GRA Progressing Partnerships 2020 Webinar Series

As part of our continuing commitment to supporting developing countries to enhance their scientific capability and institutional capacity to estimate and track agricultural greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, a three-part capacity building webinar series – Progressing Partnerships, was developed to provide advice, technical assistance and training to existing and new member countries of the Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases (GRA), particularly from Africa.

Each webinar featured topical experts currently working with various science networks and provided an opportunity to learn about on-going research activities for reducing agricultural GHG emissions in each of the GRA’s four Research Groups (Croplands (CRG), Paddy Rice (PRRG), Livestock (LRG) and Integrative (IRG).  Expert facilitators shared their personal experiences in working with different stakeholders from both developed and developing countries, and highlighted further opportunities for research collaboration provided by the GRA and other related science networks.  The webinar series also created opportunities for valuable knowledge sharing and peer learning by drawing on good practice examples of relevant GRA programmes in different countries and regions.

The GRA Secretariat would like to extend a big thanks to all the guest speakers for providing their time and expertise to the Progressing Partnerships webinar series. Three key lessons can be drawn from the outcome of this series:

• Opportunities for research international collaboration exist. However, participation of national experts and institutions in international agricultural GHG-specific efforts and networks is low in many countries.
• Successful engagement in agricultural GHG research will require coordination among national experts (researchers and policymakers). Within this context, in-country leadership is vital to all processes that underpin agricultural GHG inventories, MRV systems and NDCs.
• There is a clear need for capacity building – supporting peer learning and knowledge sharing on agricultural GHG emissions across the regions.