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CMES affiliated researchers launch climate research project in Sudan

In January-February 2020, three researchers affiliated with CMES travelled to Khartoum, Sudan for the official kick-off seminar and workshop of a 3-year project that is funded by the Swedish Research Council (VR), FORMAS and SIDA and entitled: "Resilience in Urban Sudan (RUS): An Interdisciplinary Spatial and Temporal Study of Social Cohesion and Resilience to Tackle the Consequences of Climate and Environmental Change in Urban Khartoum".

"Resilience in Urban Sudan (RUS): An Interdisciplinary Spatial and Temporal Study of Social Cohesion and Resilience to Tackle the Consequences of Climate and Environmental Change in Urban Khartoum".
"Resilience in Urban Sudan (RUS): An Interdisciplinary Spatial and Temporal Study of Social Cohesion and Resilience to Tackle the Consequences of Climate and Environmental Change in Urban Khartoum".
The project is led by Malmö University in collaboration with the Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies (LUCSUS) at Lund University and the Institute of Environmental Studies (IES) at the University of Khartoum, as main partner in Sudan. The project runs from 2019 until 2022.

Tackle consequences of climate and environmental changes

The main purpose of this research project is to contribute to scientific knowledge to tackle consequences of climate and environmental changes in urban areas of the Global South.

In order to study the effects of climate change and environmental issues in urban areas, the research team will implement an interdisciplinary Participatory Action Research (PAR) in a selected neighbourhood in Greater Khartoum.

Well attended kick off in Khartoum

The kick-off seminar was attended by over 75 participants from the IES and other faculties of the University of Khartoum, such as the Department of Anthropology/Sociology, the Department of History/Faculty of Art and the Department of Urban Planning and Architecture as well as government institutions such as the Sudanes Meteorological Institute.

Field trips to urban communities

The four-day seminar included presentations on state-of-the art of climate change research in Sudan, an interactive training workshop on Participatory Action Research (PAR), as well as presentations by each international team members. NGOs working on climate change and dignitaries and community representatives also participated in the kick-off seminar. The interdisciplinary team also conducted two one-day field trips to urban communities for case study selection; Dar el Salaam and Tuti Island. 

Sudan much impacted by climate change

Sudan is at the forefront of global climate change and is heavily impacted by climatic events such as sandstorms, floods and long term droughts. This project looks at how urban communities in Khartoum organise themselves to strengthen their resilience to mitigate climate change impacts. Within the current situation of political transformation, after the Sudanese Revolution of 2019, the participatory approach that the project is takin is unexpectedly timely. 

On the longer term, this project aims to contribute to urban sustainable development and planning through producing policy recommendations on how to increase and enhance social cohesion in fragmented neighbourhoods affected by increasing and repeated environmental challenges and migration influxes. 

Combination of two studies

The core of this project is formed by two interrelated studies:

1) a spatial analysis and 

2) a temporal analysis of social cohesion, resilience and the impacts of climate change. 

Combining a spatial with a temporal study allows a better understanding of how fragile urban communities (residents, refugees and internal displaced people) collectively remember environmental events and how they react to impacts of climate change with community action.

Involves primary stakeholders from the neighbourhood

The aim is to explore environmental challenges as well as the societal responses that are developed by the communities in Khartoum. The project will involve primary stakeholders from the neighbourhood from the start in order to ensure a societal relevance and greater impact on the ground. Local communities and stakeholders will be key in developing community climate action and the formulation of policy recommendations. 

2020-03-30

 

Swedish-Sudanese collaboration


New climate research project in Sudan launched.
New climate research project in Sudan launched.

This interdisciplinary project involves collaboration between researchers in Sweden and Sudan and combines the fields of environmental sciences, humanities and social sciences. 

The research team consists of:
Dr. Josepha Wessels (PI) and Dr. Vittorio Felci (senior researcher)(K3),  Dr. Fanny Christou (junior researcher) (LUCSUS).and Dr. Sumaya Zakieldeen and Dr. Muna Ahmed, (IES) as the main collaborators of this project.