###Science Diplomacy and Environmental Policy Analysis in the Nile River Basin: The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam and Climate-Change Adaptation
Project ID: 2228bd1082 (You will need this ID for your application)
Research Theme: Energy and Decarbonisation
UCL Lead department: Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy (STEAPP)
Lead Supervisor: Arthur Petersen
Project Summary:
This project on science diplomacy and environmental policy analysis studies ways to address climate change in the Nile River Basin, with a focus on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), which will provide a significant amount of energy in the region.
Why this research is important The impacts of climate variability and future climate change – and the impacts of water-engineering works like the GERD – in the Nile River Basin are significant and need to be addressed in environmental policy analysis. More attention needs to be paid in such studies to cross-cultural dimensions and to a very large variety of uncertainties. Since there are opportunities to manage the impact of expected increases in multi-year droughts downstream through careful intergovernmental coordination, science diplomacy between countries is crucial. It is important to identify the ways in which the benefit of coordination can be shown through scientific exchange.
Who you will be working with You will be embedded in the UCL STEaPP research cluster on Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development. The project will be executed in collaboration with other departments within and outside of UCL, and there will be interactions with stakeholders from the Nile River Basin.
What you will be doing You will be using social science research methods to study the interface between science and engineering, on the one hand, and diplomacy, national, and international decision-making, on the other hand, with respect to the equitable and reasonable utilisation of the Nile, with a focus on the GERD. A specific focus will be on the use of models and methods from the community of operational research.
We are looking for candidates who are interested in social scientific engagement with contemporary debates on environment, climate change and policy, and focusing in particular on science diplomacy in the African context.