Project partners’ contribution to unccd cop15 in abidjan
One of the highlights of this advocacy exercise was the participation of an AVACLIM delegation at the UNCCD COP15 in Abidjan in May 2023, representing all project countries. Delegates were highly involved, notably with :
- The organization of and participation in a “side event” dedicated to AVACLIM “Agroecology, a way to achieve prosperity by 2030?
- Presentation of the AVACLIM assessment tool at Science Day (“What we measure we can manage better”, with the participation of Eric Scopel (CIRAD) and Jean Luc Chotte (IRD) and other side events.
- Active participation in the preparation of CSO statements at the various COP sessions, and speeches at the open dialogue session on agroecology;
- Discussion outside the meeting with other CSOs, national delegates and institutional representatives.
The work carried out at this major event also contributed to the content of the Desertif’Actions 2022 dynamic, which culminated in the DA’22 summit in October 2022.
Read the COP15 side event article here
Read the COP15 participation report
Development of a method for evaluating the performance of initiatives
The scientific component of the project focused on developing a method for assessing the performance of agroecological initiatives. To this end, a scientific consortium comprising IRD (component 2 leader), CIRAD and the Institut Agro de Montpellier was set up to support the work of Marilyne Darmaun, whose PhD thesis focused on the “Elaboration of a method for evaluating the development conditions and multidimensional performance of initiatives in agroecological transition, using a co-design prototyping approach”.
The prototype method developed was used to evaluate a total of 14 initiatives by the project partners. All the evaluation reports were summarized in a synthesis report.
From January 11 to 12, 2023, we also held a major scientific event at the end of the AVACLIM project: the AVACLIM review workshop. These days provided an opportunity to bring together up to 60 people from 11 different countries to discuss the AVACLIM project and agroecology evaluation methodologies. The AVACLIM workshop “What evaluations for agroecology” brought together professionals from civil society and scientific research involved in the AVACLIM project, or more broadly in the themes of agroecology and impact assessment.
Find the articles produced as part of the thesis work :
- Co-designing a method to assess agroecological transitions: results of a case study in Senegal
- Multidimensional and multiscale assessment of agroecologicaltransitions. A review
International dissemination of project lessons and knowledge sharing
With a view to sharing experience and disseminating the lessons learned from the AVACLIM project, several activities were dedicated to organizing and participating in international scientific events.
Firstly, 3 webinars were organized by the project partners, to discuss their experiences of agroecology, from various thematic angles:
- “Agroecology and Feminism”, organized by CAATINGA (56 participants); Read the article
- Social technologies for sustainable coexistence in semi-arid regions”, organized by CAATINGA (26 participants)
- “Hydro-agro-ecological developments as a prerequisite for agroecological dynamics, a vector of social change”, organized by the Moroccan partner, in conjunction with the organization Migrations et Développement (40 participants online);
The project partners also took part in a large number of international scientific summits and workshops: the ALASRU (Asociacion Latinoamericana de sociologia rural), SOCLA (Sociedad Científica Latinoamericana de Agroecología), the Sustainability Research and Innovation congress (SRI 2022, June 20-24, Pretoria), and the European Society of Agronomy 17th congress (August 29th to September 2nd, 2022, Potsdam).
Read the article on SRI participation
Organization of advocacy activities
CARI and Both ENDS have produced a policy brief entitled: “How donors can accelerate the agroecological transition: recommendations from the AVACLIM project”. The brief looks at how to improve financial support from a variety of donors for the agroecological approaches and practices of people living in drylands. Based on documentary research and examples from the project and AVACLIM, it proposes a number of recommendations for donors to better connect with the agroecological practices of people living in arid zones. This document, finalized in early October 2022, was widely distributed on social networks, as well as at the Désertif’Actions 2022 Summit.
Read the Policy brief: How donors can accelerate the agro-ecological transition
Communication
In addition to the 7 videos produced in the project countries, the project partners have developed a multi-country video (in French and English) in a shorter format (around 4 minutes) with a focus on advocacy and raising public awareness. The multi-country video is posted on the FAO YouTube channel to ensure greater visibility. The national videos are posted on CARI’s YouTube channel and will be broadcast one by one on social networks to maximize their visibility. In addition, two national videos (Morocco and Burkina Faso) were broadcast on January 11 at a conference-debate with AVACLIM partners, open to the general public (in Montpellier).
It should be noted that the Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie in Paris has contacted the project coordinator to obtain the rights to broadcast 6 national videos in a permanent exhibition on the theme of climate emergency. This exhibition promises to be a good showcase for promoting the work and analyses produced by the AVACLIM project. CARI will be following these new developments.
