West Indian Ocean Deltas Exchange and Research Network

The West Indian Ocean Deltas Exchange and Research Network (WIoDER) aims to support research, training, and pilot interventions in up to four Western Indian Ocean river deltas under pressure from human activity. Research will examine in particular the links between population mobility, agriculture, climate change, changes in ecosystem services, and large-scale infrastructure such as ports, dams, and roads. The project will support high quality MSc students and young research leaders who will work collaboratively with senior researchers from northern and southern institutions. The initial targeted deltas are in the Tana River in Kenya, the Rufiji River in Tanzania, the Limpopo River in Mozambique, and the Betsiboke River in Madagascar.

Project activities will include four interconnected themes — ecosystem services, livelihoods, hydrology, and gender and human mobility. All themes will be treated in all deltas via a matrix-type collaboration among the research partners. The pilot research will form the basis of field schools and will inform existing decision-making dialogues in the four countries.

This project, implemented by the University of Southampton, seeks to form a stronger and more collaborative community of researchers, practitioners, and decision-makers. It aims to foster collaboration between a consortium of the Collaborative Adaptation Research Initiative in Africa and Asia, the UNESCO Institute for Water Education, and the French Institution for Research for Development. It will also increase the opportunities for research uptake by producing results based on transferable and comparable methodology and data across the region, leading to more authoritative messages, and contributing to existing policy dialogues on the present and future evolution of the four target deltas.

The Collaborative Adaptation Research Initiative in Africa and Asia (CARIAA) aims to build the resilience of poor people to climate change by supporting a network of consortia to conduct high-calibre research and policy engagement in hot spots in Africa and Asia. It is jointly funded by the UK’s Department for International Development and IDRC.