Adaptation of Socio-Ecological Systems in sub-Saharan Africa to Global Environmental Change: ICSU ROA’s Strategy.

Abstract:- Poverty is recognized as the major constraint to Africa’s development, as it impacts heavily on all other components of human well-being such as health, quality nutrition, education, access to clean water, proper sanitation, security and other social services. Therefore, any effort to improve the well-being of African people has to be directed, among others, towards poverty alleviation. More than 70 % of African populations earn their living from agriculture. Most of the remainder also depends on exploitation of natural resources through mining, hunting, fishing and harvesting of timber and non-timber forest products. Unfortunately these resources are under constant threat due to global climate change as well as human pressure on the environment. The International Council for Science, Regional Office for Africa (ICSU ROA) identified four key priority areas (Sustainable Energy, Health and Human Well-being, Natural and Human-induced Hazards and Disaster, and Global Change) that need to be addressed in order to promote the sustainable development and well-being of African people. Science plans have been prepared in each of these priority areas, in which the current status of the subject matter in Africa is reviewed, the challenges highlighted, and research and development projects needed to address the challenges are proposed. These priority areas are closely inter-related and many of the key challenges that need to be addressed are influenced by environmental factors and climate change. This paper presents the key global environmental change challenges to socio-ecological systems in Africa within the context of ICSU ROA’s priority areas and describes the research and development projects that need to be undertaken to address the challenges