OR/17/063 Thematic working groups

Gill, J C, and Mankelow, J. 2017. Workshop report: earth and environmental science for sustainable development (Dar es Salaam, September 2017). British Geological Survey Internal Report, OR/17/063.

The information collected in Prioritising the UN sustainable development goals was used to establish three thematic working groups at the end of the first day of the workshop. Three themes were proposed and agreed by the workshop participants, and used throughout the second day of the workshop. The themes, and the reasons for their inclusion, were:

Sustainable Land and Water Management. Focus on a range of SDGs, particularly SDG 15, but also SDG 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, and 13. Life on Land (SDG 15) was emphasised to be a priority development challenge in Sections 3.1 and 3.2, with a significant role for Earth science (see Table 5). Multiple complex challenges were identified (see Table 4). Other SDGs relate to effective land and water management, and this group reflected a group desire to explore these interactions and determine how geoscience can help to improve sustainable land and water management.
Clean Water and Sanitation. Focus on SDG 6. This SDG was emphasised to be of high importance in individual expressions of development priorities (Individual perspectives on priority SDGs), with a significant role for Earth science (Table 5). Multiple complex challenges were identified (Table 4), with links between SDG 6 and health, education, and gender equality emphasised.
Climate-Smart Agriculture, Food Security and Nutrition. Focus on SDGs 2, 13 and 15. Zero hunger ranked highly in individual expressions of development priorities (Figure 4), with life on land and climate action also being of importance through Prioritising the UN sustainable development goals.

Each working group was also asked to recognise the importance of Quality Education (SDG 4) and tackling Poverty (SDG 1), given the emphasis placed on these goals during earlier exercises (Group perspectives on priority SDGs).

Methods

A modified theory of change approach was used to help frame the group discussions. Groups were encouraged to consider the broader development objective and steps required to bring about that change, reflecting on the pathways to impact discussed in Example pathways to impact. Groups initially reviewed the specific challenges (Characterising specific challenges) relating to their working group theme, considering which challenges were the greatest priority. High priority challenges were rephrased to reflect the desired positive change (e.g., a challenge of ‘contaminated water’ would be rephrased as a goal ‘reduce contamination of water sources’). Groups then considered the Earth and environmental science interventions that could help to deliver this goal, mapping out the pathway from ‘project’ to ‘impact’. While groups were encouraged to work backwards to get to the intervention (Figure 6), many found it easier to consider the science projects and pathways to impact at the same time.

The approach presented in Figure 6 is a simplified theory of change approach, and as such includes a number of limitations. The actual change pathways may be non-linear, involving multiple branches. The approach used in the workshop, however, encouraged groups to focus on one potential chain of events in detail. Furthermore, the change pathway may differ from one region or discipline to another, but ideas were integrated from our diverse participants into one generic change pathway. We used this approach to emphasise the importance of understanding context and desired development objectives prior to designing environmental science projects.

**Figure 6** Identifying Earth/environmental science projects to support development priorities. An example of a simple ‘Theory of Change’ approach to identifying science interventions to help address high priority development challenges.

We present a summary of the discussions in each working group in Sustainable land and water management to Climate-smart agriculture, food security and nutrition. These summaries are based on notes taken by members of each group and the feedback presented during summary sessions. The notes below, therefore, offer a record of the conversations had by groups but these conversations have not been edited or checked to remove errors.

Sustainable land and water management

This group included contributions from: Tanzania Forest Services Agency, WWF-Tanzania, Ardhi University, African Minerals and Geosciences Centre, University of Dar es Salaam, MAMA Activated Carbon, and the British Geological Survey.

This group integrated perspectives from diverse organisations in Tanzania to explore what Earth and environmental science interventions are required to improve sustainable land and water management.

**Figure 7** Sustainable land and water management thematic group. Exploring the science, innovation and technologies relating to support sustainable land and water management.

