[04/25] Summary: Supported by the British Council (£70,000) under the International Science Partnerships Fund (ISPF), this 18-month project addresses the need to understand and manage the interconnected impacts of shocks and disasters on the Biodiversity-Water-Energy-Food (BWEF) Nexus. Traditionally treated in silos, shocks in one system (e.g., floods affecting water supply) can trigger cascading effects across others—yet these interdependencies are seldom fully explored in resilience planning.
Project Dates: April 2025 – September 2026
This collaborative project seeks to strengthen interdisciplinary research capacity among early- and mid-career researchers (ECRs/MCRs) in the UK, India, and Japan, with a focus on resilience to shocks affecting the Biodiversity-Water-Energy-Food (BWEF) nexus.
Led by Prof Bruce Malamud at the Institute of Hazard, Risk and Resilience (IHRR), Durham University, the project involves Co-Investigators from the School for Sustainable Futures at Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham (India) and the International Research Institute of Disaster Science (IRIDeS) at Tohoku University (Japan). The project also includes Affiliated Academic Partners at University of Edinburgh and University of Leeds, along with named participants from (a) UK: University of Greenwich; Robert Gordon University, (b) India: University of Agriculture and Horticultural Sciences, Karnataka; University of Calcutta; Kristu Jayanti College, Bengalura; and (c) Japan: Osaka University.
Through fostering cross-regional knowledge exchange, field-based inquiry, and collaborative learning, the initiative will contribute to new methodologies for understanding BWEF-related disruptions and lay the groundwork for future research partnerships and funding proposals.
Engagement of 15 named researchers (ECRs, MCRs, and SCRs) across the three countries
Site visits, field-based scoping studies, stakeholder interviews, and critical literature reviews
Three international workshops (held in India, Japan, and the UK)
Monthly virtual meetings
Creation of an online knowledge repository for resource sharing and dissemination
Synthesise existing knowledge across the UK, India, and Japan through literature reviews, fieldwork, and stakeholder engagement—analysing policy, institutional, socio-economic, and technical aspects of BWEF resilience
Co-create localised shock-response scenarios aligned with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicators, modelling transitions over time and scale
Identify key thematic areas for future research (e.g. clean water, sustainable energy, resilient agriculture, AI-enabled infrastructure), along with relevant funders and pilot opportunities
Facilitate sustained capacity building via virtual exchanges, in-person workshops, and digital knowledge-sharing tools
By developing a cross-national network of interdisciplinary researchers, the project aims to build long-term capacity to address BWEF-related challenges through integrated, systems-based approaches. It will generate outputs to inform policy and practice, and support future collaborative research and funding opportunities.
This research is supported by the British Council as part of the International Science Partnerships Fund (ISPF).
The International Science Partnerships Fund puts research and innovation at the heart of our international relationships, supporting UK researchers and innovators to work with peers around the world on the major themes of our time: planet, health, tech and talent.
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