By Eve Njau
All eyes are currently set on Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt ahead of the 27th Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC (COP27). “Our vision is that COP27 should reflect our commitment to move from pledging to action as an implementation COP, where commitments become immediate and effective,” COP27 President Designate and Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry said ahead of the conference. “This allows moving rapidly towards full, timely, inclusive and at scale action on the ground (…).”
Is this a pivotal moment in the fight against climate change? Should we be optimistic?
Most climate adaptation and mitigation action are led by governmental and foreign development agencies. Despite evidence showing the significant role that locals and communities’ action have in attaining the net-zero goals, most governments have still not effectively unified efforts with them in bringing and put to the forefront locals’ potential in turning around the climate menace.
It’s on this basis that the work done by PROCOL AFRICA (formerly PROCOL Kenya) and communities becomes evident. Its work over the past three years in the Kenya TEEB Agri-Food project around the Mau Forest Complex in Nandi, Narok, Kericho and Bomet counties made clear the immense role that citizen science, through community driven action, has had on accelerating climate mitigation and adaption action.