The group started by reviewing relevant challenges, identified in Table 4, and selecting four as being examples of high priority challenges. These were rewritten as project goals, and are listed below:

Reduce land degradation. Land is used for a variety of purposes (e.g., mineral extraction, oil and gas extraction, agriculture, forestry), each with associated impacts on the quality of land. This goal brings together and aims to tackle a set of challenges associated with the use and pollution of land. Examples include: use of mercury in artisanal and small-scale mining; abandoned mines; poor waste management; deforestation; soil pollution.
Implement and strengthen strategic environmental assessment and spatial planning. Infrastructure development does not take into account information relating to existing land use, for example important wildlife corridors or national forest areas. This results in poor and unsustainable land use management. Implementing existing policies regarding strategic environmental assessment, and strengthening these policies to take into account the latest scientific innovations, would help to improve sustainable land and water management.
Improve the integration of policy interventions. There is currently a lack of harmonisation between key policy frameworks (e.g., land use policies and mining policies). This goal would aim to develop more integrated policies, by better understanding the data requirements to inform policy.
Enhance the use of Geo-ICT (e.g., new technologies and data information handling). Enhanced datasets can inform policy and practice. Addressing current data and technology limitations will require access to new technologies for data capture, capacity building in new technologies, and more open-access data.

These four themes were derived by examining and synthesising the challenges relating to sustainable land and water management. The group was encouraged to focus on developing interventions that helped to achieve the four goals set out above, considering the pathway from Earth/environmental science intervention to development impact.

The group initially focused on the challenge of land degradation, and the goal of reducing degradation. Figure 8 gives a visual summary of this discussion, highlighting four first-order ways to tackle degradation, with additional actions that feed into these. The group discussed reducing the impact of deforestation, increasing data handling for improved infrastructure development, improving the extraction of minerals, and enhanced implementation of policies.

**Figure 8** Interventions to Reduce Land Degradation. A schematic summary of the key interventions the group thought could help to reduce land degradation. This included aspects related to the other challenges (e.g., integrated policy, improved data management).

In order to reduce deforestation, often a result of the need for wood as fuel, the group explored alternative energy sources such as solar, geothermal and wind. Each of these would require changes in land-use, and would therefore require effective strategic environmental impact assessment. Underpinning energy, infrastructure and minerals development is the need for enhanced data collection and integration, using data portals to present this data. Some data already exists, and can be brought together within such a portal (e.g., existing national datasets from Government ministries and international data from Earth observation). Other data would need to be collected, and citizen science could be an innovative approach to fill gaps in data and engage with communities at a village level. This would improve the quantity of data available to reduce land degradation, but also help increase engagement of community-level stakeholders in impact assessment. Citizen science tools would allow data to be disseminated back to communities to help raise their awareness of environmental issues. Policy integration and coordination between sectors is a major challenge, but was recognised as being critical to help improve policy implementation.

In summary, this group identified four principal development challenges, and highlighted interactions between these that would help to improve sustainable land and water management. Potential future projects contributing to this set of goals include:

Geo-Data Portal. The development of a geo-data portal, integrating existing datasets with new citizen science derived data, and an environmental science/impact awareness campaign. This could be generic in its application, or be focused on utilisation of alternative energy resources, improving data infrastructure, or improving the extraction of minerals.
Geo-Education. Opportunities for training, capacity building, and knowledge sharing focused on engagement with artisanal and small-scale miners, and community understanding of environmental science and impacts of different activities.
Research. Opportunities for research were highlighted in the context of alternative energy sources in Tanzania, the effectiveness of citizen science for data capture, and improved methods of mineral extraction. It is anticipated that advances in the collation of geo-data would identify additional research questions, through the identification of data gaps and subsequent novel data analysis.

Clean water and sanitation

This group included contributions from: Makazi Investment Limited, the University of Dar es Salaam, the Association of Tanzania Water Suppliers, and the British Geological Survey.

This group explored the challenges associated with delivering improved water and sanitation facilities (SDG 6), and considered the Earth and environmental science interventions required. The group started by reviewing relevant challenges, identified in Table 4, and selecting three as being examples of high priority challenges. These were rewritten as project goals, and are listed below:

Optimise wastewater treatment and reuse. There are many anthropogenic sources of pollution affecting the integrity of water resources. Example include open defecation, poor siting of pit latrines, industry, mining, and poor sewage systems in urban areas. Poor treatment of wastewater results in reduced availability of potable water supplies. The first goal of this thematic group was therefore to optimise wastewater treatment and reuse.
Reduce exposure to fluoride. There are challenges associated with fluoride in groundwater in Tanzania. While there exists knowledge of where high fluoride areas are, there needs to be enhanced research into low cost treatment of water.
Improve data awareness and availability. Improved collaboration between stakeholders would help facilitate better awareness of what data exists and encourage data sharing. Data awareness may translate into enhanced understanding of data gaps and potential future research programmes.
Secondary challenges noted by this group to be of importance were regarding current lack of access to improved water sources in Tanzania, with the challenges of reaching remote areas; the need for improved toilets in schools; and the need for enhanced community involvement and buy-in to water and sanitation projects. This group proceeded to explore the three primary challenges and goals, noted in the bullet points above, determining potential Earth and environmental science interventions.

