Cohort 2 Visiting Fellow
Dr Fadairo spent his fellowship year at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. Halfway through his Fellowship, he reflects on his experiences.
Rethinking
the proposal
Shortly
before the commencement of the fellowship in January 2016, I decided to
undertake a brief reconnaissance on the subject of my CIRCLE research proposal.
After much consideration, I realised the need to revise the proposal to be
more specific and realistic. When I attended the CIRCLE induction workshop held
in Kenya in February, 2016 I met John Morton who shared the same opinion.
Following further review of relevant literature and consultation with my
Supervisor (Richard Calland), Specialist advisor (Yacob Mulugetta) and home
institution mentor (Janice Olawoye), I revised my research proposal and amended
the title as “Exploring Research on Corruption in Climate Funds Management: The
Case of Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+)
Project in Nigeria”. The thrust of the study is premised on the experience in
Africa with respect to climate finance flow which has so far not boded too well
as the gap between funds approved and those disbursed in the region remains
substantial, presumably because of challenges in meeting the required fiduciary
and governance standards. So, a major research concern is that the fiduciary
standards that have been set and will continue to be set will either be too
high and unreasonably so, or else they cannot be met because countries are
unable to show how they will combat corruption, which will have a detrimental
effect on the flow of climate finance at a crucial time. In this vein, key
questions that come to mind include: is the concern about corruption in climate
change and, therefore, fiduciary standards, justified? The study therefore aims
at providing answers to six objectives derived from this question using Cross
River State (CRS), Nigeria where there is REDD+ presence as a test case.
What does
forthcoming finding suggest?
While the
field survey on households within forest dependent communities in the study
area was still on-going as of the time of writing this article, the flip side
data garnered from a key informant from the state forestry commission (Table 1)
shows that only five out of eight governance measures that could help improve
transparency in REDD+ processes were available locally; two of which were rated
as just fairly functional while the functionality of the other two could not be
ascertained. Does this trend say anything about the governance capacity of the
implementing agency for REDD+ in the study area? It may be too hasty to draw
conclusions on this now until all data are fully collected.
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Table 1:
Highlights of information from IDI with key informant from CRS forestry
commission
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Major
engagements with research stakeholders so far
My first
engagement with stakeholders apart from the CIRCLE induction workshop held in
Kenya, was on March 2, 2016 when I did a self-introduction seminar at the
African Climate and Development Initiative (ACDI), University of Cape Town (my
host institution). My presentation focused on my profile, past research
experience and current CIRCLE research work. This was followed by my
participation at the United Nations University Education for Sustainable
Development in Africa (ESDA) – Next Generation Researchers (NGR) – National
Research Foundation of South Africa (NRF) workshop on “Developing an
Exploratory Research Programme on the Role of Youth Entrepreneurship for
Sustainable Development in Africa” from March 4-7, 2016, where I also did a
presentation entitled “Blockades between entrepreneurship and development in
Africa: My Perspectives”. Furthermore, on April 14, 2016, I presented my CIRCLE
research work at the CIRCLE coordinators/Supervisors/UCT-Research Office/CVFs
meeting held at the University of Cape Town Research Office. A more recent one
was my participation at the International Conference on Climate Change held at
the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Nigeria from 18-20 May,
2016 where I delivered a review paper co-authored with my supervisor on the
title “Corruption and the imbalance in climate finance flows in Sub Saharan
Africa: Lessons for Social Researchers”. The review paper is now being revised
for submission for publication in a suitable open access journal.
Gains versus
Pains: How did I fare?
It is just
about six months into my CIRCLE fellowship year and I am happy to note that the
experience so far has been awesome, though not without some moments of
disappointment. An instance I would describe as a low point for me in my experience
so far was when I narrowly missed an opportunity to attend the 2016 Potsdam
(Germany) Summer School on Dealing with Climate Change Impacts. It was a two
week programme with partial sponsorship. It was with great regret that I read
the mail sent to me from Potsdam by Angela Borowski who informed me of the jury
committee’s recommendation to put my offer on the waiting list should anyone
withdraw. Alas! it never happened. However, it is pertinent to state that while
I have had more high points than low points, both conditions have really been
essential learning processes for me.
Acknowledgements
I appreciate
my fellow CVFs, Faridah and Portia for their companionship. Special thanks to
my supervisor (Richard Calland), specialist advisor (Yacob Mulugetta) and
mentor (Janice Olawoye) for their guidance. I gratefully acknowledge the
African Climate and Development Initiative (ACDI), African Academy of Sciences
(AAS), UK Department for International Development and Association of
Commonwealth Universities (ACU) for this memorable opportunity.
