aFrica Loss And daMage nEtwork (FLAME)

The purpose of this project is to develop the first ever Africa Network on Loss and Damage (L&D) from Climate Change. Such a network is urgently needed as many African nations will or already are experiencing adverse impacts from climate change which will exacerbate existing sustainable development challenges such as poverty and food insecurity, as most recently seen in Zimbabwe and Mozambique as a result of cyclone Idai. L&D has become of great international concern, but major gaps in knowledge and effective practice still exist, particularly in the African context which has been been less prominent than other nations in shaping the debate and policy prescriptions. The aim of the FLAME network is to bring together Swedish L&D expertise with advanced African research on climate change impacts and policy solutions to mutually strengthen the international knowledge base and African scholarship in the L&D field. It does so through strategic knowledge exchange workshops, field trips and joint proposals for collaborative research with climate change scholars in Sweden, Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe. The project has the potential to enhance African engagement in UNFCCC negotiations on L&D while strengthening Swedish support for sustainable development in LDCs by enhancing knowledge base and policy implications of L&D. The network directly contributes to achieving SDGs on climate action (#13), reduced inequality (#10) and gender equality (#5), among others.