Informations et ressources scientifiques
sur le développement des zones arides et semi-arides

Long-term Europe-Africa Research and Innovation Partnership for Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture

Titre : ESSA : Earth observation and environmental sensing for climate-smart sustainable agropastoral ecosystem transformation in East Africa

Pays/Région : Kenya ; Ethiopia

Date : Start date 2020-12-01 // End date 2024-12-01

Identifiant : 466-ESSA
Type de projet : Applied research project

Objectif
The project aims to contribute to the pastoralist households’ transition towards climate-smart agropastoral systems in sub-Saharan Africa (Ethiopia and Kenya) by understanding the dynamics of and interlinkages between tropical upland forest cover and semi-arid lowland landscapes, and the multifunctionality of agropastoral landscapes, through a system-wide view of food and nutrition security, diversified livelihoods and ecosystem sustainability leading to improvements.

Présentation
During recent years, pastures have been transformed to croplands, while the number of livestock has remained unchanged leading to less land being available for animals. The carrying capacity of pastures has decreased to a level that cannot withstand the current land use and climate pressure which subsequently leads to land degradation. Incremental adjustments in pastoralist systems currently carried out with livestock-based livelihoods is not adequate to cope with future challenges. Mechanisms that contribute to the transformational adaptation in pastoralist systems in response to climate change need to be explored, identified, analyzed and implemented. Pastoralists in East Africa are increasingly pursuing non-pastoral income and livelihood strategies to buffer against climate change impacts. Diversification of livelihood and adoption of mixed strategies combining livestock management with alternative income earning sources, such as beekeeping, is a promising option for sustainable pastoralism in Africa. However, the UNEP and GRID Arendal Gap Analysis indicates a significant lack of knowledge e.g. on alternative livelihoods and therefore recommends specific attention to be given to countries where data and information are lacking, through e.g. frequent analysis of remotely sensed data, and locally ground-truthed data.

Coordinateur : University of Helsinki
Partenaires : International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) International Center of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE) University of Nairobi Addis Ababa University Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) Ethiopian Agricultural Research Council Secretariat (EARCS) IHE Delft Institute for Water Education Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development (RCMRD)

Financement principal : Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development (DG DEVCO)
Budget : 5 000 000 EUR

FNSSA project database