Optimise wastewater treatment and reuse

The first challenge addressed related to the optimisation of wastewater treatment and reuse (WWTRU). This included two interlinked strands of work (i) improve access to and use of sewage systems, through research into new technologies that could be used by small businesses, and (ii) improved cultural acceptance of WWTRU, through an education programme. These are outlined in Figure 10, showing the steps supporting each of these strands of work.

As demonstrated by the connection of the two strands in Figure 10, enhancements in community understanding of why wastewater treatment and reuse is necessary and can be done safely is essential, and would underpin the uptake of new technologies.

Reduce exposure to fluoride

The second challenge related to natural water quality, with aim of reducing exposure to fluoride by reducing the number of people drinking fluoride-rich water. The group identified four ways by which this could be achieved: (1) testing for fluoride in groundwater; (2) encouraging people to use low-fluoride alternative water; (3) implementation of existing technologies for treatment; and (4) research into new technologies. This multi-faceted approach would bring together capacity building, community engagement, policy support and research to tackle this development challenge. We briefly explore each of these factors:

Testing for fluoride in groundwater. Government and university laboratories (e.g., the Ministry of Water, Geological Survey of Tanzania, and University of Dar es Salaam) need increased capacity to test for fluoride in groundwater. Water testing would help to identify.
at a finer resolution regions with high fluoride and regions with low fluoride. Testing needs to be affordable.
Encouraging people to use low-fluoride alternative water. Alternative technologies including rainwater harvesting and spring protection schemes could be encouraged. These may be more vulnerable to climate variability, but will likely have lower fluoride levels. Stakeholders involved would include university engineering departments, government research institutes, and water institutes. Social science and community engagement specialists would be necessary to encourage behaviour change and support communities in their transition to alternative water sources.
Implementation of existing technologies for treatment. In urban areas, centralised treatment of water would be the easiest way to reduce exposure to fluoride. In rural areas, a more decentralised approach will be needed with small-scale treatment of water. This provides an opportunity for entrepreneurship, with small businesses helping to treat water. This depends on the expansion of existing technologies, and a desire to uptake technologies, with any associated costs at a household level.
Research into expanding existing and new technologies. Understanding the expansion of existing technologies for treatment would require research, as would the development of new technologies. Research would require a diverse set of partnerships, including NGOs, local government, village committees, scientists, socio-economists, and the private sector.

Funding for this programme of activities could come from international donors, central government, research-funding organisations in Tanzania, and NGOs. A potential case study region is Arusha and the surroundings.

Improve data awareness and availability

The group also briefly explored the goal to improve data awareness and availability. For example, fluoride in groundwater data in Tanzania is held by the Ministry of Water and Irrigation. This data is not stored properly, being in both paper formats and on individuals’ laptops and computers (vs. secure and backed-up servers). Data is often considered confidential and not shared. This could be improved by implementing a consistent data collection plan in Tanzania. Information collected in field logbooks, which is used to inform paper maps, could then be further processed to develop digital maps (e.g., ArcGIS) and associated digital databases. These would be stored on a secure office network, and integrated into a web resource so that everyone can use them. This would require enhanced ICT skills, including database management and software expertise.

Across these projects, there is significant scope for capacity building of students. They could support geological and geochemical mapping, helping to train students in the effective collection of data. Students could get involved in community education programmes, and be funded to lead small research projects (e.g., directed dissertations and theses). Students with skills in GIS and ICT could also help to train others in themes such as data management.

Climate-smart agriculture, food security and nutrition

This group included contributions from: Control Union Certification, Ardhi University, Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, the World Agroforestry Center (ICRAF), and the British Geological Survey.

