Projecten
G-HOLISTIC
Geo-HydrolOgicaL dIsaster riSk and the associated naTural resource degradation in sub-Saharan AfrICa: a transdisciplinary approach in densely-populated changing environments
Geo-hydrological (GH) hazards (volcanic activity and emissions, floods, droughts, landslides, gully erosion and flash floods) and the degradation of natural resources (soil, water, forest, ecosystems) are often interrelated with self-mutual cause-and-effect reinforcements. In sub-Saharan Africa, high population densities are often found, frequently on the rise and combined with high societal vulnerability. It is therefore no surprise that GH disaster risks and the associated natural resource degradation disproportionately hit these regions. Environmental alterations induced by land-use changes combined to changing climatic conditions are expected to increase these impacts. In sub-Saharan Africa, research on GH disaster risk and resource degradation is often at its infancy and non-adapted to the local population and stakeholders needs.
This FED-tWIN project proposes a unique long-term funding that will allow to undertake longitudinal, co-produced and transdisciplinary strategic research in urban and densely populated rural regions of sub-Saharan Africa. To have real in-the-field impact, the project aims to fill a clear research gap in bringing high resolution, disaggregated information about risk and resource degradation. The short-term (5 years) general scientific objective of the FED-tWIN project is to assess the vulnerability, exposure and resilience to GH hazards. It aims to arrive at integrated/comprehensive highly spatially resolved disaster risk assessments relevant for stakeholders and for the development of adapted mitigation strategies. To provide such detailed analysis, we will focus on selected, densely-populated and rapidly changing regions where GH hazards are being studied by both teams.
In parallel with the focus on GH disaster risk, the project will also progressively start to collect spatially explicit data on natural resource degradation associated with these GH disaster risks. The long-term scientific objective is to extend the transdisciplinary approaches (models, datasets, methods, etc.) that were developed on the GH disaster risks to more universal issues of natural resource degradation. In doing so we go beyond what is usually seen as a full integrated study of disasters risks as we will also tackle their interactions with natural resources; which will add a component in the understanding of the vulnerability and resilience as a whole.
Key will be to develop and implement transdisciplinary approaches around a strong collaboration between RMCA, UCLouvain and African institutions. The project builds upon the unique long term existing expertise and networks of collaborators of both institutions. During the first two years, the FED-tWIN researcher will get familiar with one key study area at the border between Burundi, DRC and Rwanda. A key aspect will also be the integration of the RMCA collection of historical aerial photographs in the research, as it has the potential to complement remote sensing data with key information on the state of the environment from the mid of the 20th century till today. It is expected that the FED-tWIN researcher becomes a world-class expert in his/her field with a large autonomy developing new synergies, partnerships, external project funding, and student (PhD and MSc) supervisions. These key challenges are in line with the current R&D strategies of the two institutions.