Experts in Climate, Agro-meteorology and Hydrology from the African Centre of Meteorological Application for Development, AGRHYMET Regional Centre, the National Agency for Civil Aviation and Meteorology of Senegal, representatives of West and Central African countries in charge of monitoring and producing agro-climatic and hydrometeorological information, as well as representatives from basin organisms of the region, met in Dakar(Senegal), from May 04 to 08, 2015 in order to produce seasonal forecasts of agro-hydro-climatic characteristics of the 2015 rainfall season and facilitate their application to food security and water resources management

"The COVID-19 pandemic effects on food and nutrition security in the sahel and west Africa and CILSS adaptation efforts for information production"

A season with overall above average rainfall, an early to normal onset and equivalent or above average water levels in most river basins is expected in 2017.

Beyond raising awareness, the atlas also aims to incite action to protect the environment of West Africa and the Sahelian region. We therefore invite everyone — scientists, students, researchers, teachers, planners, managers of development or research projects, local, national and regional decision-makers, donors, members of civil society organizations, and visitors to the region — to make the most of this work.

Posters presentations : Four poster presentations have been made successively by CILSS Experts:  Capitalization of good low-carbon practices of the AFOLU sector (Agriculture, Forestry and other land use) in CILSS/CEDEAO region, by Dr Maguette Kairé, Forestry Expert; From sustainable land management to the eco-villages of the Boala city, (Province of Namentega, region of the Central-North of Burkina Faso) by Dr. Benoît Sarr, Climate change Expert;  CILSS platform in the field of climate change and sustainable land management, by Dr. Issaka Lona, climate change expert; Scaling of smart agriculture for food security in the Sahel, Dr. Edwige Botoni, Natural Resource Management Expert;

Climate change is among the most serious threats confronting every person on the entire planet, and African populations are particularly vulnerable. All livelihoods suffer from the isolated or combined effects of many climate hazards that can negatively affect their productivity, and consequently food security and populations’ living conditions. Therefore, seeking to reduce the harmful effects of climate hazards relates directly to the fight against poverty. Reducing poverty and promoting human development depend in part on the reduction of greenhouse gas concentration in the atmosphere to prevent climate change (mitigation). But given that climate change is already happening and will continue to do so because of current and still-rising levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere, it is also necessary to develop robust ways for natural and human systems to adjust in the face of future climate change effects (adaptation). Discussions on climate change now recognize that in addition to efforts to mitigate the phenomenon, strategies to enhance adaptation are a priority. This recognition has led to the unprecedented proliferation of many initiatives (projects, programs and policies) that relate climate change to development efforts. These initiatives, however, have so far hardly generated the expected outcomes. The disappointing results are due, in part, to the approaches and tools that were used to identify, plan, monitor and evaluate the initiatives. A study undertaken by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (Somda, 2010) on the shortcomings in the fields of monitoring and evaluation shows that these approaches are not sufficiently harmonized; they do not permit the drawing of consistent lessons that could improve the relevant formulation and implementation of new initiatives for climate change adaptation. This publication aims to resolve this issue by offering insights into harmonized approaches and tools for identifying, planning, monitoring and evaluating climate change adaptive capacities. It presents the theoretical approach and includes a practical users’ guide intended for development professionals, researchers and policy-makers. It contains a toolkit that harmoniously combines a number of existing approaches and tools for use at various intervention scales, and in this way defines a vision and a behavioural change strategy that are essential in the climate change adaptation process.