LARMAT PART OF THE APP DEVELOPMENT TEAM FOR THE DOWN2EARTH PROJECT

Translation of climate information into multilevel decision support for social adaptation, policy development, and resilience to water scarcity in the Horn of Africa Drylands (DOWN2EARTH) Project seeks to address the multi-faceted challenges of water scarcity and food insecurity under climate change in Horn of Africa Drylands, by facilitating community-centered adaptation and resilience to climate change impacts. The project is funded by European Union under the Horizon 2020 programme. Partners include: Cardiff University (Lead institution), University of Bristol, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, University of Hohenheim, University of Nairobi, Addis Ababa University, IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Center (ICPAC), Ghent University, University of East Anglia, Food and Agriculture Organization-Somalia Water and Land Information System (FAO-SWALIM), Climate Analytics, BBC Media Action, Action Aid, and Transparency Solutions.

Under the project, the Department of LARMAT (UoN) together with University of East Anglia, Action Aid International Kenya and Addis Ababa University are involved in analysis of the social dimensions and human dynamics of climate change adaptation and resilience. Specifically, the work package involves survey of rural communities to understand gendered decision-making processes for climate adaptation in Arid and Semi-Arid Lands in Kenya (Isiolo County), Ethiopia and Somaliland. In addition, UoN like all other partners is involved in various project teams to ensure synergy across DOWN2EARTH project.

The App Development Team of the DOWN2EARTH Project held a meeting on November 11, 2021 to discuss development of decision support tools. The meeting focused on the climate information flow from generators to the various users, and the type of information required to tailor decision support tools to users at various levels of decision making.