Doctoral students of the IZNE

Reshaping Rural Economies through CSR: An examination of how international mining companies are influencing the development of indigenous economies

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Katja Bender

Partner University: Ruhr-University Bochum

E-Mail: andrew.boogaards@rub.de

In an attempt to mitigate public opinion, many mining companies have participated in community-based programmes to offset the negative externalities created by mining activities in the Global South. These social programmes and community-based initiatives are often referred to as corporate social responsibility (CSR). This can refer to the social roles traditionally performed by the private sector, such as occupational safety standards and skills training for workers, or it can refer to programmes traditionally promoted by the public sector, such as health, education and local infrastructure projects. Of course, there is a time limit to this form of corporate-implemented social welfare. After the closure of mining operations, CSR programmes also expire, leaving a gap if the government and/or the third the non-profit sector are not able to replace these projects.

This paper examines the positive and negative effects of CSR programmes and the ability to sustain and build on benefits from previous CSR programmes. It also looks at how mining companies help communities transition their social, political and economic institutions after a mine closes. Therefore, the author works with governmental, non-governmental, private and grassroots organisations in a number of different communities within a given region to analyse changes in the quality of community-based services. This is followed by an analysis of local economies to determine whether corporate social policies have helped to develop community-led economic drivers and the potential for long-term growth.

The impact of social capital on agricultural and health risk management. The case of urban farmers in Accra

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Katja Bender

Partner University: University Bonn

A promising strategy for understanding the factors that influence health insurance take-up is to consider network effects, as social connections have a strong influence on decisions and are usually the only way to protect against shocks. Understanding the way in which common risk pooling arrangements contribute to the formalisation of insurance can only be addressed through a holistic approach, as the insurability of consumption can be determined by different responses to different shocks.

The aim of this work is to identify the influence of social networks on individual decisions regarding risk preferences. Furthermore, in order to be able to improve health risk coping skills, it is necessary to identify the limitations of existing strategies and to analyse their efficiency in terms of economic welfare. The study is divided into three modules. Module 1 will focus on how environmental, animal and human health interactions influence risks, assessing risks at the community and household levels. Module 2 will build on the risk assessment of Module 1 to identify risk mitigation strategies and their implications for household resource allocation. Finally, Module 3 will explore the characteristics of households within a community in terms of risk exposure and participation in formal market insurance and group-based risk pooling to identify the drivers of social linkage formation and the potential influences of networks on risk preferences.

The study site is Greater Accra, which is experiencing rapid urbanisation dynamics, increasing health risks, rising urban poverty and changing food systems associated with demographic and epidemiological transitions. Data are drawn from the Socio-Economic Panel Survey, the Urban Poverty and Health Survey-EDULINK and household-level surveys using aggregate relational data to recover the parameters of a general network formation model. A Pareto model of risk-efficient allocation at the community and household level is used to identify frontiers and efficiency levels of risk reduction strategies. In addition, a series of probit models for each strategy is used to estimate how the probability of adopting particular risk reduction strategies is affected by the social networks.

The interaction between institutions and social protection in promoting food resilience amongst farmers in Ahmedabad (India)

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Katja Bender

Partner University: University Bonn

E-Mail: s.rajasekar@uni-bonn.de

Farmers have faced the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing climate crisis through limited access to markets, and threats to livelihoods and food security. This project aims to understand the role of governance and institutions in mitigating shocks and promoting health and food security among vulnerable, disaster-prone populations. The research will also incorporate a gender-lens to analysing One Health to further understand the linkages between gender, agriculture and health. Questions that will be tackled include: What is the effect of social protection instruments in promoting One Health, and subsequently, food resilience? How could social protection be better designed to achieve its objectives? What is the role of community-led governance in health and food resilience outcomes of a disaster-prone social network? How could social protection and community governance be designed to promote sustainable health outcomes among women specifically? A household-level cross-sectional survey will be the
primary source of data, complemented by a series of focus group discussions and social network analyses.

Sustainable urban transformation through climate change mitigation and sustainable management of soil and water

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Martin Hamer

Partner University: University Bonn

E-Mail: amovassa@uni-bonn.de

Soil is one of the most significant components of terrestrial ecosystem serving a variety of functions and ecosystem services across a wide range of land uses. Soil is critical for minimizing the consequences of climate change as it is a key carbon sink and plays a significant part in the carbon sequestration process. Climate change and urbanization affect human and environmental health not just by increasing the greenhouse gas concentration in the atmosphere but also by modifying the key soil properties and processes, reducing its ability to absorb these gases. It is critical to preserve soil health in the face of climate change because a healthy soil can maintain its physical, chemical, and biological functions while also recovering from the effects of climate change.

