Livelihoods from ecosystems - reviewing dryland African experiences and opportunities, and developing novel research strategies and partnerships

方法：南部和东部非洲干旱地区的环境一直是无数外部机构研究的对象，每个机构都有自己的兴趣。我们的方法不同：1)穷人的环境需求是我们研究策略的中心；2)我们与来自南方的个人、社区和研究团体进行了广泛的接触，他们为ESPA工作提供了主要方向；3)我们的联盟是由非洲的机构和人们组成的，他们每天都在对贫困群体至关重要的生态系统环境中工作，即林地、草原和湿地，这三种生态系统可能为贫困人口提供生计和恢复能力。各种非洲机构一直在努力改进贫困群体的生态系统管理实践，发展自己的创新。此外，他们还明确了他们认为北方参与ESPA至关重要的三个领域：提高对上述生态系统服务的科学认识；提高穷人对人类和动物疾病的抵御能力；并在各级建设能力，以确保实施，特别强调对气候变化的适应能力。我们在南方寻求PPD拨款，以便与英国研究人员和其他人合作。该联盟将具备技能组合和联系，以评估生态系统管理方面的进展和挑战以及非洲的创新；确定自然科学和社会科学投资的优先事项，以改善生态系统管理；让政策利益攸关方参与进来，为推广良好做法创造有利条件。这对于评估新兴的国际“绿色”基金如何成为穷人的机会将特别有价值。我们还与南方许多愿意参加的其他机构和个人保持联系。活动：主要活动将是为期一周的研究伙伴和互补的南方伙伴的研讨会。这些人将包括来自当地社区和我们将开展工作的研究地点的代表，以及地方、国家和区域非政府组织的代表，来自大学的科学家(例如肯尼亚的莫伊、内罗毕、肯雅塔；坦桑尼亚的达累斯萨拉姆和索科因农业大学，赞比亚大学，马拉维和姆祖马大学，莫桑比克的爱德华多蒙德兰大学，开普敦大学，斯泰伦博斯大学，KZN大学，比勒陀利亚大学和南非的威特沃特斯兰德大学等)加上国家或地区研究机构（如CSIR和SANBI，南非，或SACIDS，坦桑尼亚），加上研究联盟(如Cirrus集团，南共体和东非共同体内所有参与国的野生动物和林业部门。在研讨会上，将有特定的时间专门用于ES和PA工作人员的同行评审；贫困群体代表的听证会；以及与决策者和商界人士的接触。讲习班将得到专业人员的协助，在此之前，将对关于研究现状和需要的科学文献和灰色文献进行总结，并编写一份关于目前财团提供的研究潜力的简报。概述：我们的目标是制定一项研究战略，以实现所有四个ESPA目标。我们将在南部和东部非洲的一系列旱地开展工作。所有合作伙伴在每个国家都有强大的机构和政府联系，并在解决与环境和方案相关的各种问题方面拥有丰富的经验。我们计划在本次电话会议中确定的六个主题领域中进行评估和优先排序，将研究需求与已经与南方合作伙伴协商制定的一些初步的ES研究和PA战略选择相匹配，包括与政治科学家和经济学家一起运行新的区域气候变化和陆地表面模型。

Approach: Dryland Southern and Eastern African environments have been the object of study by countless external institutions, each with their own interests. Our approach differs: 1) poor people's environmental needs are at the centre of our research strategy; 2) we have been in extensive contact with individuals, communities and research groups from the South who have given the principal direction to this proposed ESPA work, and 3) our consortium is formed around African institutions and people that are working daily in ecosystem contexts of central importance to poor groups, namely woodlands, grasslands and wetlands These three ecosystems potentially provide poor people with their livelihoods and resilience. Various African institutions have been working to improve ecosystem management practice by poor groups, developing their own innovations. In addition, they have made clear three areas where they believe Northern participation in ESPA is essential to: improve scientific understanding of the ecosystem services provided by the above; increase the resilience of poor peoples to human and animal disease; and build capacity at all levels to ensure implementation, with particular emphasis on resilience to climate change. We in the South seek a PPD grant to enable collaboration with UK researchers and others. The consortium will have the skills mix and connections to assess progress and challenges, and African innovations, in ecosystem management; identify priorities for investment in natural and social sciences for improving ecosystem management; and engage policy stakeholders so that the enabling conditions become conducive for scaling up good practice. This will be particularly valuable for assessing how emerging international 'green' funds could be an opportunity for poor people. We are also in contact with many other institutes and individuals in the South who would participate. Activities: The principal activity will be a week-long workshop of the research partners and complementary Southern associates. These will include representatives from the local communities and study sites where we will be working, plus local, national and regional NGO's, scientists from universities (e.g. Moi, Nairobi, Kenyatta in Kenya; Dar es Salaam & Sokoine University of Agriculture in Tanzania, the University of Zambia, Malawi & Mzuma Universities, Universidade Eduardo Mondlane in Mozambique, Universities of Cape Town, Stellenbosch, KZN, Pretoria and Witwatersrand in South Africa amongst others) plus those at National or Regional Research Institutes (such as CSIR & SANBI, South Africa, or SACIDS, Tanzania), plus research consortia (e.g. Cirrus Group, SA) and also Departments of Wildlife and Forestry from all participating countries within SADC and EAC. At the workshop, particular days will be dedicated to peer review among those working on ES & PA; hearings from representatives of poor groups; and engagement with policy-makers and business people. The workshop will be professionally facilitated, and will be preceded by a summary of both scientific and grey literature on research status and needs, and the preparation of a brief on the research potentials offered by the current consortium. Overview: We aim to scope a research strategy that will fulfil all four ESPA objectives. We will work across a range of dryland southern and eastern African countries. All partners have strong institutional and governmental links within each country, as well as extensive experience of working on various problems associated with ES and PA. We plan to assess and prioritise among the six thematic areas identified in this call, matching research needs to some tentative options for ES research and PA strategies that have been developed already in consultation with Southern partners including the running of new regional climate change and land surface models with political scientists and economists.