#1 - January 2010

Dear Reader

Welcome to the January 2010 issue of START’s Quarterly E-Newsletter. This E-Newsletter features highlights of START Programs & Activities in 2009 and provides a glimpse of activities to come in 2010.

Contents of this issue include:
2009 In Review

Recent Publications

We appreciate your continued support!

2009 In Review

2009 has been a busy and eventful year for START. Many of our long-term activities that we have nurtured over nearly the past two decades continue, and in addition we are making significant progress on several new efforts in areas of global environmental change education and communication with policymakers and the public. In 2009, we:

collaborated on global programs...
ICSU's major interdisciplinary programme on Integrated Research on Disaster Risk invited START to act as the capacity-building arm of the program. Also, START has been invited to participate in ESSP's program on Climate Change and Food Systems.

initiated new activities...
START, in partnership with the WMO, IPCC, UNEP and the European Commission, began an initiative to promote better communication and outreach from the global change research community to policymakers and the public about climate change risks. The project, ‘Understanding the Findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fourth Assessment Report, Climate Change 2007 - Integrating Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation in Development Planning’ focuses on SubSaharan Africa and South Asia. See the ‘Communication’ section below for more details on this initiative.

Fellows from START’s African Climate Change Fellowship Program (ACCFP) implemented their research projects at 16 Host Institutions in Africa. The Fellowship Program promotes original research on issues of climate change risks, vulnerability and adaptation, and policy analysis that supports adaptation. In May, the 2009/2010 ACCFP Fellows participated in the IHDP Open Meeting, in Bonn, Germany, which allowed them the opportunity to communication with international scientists about their Fellowship research.

Following on lessons learned from the ACCFP, START and the Open Society Institute will host a major conference on climate change and education in Africa in June 2010.

launched a new website...
The newly redesigned START Website is more informative and accessible than ever before. Our new website features a START blog, which invites staff and colleagues of START to post blogs on updates in global environmental change research or on START programs, and a START Alumni Network database containing information on the over 500 scientists who have been directly involved in START through training, education, fellowships, grants, and research activities. We are working to expand the capabilities of this Alumni Network feature so as to allow scientists in the database to communicate with one another to share expertise and insights.

incorporated...
START International, Inc. is now formally registered as a non-profit, non-government organization and a registered charity under section 501(c)(3) of the USA. Our mission and remit remain same as before; the operations of the International START Secretariat, regional secretariats and centers continue as before.

Communication

IPCC Science-Policy Dialogues

As introduced above under ‘new activities’, START and its partners are developing a series of science-policy dialogues that seek to better inform national policymakers and other key stakeholder groups about climate change risks, and potential options for adaptation and mitigation. The dialogues are based on key findings from the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report and feature presentations by IPCC authors and national experts. The dialogues are aimed at engaging government ministry representatives, parliamentarians, members of the science community of the host country, representatives of bilateral and multilateral development assistance agencies and banks, UNFCCC focal points, members of civil society organizations and the national media. More...

Upcoming CCMAP Science-Policy Dialogues

Bangladesh

09-11 February in Dhaka
Sponsored by START and the Bangladesh Center for Advanced Studies

Nigeria

23-25 February in Ibadan
Sponsored by START, West African Research and Innovation Management Association (WARIMA) and the University of Ghana

Senegal

April (Dates to be determined) in Dakar
Sponsored by START, Environnement et Developpment du Tiers Monde (ENDA) and the University of Ghana

Nepal

April (Dates to be determined) in Katmandhu
Sponsored by START and the Bangladesh Center for Advanced Studies

Education

Biodiversity in the Albertine Rift

Last year, START was awarded a grant from MacArthur Foundation for a second round of its Education and Training Program on Climate Change and Biodiversity Conservation in the Albertine Rift Region of Africa, to take place in 2010. START in partnership with the Institute of Resource Assessment (IRA), University of Dar Es Salaam, will offer masters level courses and a research externship for early to mid-career conservation researchers and practitioners; masters-level graduate students; and university educators who are currently teaching curriculum related to conservation and natural resource management. The program will enable participants to acquire knowledge and skills in assessing climate change risks to ecosystems and biodiversity; evaluating strategies for their conservation; and applying the learning to actual conservation efforts in the region. Educators participating in the program will receive focused training in the use and application of distance learning modules on climate change and biodiversity conservation.

Course modules will be offered at IRA in mid-2010, and externship projects will commence immediately following completion of coursework. The announcement for program applications will be made on the START and IRA websites in early February 2010. Subscribe to the START RSS Feed...

Research

African Climate Change Fellowship Program Fellows Submit Final Reports

As ACCFP Fellows complete their projects, their final reports will be posted on the START Website. We anticipate interesting findings from the Fellows, given the wide-ranging research topics they pursued. Featured reports are below. More...

David Kuria
"Project Kereita 2009: Understanding local communities’ knowledge and their adaptation mechanisms to climate change"
Policy Fellowship More...
Download Final Report

Arame Tall
"Training Red Cross National Societies for climate change adaptation, early warning and early action"
Policy Fellowship More...
Download Final Report

Henri Tonnang Zefack
"Predicting and mapping the potential redistribution of malaria vectors in Africa: Informing malaria control programmes"
Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship More...
Download Poster

Recent Publications

In November 2009, START produced 4 new brochures that highlight its current activities. These brochures were on display at the START, Stockholm Environment Institute & University of Cape Town joint exhibit at the COP-15, in Copenhagen, Denmark, in December 2009.

"Communicating Climate Risks: Insights Gained through the ACCCA Project"
Download

"Capacity Building for Biodiversity Conservation in the Albertine Rift"
Download

"Cities at Risk: Developing Adaptive Capacity for Climate Change in Asia's Coastal Megacities"
Download

"START: Regional Research & Training to Build Capacity, Inform Policy & Inspire Action..."
Download

For questions or comments about the START E-Newsletter, please contact Lauren Gibbons at lgibbons@start.org