SUSTAINDAM

Hydropower generation (HPG) represents the largest renewable electricity source with multiple purpose functions worldwide especially in West Africa (WA) where it contributes significantly to energy security. However, this source is sensitive to climate change and projected HPG are associated with uncertainties. The magnitude and the sign of projected change of HPG vary according to the river basin and country. Part of uncertainties in the future of HPG in WA is associated with the lack of observations data which limit the calibration of models and the simulation of hydrological dynamics and also, with uncertainties associated with climate projections used to force hydrological and water resources models. Land use changes associated with socioeconomic development are rarely taken into account while they are crucial, especially over multi-purpose dams. It becomes then difficult for dam managers and local authorities to make decisions or to plan under these uncertainties in the aim to engage in a climate resilient pathway. This project aims to build communities of practice with HPG stakeholders (dam managers, local policy makers, representative of civil society) to address the challenges, synergies and trade-off in the climate land energy water nexus in WA for a sustainable management and planning of HPG under a context of climate and land use changes. This will be achieved through two elicitation and participatory workshops with stakeholders, two training sessions to Early Career Researchers of the project on “Random Forest, use of downscaled climate data” (top-down methods) and “Decision Scaling” (bottom-up method) which will be implemented with local stakeholders in each of the 4 major dams in Ghana, Senegal, Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast. During the implementation, the project will foster sharing and common learning between the 4 case studies from results of comparative study of these 3 practices. The project targets the nexus between SDG 13 (climate), 6 (water) and 7 (energy) with positive effects on SDG 15 (land) and 17 (partnership)for sustainable HPG. 

Countries: Burkina Faso, France, Ghana, Ivory Coast (Cote d’Ivoire), Senegal

UComNetSus-Africa

Africa has a diversity of cities that possess both general and unique challenges. General challenges refer to the rapid population growth, pollution, land use change, poor planning and loss of biodiversity. Unique problems facing African cities relate to geographical location, cultural and religious influences, income disparities, colonial connotation, corruption and myopic leadership. Ignorant of the uniqueness of problems facing the African cities has resulted in quick-fix solutions that fail. The complex social, economic and ecological interconnections have to go beyond the disjointed disciplinary perspectives. Instead, a transdisciplinary approach is necessary to start a bottom-up conversation with the city residents. Such conversations are to change the narrative that portrays cities as enemies of sustainability due their huge contribution to greenhouse gases and waste, overexploitation of natural resources and loss of human life due to pollution. However, the opportunity is by; using the cultural and religious philosophy of environmental stewardship, promoting renewable energy and clean technologies, ensuring waste recycling and proper waste disposal methods, funding social enterprises in rural areas to slow rural-urban migration, and funding capacity building and renewable natural resources in rural areas. In order to start bottom-up conversations and to seize the opportunities, African researchers must form a network of transdisciplinary actors. Emphasis is on civil participation to understand perceptions, attitudes, behavior and actions of people against the noted challenges and opportunities. The challenges and opportunities are expected to differ among mainland, coastal and island cities. Further, cities are influenced by culture and religion that may define adaptation to global changes and persisting top-down social structures. Therefore, the project forms networks to work as a team in identifying and magnifying synergies in sustainable development goals (SDGs), and address the likely trade-offs in realization of the SDGs.

Countries: Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, United States of America (USA)

SAM CONSORTIUM

The Sustainable Agriculture Matrix (SAM) consortium is a transdisciplinary and transnational network to guide pathways for sustainable agriculture by co-developing an indicator system and associated products that 1) measure agriculture sustainability from environmental, social, and economic dimensions and improve the accountability of countries’ commitment to sustainable agriculture; 2) engage conversations and possible coordination among stakeholders and countries; 3) identify the inter-linkages among Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to agriculture and improve the understanding of the socioeconomic and ecological dynamics in agricultural systems and beyond; 4) identify strategies for advancing sustainable agriculture and informing policies. Expanding upon a three-year effort on developing an initial set of global SAM indicators on national scales, this project will establish novel transdisciplinary teams in each of six regions with diverse socioeconomic and environmental profiles. It cultivates cross-country partnerships to investigate the historical trajectories of agriculture sustainability and to analyze tradeoffs between SAM indicators and SDGs in each region and the globe. The transdisciplinary teams include natural scientists, social scientists, and stakeholders (e.g., civil society organizations and agribusiness), bringing together a wide range of expertise and experiences. A series of networking and co-learning activities are designed to maximize interactions and collaborations across the boundaries of disciplines, sectors, and nations. Outputs of this project include: peer-reviewed articles and policy briefs for country cases; a synthesis report of major trade-offs and synergies among agriculture-related SDGs and among countries; and multiple communication products (e.g., SAM report cards, and an interactive platform). By co-developing and analyzing quantitative SAM indicators, this project helps guide pathways to sustainability.

