NEWS:

17 May, 2015


Dr D Mkwambisi (4th from Left) with fellow Malawian experts working on agriculture and climate change at an International meeting in South Africa.

The University’s Programmes Coordinator and an Associate Professor of Environmental Sustainability Dr David Mkwambisi will be among global experts attending the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change IPCC) meeting on climate change, food and agriculture in Dublin, Ireland later in May 2015.

According to Dr Mkwambisi, the meeting will cover several sessions including:
General overview on food security
• The food-water-energy-climate nexus
• Food production and food security
• Future demand for food: Relevance of land use and lifestyles
• Potential impacts of mitigation scenarios on bio-energy deployment, land use, and food security

Climate-change impacts on the food sector and prospects for adaptation, across regions
• Projected changes in temperature, precipitation, and climate variability
• Climate-change impacts/adaptation/vulnerability for crops
• Climate-change impacts/adaptation/vulnerability for domestic animals
• Climate-change impacts/adaptation/vulnerability for fisheries and aquaculture
• Climate-change impacts/adaptation/vulnerability for post-harvest components of food systems
• Climate change risks to food production
• Consequences of mitigation for the food sector
Impacts of mitigation options on the food sector and prospects for responses
• GHG emissions and emission reductions, and increasing yields in the food sector
• Forestry: afforestation, reducing deforestation, and REDD+
• Bio-Energy

This is an excellent opportunity for the university, the country and the SADC countries since most of the information will be shared widely in Africa. Said Dr Mkwambisi. In addition, I will have the opportunity to present some of the climate change programmes that the University is participating at national and global level. It is a great opportunity since I will have the chance to interact with global experts on climate change, food and agriculture. Said Dr Mkwambisi. As an expert from Africa, it is a yard stick to further contribute to global policies dealing with climate change and agriculture. It is also a platform to create partnerships that can build the capacity of the University. Concluded Dr Mkwambisi.

Dr Mkwambisi is a reknown expert on climate change impacts on smallholder agriculture and he was a leading expert in the development of the Malawi National Climate Change Policy. Associate Professor Mkwambisi is also a contributor to the National Communication to the UNFCCC on vulnerability in the Agricultural Sector and he has been an advisor to national negotiators on climate change and agriculture in the SADC and COMESA region.