UCT study calls for climate services rooted in local knowledge
09 September 2026 | Story Ridovhona Mbulaheni. Photo iStock. Read time 3 min.
Emerging priorities include tailoring climate information to local decision-making contexts, including using illustrations, animations and videos.
Climate services help people make informed decisions in response to climate risks. Across Africa, people involved in nature-based solutions – such as restoring and sustainably managing rural and urban landscapes – increasingly rely on these services. However, climate services can fall short if they are not designed in partnership with researchers, practitioners and communities.
A new study led by Dr Petra Holden of the African Climate & Development Initiative (ACDI) at the University of Cape Town (UCT) compared priorities for strengthening existing climate services for nature-based solutions in sub-Saharan Africa with priorities for entirely new climate services. A clear finding was the strong demand for meaningful integration of scientific knowledge with indigenous and local knowledge in climate-service co-production.
The study, co-authored by ARUA-CD and other African partners involved in the European Union (EU)-funded ALBATROSS project, included 530 interviews with local communities, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), government, private companies and researchers across South Africa, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar and Tanzania.
“This research highlights the risk of shallow engagement and externally led co-production processes. Developing climate services is not simply a technical exercise. We need to create the time and space for those involved to explore together what is already working, what is missing and what new possibilities might emerge,” said Dr Holden, who is a senior researcher and lab lead at the People in Nature and Climate (PiNC) Lab at the ACDI.
Findings
The study found that 82% of current users reported limitations in the climate services they use, and more than 60% identified a need to strengthen climate change literacy. This included understanding climate change and its impacts, knowing which services are available, and having the skills to interpret and apply climate information.
“These findings highlight the importance of making climate information more accessible, timely, trustworthy and relevant to the people using it – particularly for climate services related to floods, droughts, severe winds and heat that are already in use,” Holden said.
Priorities for new climate services included integrating climate information with biophysical, social, health and economic data and a new focus on fire, landslides, erosion and heat and cold extremes. Other emerging priorities were tailoring climate information to local decision-making contexts, including the community, municipal and ward levels; using illustrations, animations and videos; and leveraging community radio and networks, social media and mobile technology to share information.
“This research is particularly important for Africa because climate-service needs are shaped by diverse local contexts and experiences. Understanding these contexts and recognising the value of indigenous and local knowledge alongside scientific knowledge is essential,” explained co-author, Dr Cherié Forbes, a research officer at the PiNC Lab.
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