Drs Kenny Lynch (School of Natural and Social Sciences, University of Gloucestershire) and Julie Ingram are coordinating a Workshop in Cairo on ‘Ecosystem services in informal settlements in Cairo’ on 25th to 27th February.
Ecosystem services (supporting, regulating, provisioning and cultural) underpin food and water security and are essential to people’s well-being and livelihoods, especially in Africa. These services are under threat from climate change, land degradation, and resource depletion and these threats are particularly acute in densely populated informal settlements in cities such as Cairo.
This meeting proposes to clarify and refine a specific research agenda concerning evaluating these services in informal settlements in Cairo (which represent some 60% of the total settlement) particularly with respect to urban agriculture, issues of food and water security, planning and energy provision.
It brings together Egyptian and UK researchers with local donors and NGOs areas working in Cairo. Together we will identify specific topics for research and prepare a joint research proposal. This consultative process will ensure that the proposed research is effective, relevant and applicable to poorer populations whose livelihoods are dependent on ecosystem services.
Julie and Kenny also led a Tri-lateral Researcher Links Workshop in Stellenbosch, South Africa, in September 2016, which was funded by UK’s Newton Fund to equip early career researchers from South Africa, Egypt and the UK with the conceptual and analytical tools for evaluating ecosystem services and for demonstrating their importance when considering development actions. It was also supported by a British Council Researcher Links award.
You can follow Kenny Lynch on Twitter – @LynchKenny
