SARUA is one of four Regional Organisations that has been commissioned by the SADC Secretariat to participate in the Intra-ACP Global Climate Change Alliance Plus (GCCA+) Programme in the Southern African Development Community region.
The objective of the lntra-ACP Global Climate Change Project for the SADC region is to increase the capabilities of SADC Member States to mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change, in support of the achievement of the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP), Africa Agenda 2063 and Sustainable Development Goals ; and to have their voice better heard in the international climate change negotiations. As a programme partner, SARUA is responsible for enhancing the capacity of the region’s universities to contribute to climate change initiatives through the design and implementation of a master’s programme as well as short courses on climate change based. SARUA will build on its current Master’s curriculum for climate change and mitigation, which was developed from 2014-2017 following an extensive mapping study, and has been implemented by various universities in the SADC.
The programme was reviewed and approved by multiple stakeholders and educational experts and is considered a well-designed response to the expressed need for climate change and development-related capacity building in the region. Specific components of the curriculum focus on Key Concepts of Climate Change and Sustainable Development; Transdisciplinary Thinking and Skills; Mitigation and Adaptation in Theory and Practice; Agriculture, Food Security and Climate Change; Climate Change and Ecosystem Services; Climate Change and Urban Development and Climate Change and Social Justice.