1. An abstract of the Rockefeller Foundation supported Project under the Climate Smart for Rural
Development Initiative
Project Title: Consortium for Capacity Building
Grant number: 2008 NCG 301
Name of the Organization: Consortium for Capacity Building (CCB) – Climate and Water Affairs
Country: United States
Name of the Contact Person: Michael H. Glantz/Tsegay Wolde-Georgis
Email: tsegay@colorado.edu
Telephone: 1-303-492-6068
Key Objectives
 Capacity building to enhance the value and use of climate, water, and weather information.
 Support the most vulnerable societies mitigate, adapt or prevent the impacts of climate change.
 Create a network to enhance climate and water related capacity building in Africa.
Key Activities
 Expansion of network of collaborators including universities and consortia
 Collaboration to increase the capacity of farmers for climate change adaption in Africa.
 Capacity building on the use of buried clay pots for irrigation to cope with climate change in an
Ethiopian village. Create a roof water harvesting system for the clay pots irrigation system.
 Exchange of views with the AU to establish an All Africa Climate Center for Climate Affairs.
 A policy research on the policies of biofuels production in Africa
 Networking with the African diaspora to support capacity building for climate change adaptation
 Collaborated with the Ethiopia agricultural research organization on a proposal
 Research on biofuels development in Africa
 Enhance china-Africa collaboration to establish Integrated Env Risk Gov (IRG) in Africa
Key Deliverables
 A successful Mekelle University and CCB proposal to establish the Ethiopian Institute of Climate
and Society for the Climate Affairs certificate and degree Program.
 A roof water harvesting system with a capacity of 20,000 liters of water set up at an Ethiopian
village, northern Ethiopia to provide water for the clay pots for irrigation demo site.
 Introduced the use of clay pots for sub-surface irrigation in an Ethiopian village.
 Peasants trained the use of clay pots irrigation and planted fruit trees for the first time.
 Supported an Ethiopian Agriculture Res Org research grant proposal to mainstream climate
change adaptation
 Report: Biofuels in Africa: A Pathway to Development? ICEED Occasional Papers: Number 43.
Expected Outcomes
 Establish a new climate affairs degree program at Mekelle University
 Involvement of the African Diaspora in climate change adaptation in Africa
 Diffusion of appropriate technology (such as clay pots irrigation) by the vulnerable areas
 Develop training manuals (both print and new-media) climate change adaptation and mitigation
 Establish a regional IRG in Africa and an All Africa Center for Climate Affairs training.