A L C C A R
Anticipatory Learning
for Climate Change Adaptation
and Resilience
in Ghana and TanzaniaIn January, 2009 we embarked on the ALCCAR Project, a three-year NSF-funded study of community adaptation to climate change in Africa. We hypothesize that cyclical (loop) learning strengthens people's anticipatory capacity in decision-making with respect to climatic and other livelihood stressors. In Tanzania, for example, the predicted future climate changes presented in the Fourth Assessment Report of the IPCC (2007) show two contrasting trends, each with spatial and temporal uncertainties. While we can be confident of an increasing trend in rainfall, we can also expect long-term trends that treacherously obscure short-term extreme events such as floods and droughts.
The people of Ghana are very friendly; the common greeting is Akwaaba: welcome!
ALCCAR core team at the Adowso ferry terminal, Ghana
anomalies of mean monthly precipitation (mm)
for June/July/August for the period 2080-2099
(Hewitson & Crane 2006, in Christensen et al. 2007)
The ALCCAR project attempts to anticipate and prepare for uncertainties associated with such extreme events. Our approach is resilience-enhancing, emphasizing iterative ways of analyzing and learning about changes and uncertainties through time. We are focusing on collaborative action research to craft ways that at-risk rural communities can anticipate and creatively respond to changes in socio-ecological systems and working landscapes.
on our way to meet with the chief
of Xedzozoekope village
Our core team traveled to Ghana in June, 2009 to meet with African collaborators, pilot research instruments, and collect data in select villages of the Afram Plains. For this first phase, we are seeking measures of people's individual and collective capacity for anticipatory learning in the context of climate change. In the next phase we will design and test adaptive learning interventions. We also hope that this project stimulates further collaborations with African colleagues and inspires interdisciplinary courses on climate change adaptation at our respective institutions.
Odomase
women's group discuss a spider-gram
("Anansi" in the Ewe language)
of village sustainability and livelihood issues
of village sustainability and livelihood issues
semi-structured interview, Odomase village hike to dry stream near Memchemfre village
Lake Volta fishers
Xedzozoekope has no well, so the pathogen-laced water of the Volta is the villager's primary water source
ALCCAR team:
Petra Tschakert (PI, Geography/AESEDA)
Ken Tamminga (co-PI, Landscape Arch./Ecology)
Robert Crane (co-PI, AESEDA)
Esther Prins (co-PI, Education)
Chris Hoadley, New York University (co-PI)
PSU graduate students:
Katie Dietrich and Maureen Biermann
also:
University of Ghana
Afram Plains Development Organization, Ghana
University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Red Cross / Red Crescent, Tanzania
University of Cape Town
Support:
National Science Foundation, Human and Social Dynamics Program, $750,000
general research methodology
This
material is based on work supported by the
National Science Foundation under Award No. BCS-0826941. Opinions, findings, and conclusions and recommendations expressed in this material are ours and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSF.
National Science Foundation under Award No. BCS-0826941. Opinions, findings, and conclusions and recommendations expressed in this material are ours and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSF.