OR/17/039 Conclusions

Gill, J C, Mills, K, and Mankelow, J. 2017. Workshop report: earth and environmental science for sustainable development (Nairobi, March 2017). British Geological Survey Internal Report, OR/17/039. (Contributors/editors: Ellis, M, Lapworth, D, Ludden, J, Rees, G (CEH), Smith, M, and Watts, M).

Summary

Through this workshop, and subsequent analysis, we have undertaken and understood the following:

• Workshop participants — Characterised the organisations involved in this workshop, identifying key stakeholders from academia, government, civil society and the private sector. The workshop adopted a bottom-up approach, with those attending demonstrating a high level of enthusiasm, engaging positively, with a willingness to share their expertise and experiences.
• Prioritising the UN sustainable development goals — Explored development priorities in eastern Africa and Kenya, and the role of Earth and environmental science in addressing these, identifying clean water and sanitation, ending poverty, ensuring food security, and improving health and education as recurring priorities. This report allows all workshop participants (including the BGS) to understand development priorities in eastern Africa and Kenya, using the SDGs as a reference tool.
• Thematic working groups — Summarised the discussions of three working groups, exploring potential ideas relating to the food-water-energy nexus, water and sanitation, and natural resources (minerals) development. From these groups we identified crosscutting project priorities (data collection, management and organisation), and thematic projects that could support sustainable development. For example, emerging from the natural resources (minerals) working groups was the idea of characterising a ‘resource corridor’ running from Mombasa to Kisumu. The resource corridor approach allows the integration of Earth, environmental, and socio-economic data for a region to underpin effective and innovative planning and governance and aligns with international encouragement of ‘coherent economic-social-environmental policies’ (UNDESA, 2013).
• Science-for-development partnerships — Documented the characteristics that workshop participants considered to be of greatest importance in science-for-development partnerships, identifying those characteristics associated with equality. For example, equal access to project outputs (e.g., reports, journal articles) and data generated as part of the partnership, and treating all members as equals. All of the activities identified will require multi-sectoral and multi-disciplinary partnerships.

In the following section, we outline the next steps, to be explored with project partners, which will advance these ideas.

Next steps

This workshop report discusses development challenges in eastern Africa (particularly Kenya), and presents several ideas where Earth and environmental science will support sustainable development. We will send this report to all workshop participants, and encourage their active engagement in reflecting on the conclusions and refining the proposed next steps. BGS staff will shortly return to Kenya to discuss the following actions to advance and enhance the outputs from this workshop:

i. Progress the ‘resource corridor’ concept discussed by the natural resource (minerals) working group. Full characterisation of a resource corridor requires the integration of diverse environmental, social and economic data. This project, therefore, would include aspects of water availability mapping, land management, and understanding the food-water-energy nexus raised by other working groups (see Thematic working groups). The Geological Survey of Kenya is tasked with updating the geological mapping along the Mombasa to Nairobi railway line (to be extended to Kisumu). Bringing together this geological mapping with other data could help to improve planning in multiple contexts (e.g., economic, wildlife, urban development). Led by Bath University, BGS are contributing to a workshop on this theme in Kenya, scheduled for October 2017, with engagement from Kenyan partners. This will form the basis for an application for support from the UK Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF).

ii. Co-produce project proposals (aims, objectives, background context, pathways to development impact) for ideas generated in this workshop. Workshop participants identified a set of potential projects that could be developed through Newton or GCRF funding. For example, water availability mapping, capacity building in water policy/governance/management, artisanal and small scale mining, and geodata management. Through meetings with stakeholders in Kenya, we will co-produce with Kenyan colleagues outline proposals for these projects in preparation for relevant Newton and GCRF funding opportunities.

iii. Bring in stakeholders from additional disciplines. While the workshop attracted 22 organisations, there were key groups missing, particularly those from socio-economic sectors and other environmental themes. For example, research on the food-water-energy nexus will need greater input from agriculture and public health researchers to strengthen pathways to impact. Such groups can help to overcome barriers and create diverse partnerships through their extension services. We will pro-actively work with the socio- economic scientists that attended the workshop to better understand the nature of this discipline in Kenya, map out stakeholders, and ensure enhanced engagement at future workshops. We will also engage with the climate science community in Kenya and the UK (e.g., the Met Office).

iv. Connect stakeholders in Kenya with BGS (and external) expertise relevant to emerging projects. Having identified relevant expertise and research/project interests in Kenya, we will use the extensive BGS network of researcher links from across eastern Africa and the UK to catalyse new interactions.

v. Explore eastern African priorities by replicating this workshop in other countries. Kenya is a hub for business and development in eastern Africa, with many of the participants working in other countries in the region. Building on the regional scope from this workshop, we will enhance our understanding of sustainable development priorities by engaging with stakeholders in further countries using participatory workshops. We will plan to deliver workshops in two further locations, likely Zambia and Tanzania.

vi. Improve our understanding of effective international partnerships to support science-for-development. During this workshop, we collected data to understand partnership priorities in a Kenyan context. We will supplement this data with semi-structured interviews, and aim to publish a peer-reviewed journal article on science-for-development partnerships. We will also understand and explore NGO engagement across eastern Africa, including their focus and priorities.