Doctoral Thesis

Working Title:
Resource Nexus perspectives on Healthy Urban Human-Nature Partnerships and their Role in Sustainability Transformation

Main Supervisor:
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Martin Behnisch, IOER and Dresden University of Technology (TUD)

IOER Research area:
Spatial Information and Modelling

Abstract:
Despite having the lowest urbanisation rate at the continental level, cities in Africa are growing at an unprecedented pace and by 2050, it is predicted that 21% of the world’s urban population - or 1.339 billion people - will be living in African cities. This urban growth has already resulted in massive pressure on environmental resources, affecting not only the functioning of natural ecosystems, but also the quality of life for urban populations. Alongside a warming climate and other aspects of global change, rapid urbanisation affects urban human health through the pollution of environmental resources such as air, water and soils, and also through the loss of natural landcover – all of which imply negative consequences for wellbeing.

The complex nature of those urban systems that involve many players underscores a dire need for an integrated approach to research and policy-making to  stimulate a significant transformation in both human health and sustainability. The Resource and Sustainability Nexus concepts allow for a comprehensive assessment of the natural environment in urban areas, as well as the interconnections between urban nature and human development.

This study is an attempt to bridge the gap between urban human demand and the use of natural resources; it considers human health and sustainable transformation using a holistic approach. A land use change model will be built to assess the changes resulting from urbanisation processes, and policy change on human and planetary health.  The outcome of the change model will then be applied  to a policy framework that promotes a sustainable transformation to address human and planetary health in urban planning in newly developed urban centres.

Two case studies will be considered in this research: the old and new capitals of Egypt and Tanzania, where uncontrolled urban growth environmental degradation have contributed to the motivation for establishing new capital cities. The case studies will analyse the interplay between urbanisation policies, land use, and human practices on population and planetary health, including the question as to what lessons the old and new capitals can learn from one another.

This project is funded by DAAD, via the EPOS programme, the Resource Nexus for Sustainability Transformations (NEXtra) research project.

CV

Education

10/2023 - Present
Doctoral Researcher at Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development (IOER), United Nations University, Institute for Integrated Management of Material Fluxes and of Resources (UNU FLORES), and Dresden University of Technology (TUD), Faculty of Environmental Sciences

09/2016 – 08/2018
Studies in Integrated Water Resources Management, Cologne University of Applied Science, Germany
Academic Degree: Masters of Science (M.Sc.)

09/2013 - 07/2018
Studies in Civil Engineering, University of Khartoum, Sudan
Academic Degree: Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) Honor

Experiences

10/2021 – 09/2023
University of Science and Technology, Sudan
Lecturer in Civil Engineering department attending water resources engineering courses

05/2021 - 12/2022
Water Research Center, University of Khartoum, Sudan
Research Coordinator (Part-timer), SudaNext research project

08/2019- 08/2022
GSK Contracting Co.Ltd., Sudan
Planning Team Leader – Projects Monitoring & Control, PMO

04/2018 - 08/2019
National Drilling & Investment Co. Ltd. – Federal Water Resources, Irrigation and Electricity, Sudan
Head of Planning Section, Directorate of technical affairs, planning, and contracts

01/2016 - 03/2018
National Drilling & Investment Co. Ltd. – Federal Water Resources, Irrigation and Electricity, Sudan
Planning Engineer, Directorate of technical affairs, planning, and contracts

11/2014 - 12/2015
Dams Implementation Unit – Federal Water Resources and Irrigation and Electricity, Sudan
Projects Engineer, Directorate of water harvesting
 
Awards

Doctorate Scholarship, DAAD, Development related postgraduate courses, 2023
Best master thesis award at the institute of resources management at the tropics and subtropics (ITT), TH Kolen for the year 2019
Master course studies Scholarship, DAAD, Development related postgraduate courses, 2016