Thursday, 26th of September 2019, 5.30 p.m.
Population and economic growth in Kenya and Uganda have led to a growing demand for food, water and energy. To meet this demand, production of these goods is enhanced, leading to increasing pressure on natural resources like land, soils and rivers. A concept that points out the complex interrelations between water, energy and food security, and aims at exploring how to sustainably manage these natural resources, is the nexus-approach. To build up a sound knowledge base and sufficient capacities for designing and implementing integrated resource management schemes and policies as claimed by this approach, different disciplines must be involved.
APPEAR in practice invites you to the presentation and discussion of the results of the APPEAR project Capacity building on the water-energy-food security nexus through research and training in Kenya and Uganda | CapNex. The interdisciplinary project team from four universities – TU Kenya, Makerere University, BOKU, and TU Wien will give insights into their research, introducing the methodological and practical approaches used and drawing preliminary conclusions on the investigations they conducted in the Ugandan-Kenyan border region. In the subsequent panel discussion, challenges and opportunities of as well as new approaches to researching the water-energy-food security nexus will be discussed, highlighting the perspective of early career researchers. Finally, researchers and students involved in CapNex will give poster presentations on their work.
Speakers (in alphabetical order)
Mathew Herrnegger is a postdoc researcher in hydrology and water resource management at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU) in Austria. He claims himself a hunter-gatherer of (often incomplete or even inexistent) data, he calls for making use of all kinds of data sets even beyond disciplinary boundaries. Mathew coordinates the activities of BOKU on water management and soil erosion in the CapNex project.
Jeninah Karungi is associate professor for entomology and pest management at Makerere University in Uganda. Her research focus on ecological management of pests using the help of natural predators calls for an expansion of traditional definitions of natural resources in agriculture. Jeninah is the coordinator of Makerere Universities’ work on soil and water conservation as well as manure management in the CapNex project.
Jakob Lederer is a postdoc researcher in the field of recycling, waste and resource management at TU Wien. Being a dedicated, if sometimes – in his own words – amateurish, devotee to interdisciplinary research, Jakob has the privilege to coordinate the CapNex project on behalf of his university.
Luke Olang is senior lecturer in the fields of hydrology and water resource management at the Technical University of Kenya (TUK). His current research on climate variability in the Sub-Saharan African context highlights the vulnerability of rain-fed agriculture in the area. Together with Lewis Sitoki, hydro-biologist and senior lecturer on geoscience and the environment at the Technical University of Kenya, Luke coordinates the activities in the field of soil erosion and sediment modelling at TUK.
Facilitator: Maiada Hadaia, OeAD
When: Thursday, 26.09.2019, 17:30-20:00
Where: OEAD building, Ebendorferstraße 7, 1010 Vienna, event halls in the basement
Programme:
- Welcome remarks by Erwin Künzi, ADA
- Presentation by Luke Olang (TU Kenya) and Mathew Herrnegger (BOKU)
- Presentation by Jeninah Karungi (Makerere University) and Jakob Lederer (TU Wien)
- Panel discussion: Emerging research on the water-energy-food security nexus – challenges, opportunities, new approaches
- Poster presentations / world café setting
20:00
Please register by 24th of September 2019.
You would like to know more about CapNex? Visit the project website