Countries: Austria, Brazil, Ivory Coast (Cote d’Ivoire), Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania, Turkey, United States of America (USA)

DREAMS

African cities and urban agglomerations face significant challenges in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Urban developments in Sub Saharan Africa are often out of governmental control especially in informal settlements of major cities where growth is largely driven by informal social networks. Our transdisciplinary research project seeks to create new sustainability pathways for African cities and contribute to building partnerships for achieving the UN SDGs (SDG 17). DREAMS aims at developing an integrated approach for participatory scenario modeling, impact assessment and integrated strategic urban planning. Our proposal anticipates the future development of African cities with regard to key driving forces and their social-ecological influences, as reflected in six SDGs, namely #3 (Good Health and Well-Being), #5 (Gender equality); #6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), #11 (Sustainable Cities), #13 (Climate Action), and #15 (Life on Land). Our regional focus is in West-Africa (Ghana), East-Africa (Uganda) and Southern Africa (Republic of South Africa). We combine remotely sensed data on urban pattern development and participatory scenario development and planning into a mixed-methods approach to better understand why current city planning instruments, strategies and participation mechanisms fail to better coordinate informal settlements thereby undermining the resilience of urban social-ecological systems being exposed to climate change impacts (e.g. flooding), as well as social insecurity and poor health. By implementing a charrette approach as a theoretical framework, we transfer knowledge on successful participatory planning mechanisms to addressing informal settlements facing cities in the selected regions. In support of participatory planning, we adapt and implement the software GISCAME and match it with informal planning formats, such as focus group meetings or planning cells. DREAMS derives recommendations and syntheses at municipal level and for transfer to other cities.

Countries: Ghana, South Africa, Uganda

The Global Food Water Energy Nexus (GOFWEN) Project

GOFWEN is an action-research project based on further and deeper engagement with six case study cities (already involved under GLOCULL or IFWEN projects) and the public in the global south to drive knowledge sharing, learning and capacity building about FWEN innovation. It will bring global south cities and their citizens together to increase our knowledge of decision-making and sustainability, promote innovation, and build capacity for evidence-based solutions that establish best-practice sustainable FWEN system innovations in global south cities. PI countries: Brazil, Canada, India, South Africa, Madagascar, and the ICLEI Global Network. Study countries: Brazil, South Africa, India, Madagascar.

Resource Recovery in the Food-Water-Energy Nexus: Assessing Point-source Recovery of Phosphorus in the Context of the Circular Economy

Rock phosphate, a cornerstone of modern agriculture, is being exploited at a highly unsustainable pace with global reserves expected to be depleted within the 21st century. Ensuring a future supply of this critical fertilizer is the “phosphorus challenge”, requiring diverse and innovative approaches to enhance the resilience and sustainability of global systems. A critical paradigm shift towards approaching this challenge has been to embody recovery strategies over purely impact mitigation. Within the concept of a circular food economy, aquaponics has a high potential for phosphorus recovery using systems which simultaneously contribute to sustainable, local, urban, food production by reducing carbon footprints associated with food production, transportation, water-use, energy, and nutrient demands. Simultaneously a pollutant and an essential nutrient, phosphorus exemplifies the dynamic context of the Food-Water-Energy Nexus framework. As scientific solutions to the phosphorus challenge alone cannot be successful without cultural, architectural, and political shifts, this proposal seeks to weave an interdisciplinary response to the phosphorus challenge through innovative strategies to transform waste streams into economically viable nutrient recovery and reutilization processes within a circular bio-economy. PI and study countries: USA, Sweden, UK, Australia. Note: One industry partner is a Colorado-based company.

NexusFootprints – Combining Indicators for Urban Food-Water-Energy Nexus Comparison

The NexusFootprints project aims to estimate urban food-water-energy (FWE) footprint indicators (food consumed, water used, GHG emissions) in order to quantify and visualize urban nexus patterns and facilitate their objective comparison. Based on earth observation satellite high-resolution imagery, population and urban land-use will be mapped using artificial intelligence. Characteristic urban FWE nexus patterns will be identified for three cities from different world regions that represent archetypes of urban regions experiencing distinct FWE challenges – Amman (Jordan), Pune (India) and Vienna (Austria). The scope, practicality and validity of the concept will be tested using these case studies and then discussed with stakeholders during workshops associated with the FUSE and IN-SOURCE projects. The project will evaluate how the nexus-footprint approach can best be readily transferred to other cities and used as a blueprint for including additional case studies from other SUGI- NEXUS projects. Researchers’ countries: Germany, Austria, Jordan, India, USA (Stanford). Study countries: Jordan, India, Austria.

Building policy tools for water- and waste-based urban soil remediation

Healthy urban and peri-urban soils are essential for the local production of food, to enhance short food chains and build food-resilient cities. Urbanization, however, is the cause of ongoing water pollution, soil degradation and loss of agricultural land, particularly around industrial sites or human settlements with poor waste management. In the context of growing populations, rising land prices, and the desire to increase the amount of food produced in a city region, innovative urban food businesses and existing peri-urban farmers can play an important role in the regeneration and remediation of these soils, particularly using existing natural and organic resources, such as urban waste water and food and green waste. However, policy barriers and lack of knowledge in the assessment of safety and quality of urban wastes often exist that prevent the uptake of these agroecological-based innovations in soil remediation. Building on the experience of three cities – Rosario in Argentina, Franschhoek in South Africa, and London in the UK, and through the promotion of ad-hoc data analysis and novel policy dialogues, this project aims to address the gap between practice and policy in the virtuous use of urban wastes for the remediation of urban soils. The outcomes will include a policy guide addressing the practical, legal, and planning obstacles to enhance understanding and uptake of soil remediation practices. PI countries: UK, Belgium, Argentina, South Africa, plus a network of 350 soil scholars from many countries. Study countries: Argentina, South Africa, UK.