The German-African FURIFLOOD project is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) in response to the WASCAL Research and Action Plan 2.0. FURIFLOOD will generate scientific knowledge regarding climate drivers of current and future extreme events related to flooding in West Africa and integrates this with case studies to better understand current and future risks and impacts. Based on this understanding, the FURIFLOOD project will derive and evaluate ecosystem-based strategies to reduce current and future risk to flooding using a participatory approach. The case studies of the FURIFLOOD project will be in the tropical region of West Africa and thus complementing and building on the results of the first WASCAL research program in the Sudan Savannah zone. This approach allows to develop a regional expertise on flooding and extreme events in West Africa to be implemented at the WASCAL Competence Center. The proactive engagement of stakeholders together with the education of future decision makers and scientist within the framework of the WASCAL Graduate Program particularly contribute to the results’ uptake. Additionally, data, tools and a guidebook will be made available locally and regionally in West Africa to further encourage the use of project results.
UNU-EHS will contribute research on flood-related impacts, the assessment of current and future exposure, vulnerability and risk to flooding, and a guidebook on the development and evaluation of ecosystem-based approaches to reduce current and future flood risk.