Focus for
2009-2011
The John D. and
Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
has granted ITFC a three year project, with the focus:
"To develop or improve
capacity to identify, assess and anticipate changes in the Greater
Virunga Landscape and beyond. Specific efforts will be made to develop
effective local and international partnerships and alliances to be able
to evaluate, anticipate and prepare for ‘new’ challenges including
climate change, population trends and the changing demands
on natural resources. "
In this
context, the long term monitoring for which ITFC is known, will
be maintained, results evaluated and lessons learned shared.
A range
of new pilot studies and activities will be developed as well,
to identify, characterize and evaluate emerging threats, as well as new
opportunities for conservation in the region and increase the ability of
local managers and other partners to better anticipate and respond to
these changes along with any surprises that may occur.
The following themes are
selected for new investigations:
-
Adaptation and Climate change
(for example altitudinal zonation; how will it change with climate
change? Where can endemic plants and animals find refuge?)
-
Mitigation and Climate Change (for
example REDD opportunities: forest carbon dynamics, assess carbon in
afro-alpine peat (Mgahinga, Rwenzori, Virungas), improving landscape
connectivity, and providing corridors for species to move to better
climates)
-
Additional biophysical
threats (for example CO2
and how ecosystems respond, loss of large herbivores, invasive
species)
-
Socio-economic threats and
opportunities, and people’s perceptions (for example understanding
impacts of changing patterns of population growth and socio-economic
trends on demands for forest resources, who is benefiting and who is
loosing and why?).
ITFC selected six Masters'
students to work on some of the above themes in academic year 2009/2010
and gave them a scholarship. For 2010/2011 we have so far selected 3
students and are helping them to finalise their proposals.
