CDKN has joined the International Land Coalition Africa, to co-lead a project titled, Advancing Gender Equity and Land Rights through Knowledge Brokering for Ecosystem-Based Adaptation in Southern Africa. They have partnered with the Micaia Foundation, the Uganda Community Based Association for Women and Children Welfare, Youth4CAN and the University of Botswana. The project is funded by the South African Resilience Academy (SARA) who announced a call for applications from transdisciplinary working groups in late 2024, under the broad theme of Transformative Pathways to Resilient and Sustainable Futures. The goal of the call was to strengthen existing expert networks, encourage collaboration, and facilitate the co-production of policy and practice-relevant knowledge.  

Background  

Rural regions of Africa, particularly Mozambique, Botswana, Namibia, Kenya and Uganda, face the pressing challenges of climate change, land degradation and insecure land tenure, which threaten livelihoods reliant on natural resources. Environmental degradation, socio-economic inequalities, and exclusion based on intersecting identities like gender and age further exacerbate these vulnerabilities.  

This project explores how priorities of gender equity and land rights can be linked to existing Ecosystem-Based Adaptation (EbA) efforts in order to respond to the interlinked challenges of environmental and social vulnerability.  

The aims of this project are to: 

• Mobilise and synthesis the latest evidence on locally-led EbA  

• Enhance southern-based knowledge and leadership 

• Promote inclusive, evidence-based governance approaches 

• Improve knowledge on best approaches for more equitable access to land 

• Provide guidance to support the delivery of gender-equitable and socially just EbA practices 

• Advance locally-led climate adaptation strategies across East and Southern Africa  

These goals are founded on the conviction that meaningful transformation can be achieved by creating resilient and inclusive communities that are equipped with adaptive capacities to respond to climate and other social-ecological changes. 

This project is being conducted by an eight women, intergenerational working group. It includes senior practitioners and researchers, youth activists and early career researchers. Together they will co-develop solutions to address the root causes of land insecurity, gender discrimination and environmental vulnerability.  

Timelines 

The project will be supported by SARA over a three-year period and will be convened in three phases: 

• Phase 1 (2025): Knowledge synthesis and review framework development 

The first phase will begin with a SARA workshop in early 2025, focusing on the mobilisation, negotiation and synthesis of existing diverse knowledge linking gender equity and social inclusion, land rights and EbA. 

• Phase 2 (2026): Case study analysis, policy engagement and collaborative research 

The second phase will include co-convened workshops and dialogues aligned with various events and organisations including those linked to the Rio conventions and partners working to advance locally-led and inclusive EbA to incorporate more perspectives, opportunities and challenges. 

• Phase 3 (2027): Communication strategy, policy recommendations and dissemination of findings 

The final phase will co-develop and then utilise knowledge outputs and learnings from the working group to target specific audiences including national focal points for specific Rio conventions and science-policy assessments (including IPBES and IPCC).  

Outputs 

The expected outputs include case studies and short videos which can be used to foster peer-peer learning, knowledge exchange and advocacy. Additionally, they will co-produce several outputs, including a scientific paper, a policy brief, and interactive webinars and in-country dialogues to share the outcomes.  

Next steps  

First on the agenda is the initial meeting, taking place in April 2025. This will bring all eight working groups (convened by SARA) into a shared space to discuss their projects and begin the three-year process of knowledge sharing and capacity building.  

If you are interested in hearing more about this project, please feel free to contact Dr Nadia Sitas, (nadia@southsouthnorth.org) and keep an eye on our website for future updates.