Climate-change adaptation building on local innovation

Partners in Ethiopia, Nepal and Nigeria within the international multistakeholder Prolinnova (Promoting Local Innovation) network explored the relevance of the PID (Participatory Innovation Development) approach to climate-change adaptation (CCA) at local level. PID involves multistakeholder experimentation that builds on local ideas and initiatives. The study on “Participatory climate-change adaptation building on local innovation” (2011, 9pp, by Yohannes GebreMichael et al) documented local innovation and experimentation to adapt to climate change and drew lessons on the potential influence of local innovation processes on CCA policies and programmes.

The study in Ethiopia focused on pastoral systems. Even if climate change is not an isolated factor for the pastoralists, the study showed that their capacities to innovate to adapt to changing conditions is an important element in reducing their vulnerability. The study revealed the potential for a bottom-up approach to CCA, in which local innovations and practices can be starting points for multistakeholder interaction, drawing on mutual strengths. Studies of how pastoralists and crop farmers respond positively to challenges related to climate change are important to help inform policymakers and other stakeholders of the role of local creativity in CCA.

Posted on 5 November 2018 in Pastoral Research & Innovation, Pastoralism & Climate Change