Update from Climate Change Challenge Program (CCAFS) on the eve of COP15

Dear Colleagues,
As we enter this two-week period which one hopes will bring a historic agreement on climate change, I would like to brief you on progress with the CGIAR-ESSP Challenge Program for Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS).

I have been in office for just under four months; a rather frenetic period with preparations for multiple events at COP15 and establishing the program from scratch.

• Agriculture and Rural Development Day at COP15. CCAFS and the Global Donor Platform for Rural Development have taken the lead in organising this event, that also brings in the other key agencies in international agriculture (e.g. FAO, IFAD, IFAP, GFAR). IFPRI has played a major role, and Laura Ivers at the CGIAR secretariat is leading a team of half a dozen communicators from various agencies working towards disseminating the jointly-agreed messages. The intention of the event is to raise the profile of agriculture in the negotiations to ensure that agriculture and rural development get onto the post-Copenhagen agenda. CCAFS is involved in another six UNFCCC-related events at COP15.
• "Climate, agriculture and food security: A strategy for change" has been published. This is a CGIAR Alliance product that had a considerable input from CCAFS. It profiles the CGIAR work on climate change being conducted by Centres and Challenge Programs, and demonstrates some of the technologies and institutional options that give us some hope in the face of climate change. The report uses the CCAFS conceptual framework to structure the information. It will be launched at COP15.
• CGIAR contact points established. There are climate change contact points for each Centre and Challenge Program. They helped in the preparation of the above-mentioned publication. CCAFS will host a meeting of contact points in Copenhagen next week to further strategise on cross-Centre climate change activities in 2010 and beyond, from research to global outreach.
• Bridging the global change and rural development communities. One of our biggest challenges is to get these two communities working together, because the skills of both will be needed to devise appropriate agricultural adaptation and mitigation strategies. We are in negotiation with a partner from the Earth Systems Science Partnership (ESSP) that should bring in some key global change expertise. The science plan has generated interest from a number of Universities which will undoubtedly bring resources to the table.
• Governance: The Steering Committee met for the second time in 2009, in Copenhagen in October. They selected Theme Leaders, re-defined the role of Regional Facilitators, and deliberated on a process for ensuring focus and impact, amongst other tasks.
• Theme Leaders selected. The six global research themes will be led by researchers coming from four CGIAR centers and two universities (announcement in the coming days once all contracts are finalised). The first Management Team meeting will be held in Copenhagen next week.
• Regional Facilitators (West Africa, Eastern Africa, Indo-Gangetic Plains). To ensure impact on the ground and at national and regional levels, three regional facilitators will be engaged. The CGIAR centers to host them will be finalised next week when the selection panel meets in Copenhagen.
• Funds secured. CCAFS is currently supported by the World Bank, the European Union, and the governments of Canada and Denmark. We have secured 80% of the 2010 $10 million dollar budget; but have a way to go to secure the 2011 projected budget of $17 million.
• Secretariat being established in Copenhagen. This is planned to be small, working through the CGIAR structures wherever possible (e.g. for Agriculture Day we worked with the communications expertise in the CGIAR secretariat and Centres) and using University of Copenhagen services (e.g. accounting). No overheads are being charged by the University of Copenhagen. For the foreseeable future we will be a team of three: Director, Deputy Director and Administrative Officer, with the latter two starting January 1st.
• Launch Conference. CCAFS will hold this in the first week of May 2010, in association with ICRAF and ILRI, in Nairobi. During the week the research agenda will be discussed, in consultation with stakeholders, and regional scenarios will be prepared, as a means of identifying pathways to impact, and building consensus on the next steps.

I look forward to working with you. If you have questions or comments, please get in touch. If you are coming to COP15, please do get in contact if you have the time.

Best regards, Bruce

Bruce Campbell
Director,
CGIAR Challenge Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS),
CCAFS Secretariat
Department of Agriculture and Ecology,
Faculty of Life Science,
University of Copenhagen,
Rolighedsvej 21,
1958 Frederiksberg C, DK.
www.ccafs.cgiar.org