Southern African Science Service Centre for Climate Change and Adaptive Land Management (SASSCAL) -
a Regional Science Service Centre (RSSC) in Southern Africa

The SASSCAL is a joint initiative of Angola, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Germany, responding to the challenges of global change.

The current processes of global change, which include, for example, demographic change, climate change and the globalisation of economic systems, are an enormous challenge for societies worldwide. Climate change is affecting the lives of millions of people in Africa, Europe and many other parts of the world. Current projections on future developments indicate that there is an urgent need to develop concepts on how to adapt to these challenges in due course. Science and research offer proactive approaches to deal with the current and future changes expected. The role of science is to be understood as a service to those societies that are most severely affected by climate change and to provide the relevant decision-makers with evidence-based results and advice.

The establishment of a Southern African Science Service Centre for Climate Change and Adaptive Land Management could create added value for the whole southern African region. It should be conceptualised and operationalised to complement the excellent existing research and capacity development infrastructures and research initiatives in the region. It should be embedded in the regional and national research.

Mission:
To conduct problem-oriented research in the area of adaptation to climate and change and sustainable land management and provide evidence-based advice for all decision-makers and stakeholders to improve the livelihoods of people in the region and to contribute to the creation of an African knowledge-based society.

Objectives:
In order to meet the demands of target groups such as policy-makers and governmental administration, farmers, practitioners and other regional and local stakeholders affected by climate change, the center(s) should have the following three main objectives that are closely interrelated and that should be taken into account with equal priority:

1. Trans-disciplinary, applied oriented research for people
2. Services and advice for policy, decision makers and stakeholders
3. Capacity development

The initiative is based on a decade of successful scientific cooperation and goes beyond research projects towards a new quality i.e. the establishment of research infrastructures.

In parallel to this initiative in southern Africa, in West Africa a West African Science Service Center on Climate change and Adapted Land Use (WASCAL) is presently being developed.