Project Coordinator: Namibia Nature Foundation (NNF)

Project Lead: SASSCAL

Project Funding: Green Climate Fund

Project Duration: 9 months

Project Start: 15 April 2026

The Development of Downscaled Climate Projections & Modelling Project, is funded under the Namibian NAP (National Adaptation Plan) programme by the Green Climate Fund (GCF), and under the leadership of the Namibian Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MEFT) and the coordination of the Namibian Nature Foundation (NNF).

Key academic institutions compose the SASSCAL-led consortium, including the Global Change Institute (GCI) of the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), the University of Namibia, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform (MAFWLR), and the Namibian University of Science and Technology (NUST).

The project will, in a first phase, address the challenges of climate change in Namibia by establishing a sound scientific foundation for a climate risk analysis. Climate change projections will establish a robust basis by generating high-resolution projections of key climate variables. Projections will cover multiple emissions scenarios (high, low and medium SSPs) and will explore future climate change, including changes in climate extremes and variability.

In a second phase, climate projections will inform the assessment of climate change risks to ecosystems, water resources, land use, marine systems and human wellbeing, in order to provide concrete insight into likely and possible impacts and to inform adaptation planning.

Another key component of the project will be a commitment to ensure national ownership, and given the 9-month time frame of the project, long-term capacity development. To this effect, two Namibian researchers will receive hands-on and targeted training at WITS University. Moreover, all data outputs and knowledge products will be made freely and openly available through SASSCAL’s and possibly National platforms and tailored for use by stakeholders at different user and policy levels.