Access to sufficient and nutritious food (SDG 2) and climate-smart agriculture (SDG 2 and 13) were the primary themes for this group, integrating perspectives from diverse organisations operating in and beyond Tanzania. The group started by reviewing the challenges associated with these goals (outlined in Table 4) and identified three high priority challenges. These were rewritten as project goals, and are listed below:

Enhance socio-economic management of agricultural products. Of particular importance within this goal is the need to improve post-harvest management of perishable agricultural products (e.g., fruit, vegetables, fishery products), including how they are preserved, marketed and distributed. This would ensure the maximum economic and social benefits from agriculture in Tanzania are realised.
Improve land and soil resource quality. Land degradation occurs because of overgrazing and diverse anthropogenic processes. Deficiencies in soil result in poor nutrition, and depreciation of land quality leads to poor yields and rural seasonal starvation. Tackling the quality of land and soil resources would therefore help to improve the availability of sufficient and nutritious food.
Improve awareness of climate-adaptation. Climate variability increases the vulnerability of crops to extreme weather events. There is a lack of understanding regarding how the climate change, and what steps need to be taken (at all scales) to adapt to this change.

This group focused on developing appropriate Earth and environmental science interventions to support the first two of these goals.

**Figure 11** Climate-smart agriculture thematic group. Exploring the science, innovation and technologies relating to climate-smart agriculture, and enhancing access to sufficient, nutritious food.

Enhance socio-economic management of agricultural products

The first project aimed to improve post-harvest management of agricultural products, identifying three key steps in this process. The initial step was to map perishable agricultural production across Tanzania, integrating photos, maps and soil data within a GIS framework. While this could be done within the timeframe of an MSc project, it would require input from groups such as the Ministry of Agriculture (crop promotion services), the Tanzania Horticultural Association, and the Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania. The next step would be to map suitable locations for processing industries, recognising the land, energy, water and other resources required for specific sectors. This would require comprehensive engagement with the Ministry of Land, Ministry of Industry and Trade, and the private sector. The final step to this project would be advocacy for uptake of post-harvesting technologies in Tanzania, through the development of policy briefs, workshops and media campaigns. Partners at this stage could include civil societies, the Agricultural Non-State Actors Forum, Tanzania Farmer Network, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, those doing research on seeds in Tanzanian universities, and private sector organisations. Project managers could seek funding from the Food and Agriculture Organisation, World Food Programme, UK Department for International Development, World Bank, Government Development Fund, or UN Development Programme. Participants noted that the first project step could form a tangible MSc project.

Improve land and soil resource quality

The second project aimed to improve land resource quality, and in doing so help to improve access to sufficient, nutritious food. The initial steps in this project would be for a university academic, the ministry of land, or external experts to (i) map the extent of degradation, and (ii) collate and update existing land, soil, crop and climate maps, in Tanzania. This would integrate in a GIS available data such as aerial photographs, topographic maps, and soil maps. This data is currently held by a range of organisations (e.g., the Ministry of Land, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Ardhi University, and the Agricultural Research Institute). The project would proceed to use these maps to:

Identify where implementation of specific practices to reduce land degradation could occur. Extension officers, based within local and regional governments, would work directly with farmers to help them to reduce land degradation. Other stakeholders would include university researchers, agronomists, and the Ministry of Agriculture.
Create land-use plans at a village scale, integrating perspectives from village committees, and district land-use planners.

Examples of initiatives to help reduce land degradation include (i) research into appropriate agricultural diversification and education on current methods, (ii) policy and education to help regulate grazing, (iii) implementation of breeding programmes in new areas, (iv) workshops and training for extension officers and farmers groups, and (v) an online data platform with soil/crop/climate information for use by extension officers.

The group prepared presentation sheets (Figure 12) on these projects, and identified UNEP, WWF and the national government as potential funders for this work, with Tabora an appropriate location for pilot trials.

**Figure 12** Initial Project Plans. Examples of the project plans determined by the food security and nutrition working group in Tanzania.

Areas of project overlap

Across the three thematic working groups, some common themes emerged.

Data management. Each group emphasised the collation and integration of data to support future project steps. Data was noted to be in diverse formats, across multiple different organisations, and sometimes held by individuals at those ministries. The full potential of this data can only be realised when appropriate data management systems are in place, and data is integrated. This will help to identify where data gaps exist, explore future research questions, and conduct more sophisticated analyses of existing data.
Resource degradation, pollution and environmental protection. Each group noted resource (land, soil, water) degradation as being a high priority challenge, with two groups exploring potential projects to help address this challenge. Future urban development and industrialisation could exacerbate these problems.
Engagement with common stakeholders (e.g., policy makers, local governments, communities). Across the various projects, the steps to development impact require engagement with relevant national ministries (e.g., water, health, natural resources and tourism, agriculture), local governments (e.g., district and regional governments and extension officers), and community groups.