Which intellectual property governance framework can best support the exploitation of African-led innovation for climate action in the water, energy and food sectors in the SADC? 
 

Authors:

C Ncube & D Oriakhogba
 

Summary: 

The water-energy-food (WEF) nexus approach offers an effective framework for promoting sustainability, while enabling communities to adapt to climate change risks in the WEF sector in Africa. It requires a coordinated, collaborative, integrated and non-siloed approach to climate change adaptation innovation and related intellectual property (IP) to maximise synergies and minimise trade-offs across the WEF sectors. To this end, climate adaptation innovation solutions must integrate the components of the WEF nexus as mutually reinforcing inputs to to enhance resource efficiency, expand the available natural resource base and make a greater contribution to the sustainability and security of the WEF sectors. This article adopts the WEF nexus approach to examine climate adaptation innovation and IP governance in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and discusses specific climate adaptation innovation examples from selected SADC countries. Through desk research, the article addresses specific issues such as how African-led innovation influences climate adaptation action in the WEF sectors in Africa, and whether existing IP governance mechanisms can ensure the protection, diffusion, transfer and accessibility of African-led climate adaptation innovation within Africa. The article contends that IP regimes that strike an equitable balance between the protection of innovators and the need for knowledge diffusion, availability and accessibility through appropriate exclusive and user rights will effectively foster climate adaptation innovation in the WEF sectors of the SADC.


Link to Journal Article