<p>The scientific team's visit revolved around productive discussions and interactions with ESSA project partners, primarily KALRO and EIAR, focusing on the following pivotal areas: Progress Report and Funding Challenges: Addressed progress report and issues related to the release of funding by the European Commission (EC) to KALRO. * ESSA Knowledge Portal's Role: Exploring the ESSA Knowledge Portal's pivotal role in advancing Agropastoral Development.
<p>The University of Helsinki (UH), in collaboration with the University of Nairobi (UoN) and the Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development (RCMRD), organized an advanced training program in Geographical Information System (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS) in Nairobi, Kenya. The training took place from June 5th to June 8th, 2023.
<p>The Earth observation and environmental sensing for climate-smart sustainable agropastoral ecosystem transformation in East Africa - ESSA project organized an induction workshop for the cooperating associate organizations and administrative officers in Bishoftu, Ethiopia on 16 September 2021. The full-day event was hosted by Addis Ababa University and the Ethiopian Agricultural Research Council Secretariat (EARCS).
Capacity Building of MSc and PhD students
From October 21-23, 2024, a three-day ESSA Summer School provided an in-depth training program for 12 MSc and PhD students from partner institutions, held at ILRI’s Kapiti Research Station and Wildlife Conservancy in Machakos, Kenya. Led by eight experienced lecturers and professors, the course focused on the sources and sinks of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in African pastoral systems.
The ESSA Addis Ababa 2023 Seminar & Workshop, spanning November 29th and 30th, organized by EIAR, UH, and AAU at Mado Hotel. Under the theme "Transforming Agropastoral Ecosystems Amidst Climate Challenges," the event gathered regional leaders, policymakers, & researchers to tackle East Africa's agricultural dilemmas.
ESSA Ethiopian workshop participants (Image: EIAR)
From 24-25 October 2024, the ESSA Project Workshop in Nairobi, Kenya, brought together participants from across sectors to advance understanding of climate-smart agriculture, environmental stewardship, and community resilience.
Empowering Communication: ESSA Project Unites Experts for Dynamic Training on Research Dissemination
Targeted Communication of Research, Development, and Engagement Findings
Trainers and trainees
News in brief
The ESSA project, headed by the University of Helsinki, recently concluded a highly successful three-day training initiative titled "Targeted Communication of Research, Development, and Engagement Findings." at University of Nairobi, Kenya This collaborative effort brought together expertise from both the University of Nairobi, Kenya, and the University of Helsinki.
The ESSA project is funded by the DeSIRA programme of the European Union in 2020-2024. The project aims to contribute to the pastoralist households' transition towards climate-smart agropastoral systems in Ethiopia and Kenya by improving understanding of the dynamics of and interlinkages between tropical upland forest cover and semi-arid lowland landscapes, and by providing new knowledge on the multifunctionality of agropastoral landscapes through a system-wide view of food and nutrition security, diversified livelihoods and ecosystem sustainability leading to improvements.
The ESSA project is funded by the DeSIRA programme of the European Union in 2020-2024. The project aims to contribute to the pastoralist households' transition towards climate-smart agropastoral systems in Ethiopia and Kenya by improving understanding of the dynamics of and interlinkages between tropical upland forest cover and semi-arid lowland landscapes, and by providing new knowledge on the multifunctionality of agropastoral landscapes through a system-wide view of food and nutrition security, diversified livelihoods and ecosystem sustainability leading to improvements.