Climate, water, food, energy and health systems are deeply interconnected, requiring integrated approaches to resilience and sustainable development.
Integrating Climate, Water, Food and Energy Systems to Achieve Sustainable Development in the Congo Basin (ICWE-SD Congo) is one of the projects funded under the Belmont Forum’s Africa Regional Call (ARC 2024), involving the Democratic Republic of the Congo.The project seeks to strengthen resilience and support sustainable development by examining the interconnected impacts of climate change on water, energy, food and health systems across the region.
Understanding interconnected systems
The Congo Basin is shaped by closely connected environmental and societal systems. Changes in climate can affect water availability, agricultural production, energy generation and health, creating interconnected challenges that require integrated approaches.
ICWE-SD Congo seeks to better understand these climate-driven dynamics through a Water-Energy-Food-Health nexus approach.
An interdisciplinary research approach
The project brings together climate, hydrological, agricultural, health and policy analyses to examine interactions across these systems. It will also generate new primary data and engage communities and other societal actors to strengthen the relevance of the research to local contexts.
This interdisciplinary framework will help connect scientific evidence with community perspectives and policy considerations, supporting a more comprehensive understanding of resilience and adaptation in the region.
Developing context-specific solutions
A key objective of ICWE-SD Congo is to develop scalable and context-specific solutions that can strengthen environmental, social and health resilience.
The project will explore areas including climate adaptation, hydropower generation, agricultural systems, health system resilience and natural resource management, with the aim of generating approaches that can be adapted to different contexts across the Congo Basin.
Supporting sustainable development and regional cooperation
The project is expected to generate policy recommendations, community-based adaptation strategies and a transboundary resource management framework to support long-term sustainability and resilience.
By connecting research across sectors and engaging stakeholders in the process, ICWE-SD Congo aims to provide evidence to inform decision-making and contribute to progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.