between civil society and the private sector is essential for addressing the challenges of climate change adaptation and building resilient communities and economies.”. She said.
The Chief Executive Officer of Climate Works Foundation, funder of the IGST Project , Ms Helen Mountford also answered questions on s on how the regional green growth agenda benefit from the GST outputs at the upcoming COP28 in Dubai and beyond ., Other speakers who engaged in the conversation included Mirey Atallah, Head of Nature for Climate, UNEP Nairobi Jingjing Gao, Advisor, UNEP, Shingirirai Mutanga, Lead for climate services, CSIR, and Fernando Castellanos Silveira, Head of Environment and Climate, UN Global Compact.
The Global Stocktake (GST) aims to assess the collective progress on the Paris Agreement, including adaptation and informing the update and enhancement of national-level adaptation actions. The first GST will be finalized and communicated at COP28.
The side event was organized by WASCAL, under the coordination of Dr. Kwame Hackman, and supported by UNEP Copenhagen Climate Centre, CSIR- South Africa, and Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad with funding from Climate Works Foundation.
