From Tuesday 21 to Friday 24 May 2019, a workshop was held in Kinshasa to launch the research and support project for sustainable management of water resources in the Congo Basin, called: “Managing interactions between migration and conflicts due to climate change and water with a view to strengthening the resilience of communities in the Congo Basin", organized by the Congo Basin Water Resources Research Center (CRREBaC), in collaboration with the United Nations University – Institute of Water, Health and Environment (UNU-IWHE) and the International Development Research Center (IDRC).

Family photo of participants in the Launch Ceremony. More pics

This launch workshop, which saw the participation of stakeholders in Climate-Water-Migration-Conflict issues in the Congo Basin, was a major step in the implementation of the project. Its aim was to provide a better understanding of the international, regional and local context of the implementation of the project and the expected results. Specifically:

• Better understand the international, regional and local context of the implementation of the project and the expected results;

• Establish the current state of basic information on the basin and assess information gaps in relation to project objectives and results;

• Review the methodological framework, including approaches, available resources, plans and practical aspects of field data collection campaigns, as well as training programs aimed at achieving project results;

• Discuss research plans and scientific questions to be addressed;

• Meet with end users and determine how scientific research can help meet some of their expectations and obtain their contributions;

• Meet the actors involved in the thematic areas of intervention of the project: Climate-Water-Migration-Migration-Conflicts, and collect their contributions as well as determine how the project can help meet their expectations in terms of policy development and support for decision-making.