The aim of this study is to assess how different types of urban land use and management methods affect the soil's diverse features and how these can assist in reducing the consequences of climate change as cities transform. The research will take place on a local scale in Germany, and will examine the interaction between different types of urban land use and soil properties in the context of mitigating climate change ecosystem services. In this manner, the amount of terrestrial carbon, as well as physiochemical and biological features of soil would be measured throughout time. The expected outcome of the study will be to highlight the significant contribution of land management and soil health in mitigating the effects of climate change in urban areas.

Risk and vulnerability of socioecological systems: the case of the peri-urban agriculture of São Paulo (Brasil)

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Wiltrud Terlau

Partner University: University Bonn

E-Mail: silvia.fischer@h-brs.de

Cities are highly vulnerable to the impacts of extreme weather events. Specific impacts are believed to increase the vulnerability of urban agricultural systems and exacerbate the factors affecting them, such as increasing demand for food and decreasing yields due to changing rainfall patterns and extreme temperatures, conflicts over scarce resources (land ownership, water, biofuels, etc.) and chronic poverty.

For this reason, evidence-based assessment is essential in any urban centre for effective adaptation action. This includes local risk and vulnerability assessments, information and data to consider current and future risks as well as adaptation and development options. Extreme weather vulnerability assessments are considered an essential first step in developing adaptation strategies.

São Paulo is the largest metropolitan region in South America and has suffered from severe water shortages since 2010, raising concerns about the future of water supply. Freshwater reservoirs reached their lowest level in 2013/2014 due to a lack of rain, accompanied by a heat wave that culminated in the warmest summer in 55 years in 2015.

This study adopts the "Multi-hazard Risk Assessment Framework for the West Sudanian Savanna Zone" in the context of urban and peri-urban agricultural systems. The framework aims to capture the interactions between hydro-climatic stressors, shocks and risks from a socio-ecological perspective while identifying actual coping and adaptation measures at different temporal and spatial scales.

This approach aims to assess the vulnerability of urban and peri-urban agriculture in the city of São Paulo to extreme weather events and current adaptation strategies. By developing a set of indicators to operationalise the risk and vulnerability assessment framework and by identifying the available adaptation strategies to improve resilience and reduce vulnerability to extreme weather events.

Territorial governance for food sovereignty in São Paulo (Brasil)

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Wiltrud Terlau

Partner University: University Bonn

E-Mail: elinsmor@uni-bonn.de

The growing urbanization and the increased access to industrialized and ultra-processed food have changed the ways through which food-related issues take place. The nutrition transition entails problems related to the consumption of this type of food in poor and developing countries – issues that coexist with hunger and food insecurity. In Brazil, the Covid-19 pandemic is pushing more people into hunger. Simultaneously, food production techniques adopted in this country are often harmful to people, fauna and to the biomes’ equilibrium as a whole. Long food supply chains impose logistical and environmental problems. The consequences of this scenario are felt by the people in uneven ways. The poor and minority groups are specially affected with less capacity to cope with these conditions. In this context, the concept of food sovereignty is a compreheensive way to approach all those issues since it encompasses social control over food production, distribution and consumption towards the right to culturally appropriate, sustainable and healthy food. Thus, this research aims to answer how is the current governance structure towards food sovereignty in the metropolitan area of São Paulo, the largest Brazilian city? And how can it be strengthened? In order to address these questions, this research will map food deserts and hunger spots in São Paulo and check the correlations with social indicators, spoting the most vulnerable areas to be further qualitatively investigated. The agenda and governance structure towards food sovereignty, relevant actors and tensions will be identified and described through document analysis and interviews at the municipal, state and federal levels. In addition, participant observation and interviews are to be conducted at the very local level in vulnerable neighborhood(s). Finally, this research aims to contribute to the building of a propositive agenda around food sovereignty in the metropolitan area of São Paulo, involving the stakeholders identified and mobilized throughout this research project.

Urban heat waves, use of ecosystem services, and ecological, economic, social, and health behavioural adaptations

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Wiltrud Terlau

Partner University: TH Köln

The energy transition in German municipalities – financing, political and legal challenges in the district of Kleve: Empirical cost analysis with an interdisciplinary assessment of municipal options for action

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Wiltrud Terlau

Partner University: Hochschule Bochum

Sustainable Landmanagement in Africa and Incentive Systems

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Wiltrud Terlau

Partner University: University of Ghana

Regional sector coupling through the integration of metal hydride storage systems into a future renewable energy system

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Stefanie Meilinger

Autonomous All-Sky Camera Networks for Enhancing Efficiency and Grid Integration of Photovoltaic Power Plants in Distributed Energy Systems

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Stefanie Meilinger

Condition assessment and reliability prediction of power electronics

Supervisor: Prof. Dr Marco Jung