March 20-22, 2024, Cranfield University, UK
Management of Disaster Risk and Societal Resilience (MADIS) Conference
We organized the MADIS conference to address the increasing impacts of disasters on lives and livelihoods and disseminate some of our findings. Disproportionately affecting low-income countries, disasters highlight the urgent need for effective risk management strategies. The MADIS conference fostered a shared understanding of the interplay between risk, resilience, and vulnerability in disaster contexts and their effects on water-energy-food (WEF) systems as this understanding is crucial for achieving Sustainable Development Goals and developing resilient, inclusive solutions. We had presentations on topics such as resilient WEF systems under shocks, integrated WEF planning, innovations in technology and nature-based solutions, justice in disaster risk adaptation, and governance connecting policy to people. The conference sought to advance interdisciplinary approaches to ensure equitable and sustainable disaster risk management.
March 6-7, 2024, Çanakkale, Türkiye
Farmer Workshops
In collaboration with Boğaziçi University, we organized a two-day workshop in the Çanakkale Province of Türkiye to gain insights into farmers’ perspectives on drought resilience and drought risk assessment indicators. Building on our previous work in South Africa and Morocco, this workshop aimed to address a critical conceptual gap in understanding the causal links between drought indicators and their impacts. During the sessions, farmers shared their valuable experiences and coping mechanisms in dealing with drought, providing practical insights that will contribute to refining resilience strategies and improving drought risk assessments.
March 4-5, 2024, Eskişehir, Türkiye
Policy Maker Workshop
Held on March 4th-5th, 2024, at the Modernity Hotel Conference Center in Eskişehir, Türkiye, the workshop was made possible thanks to the partnership with the Eskisehir Provincial Office of the T.C. Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Eskişehir Technical Univeristy, and Middle East Technical University.
We organized this day-long event to engage more than 50 participants through a participatory format actively, leveraging their expertise to achieve the workshop’s objectives. Activities included small breakout group discussions and exercises. The morning sessions focused on drought resilience, while the afternoon sessions emphasized tangible implementation plans and solutions for applying the MADIS framework. Networking breaks provided opportunities for participants to explore potential collaborations. Attendees included farmers, representatives from state hydraulic institutions, unions, agricultural officials, academicians, researchers, and government departments.
March 3, 2024, Gemlik, Turkiye
Olive Market Visit (Gemlik Zeytin Hali)
We engaged in discussions with olive growers, merchants, and cooperatives in Gemlik, a region renowned for its high-quality table olives in Türkiye, to explore how drought impacts their livelihoods. These conversations provided valuable insights into the multifaceted role of markets in responding to climate change and the stressors it imposes. We observed how drought not only affects agricultural productivity but also disrupts supply chains, alters market dynamics, and influences pricing and demand dynamics . Fro example, it was interesting to learn how olive growers follow drought conditions in Spain to make decisions about when to sell their olives and their prices. The cooperatives also play a significant role in markets in this region.
January 17, 2024: Harrisburgh, US
Drought Resilience Workshop
This interactive workshop, held in Pennsylvania, convened 18 policymakers, academics, and experts from state and local governments, agricultural extensions, and organizations to exchange insights on drought vulnerability and resilience. The research team introduced the MADIS resilience framework, presenting operational definitions of vulnerability and coping, adaptive, and transformative capacities. Participants rated and categorized resilience and vulnerability indicators on a 5-point scale based on short-, medium-, and long-term impacts. They discussed appropriate data sources and evaluated the indicators’ relevance. The workshop concluded with a review of the MADIS framework, feedback on indicator calculations, and discussions on drought management challenges.
March 2, 2023: Rabat, Morocco
Workshop with Policy Makers
This workshop was conducted with the objective of interacting with the policymakers to understand the current drought impacts in Morocco and the strategies adopted. All participating organizations presented the related drought hazard works being done by each. This was followed by discussions, and further insights were provided by the INRA team into the drought situation in Morocco and the different adaptive strategies undertaken to mitigate impacts on the farming communities/wider public and on the water-energy-food nexus. The participating organizations involved:
- University Mohammed VI Polytechnic (UM6P), Morocco
- Cranfield University (CU), UK
- The National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA), Morocco
- Penn State University (PSU), USA
An interactive polling session was conducted wherein three questions were displayed on-screen, and the participants in the room anonymously put forth their responses. Participants were asked to select more than one option in all three questions: (i) actions undertaken to help the communities adapt to droughts; (ii) priorities undertaken to manage the impacts of droughts; and (iii) secondary hazards to be dealt with during/after droughts. Following this sessions, five questions were put forth to the group of policymakers for discussion: (i) defining droughts in the region; (ii) institutional challenges faced in the response mechanisms; (iii) the existence and working of a drought Early Warning System; (iv) access to water distribution; (v) support MADIS project can provide for decision making.
The 3-day workshop with the farmers and the policy makers gave an understanding of both the bottom-up and top-down perceptions of drought hazard in Morocco and shall assist in developing holistic decision-making strategies for the MADIS project.
February 28, 2023 (Settat, Morocco)/ March 1, 2023 (El Jadida, Morocco)
Workshop with Farmers
This workshop was conducted by MADIS project partners and researchers from Cranfield University, UK in collaboration with the local partners at University Mohammed VI Polytechnic (UM6P), Morocco. A group of facilitators from Al Moutmir, which is an initiative to boost the income of small farmers in Morocco, also attended the workshop on both days and assisted the farmers in understanding and developing the cognitive maps. For conducting the workshop, a technique called Fuzzy Cognitive Mapping was used. In this technique, a cognitive map is developed to show the relations between the different indicators given to the participants. In this case, two sets of indicators were given to the farmers. These indicators pertain to two main questions: (i) To understand how droughts impact their livelihood, and (ii) To understand the coping and adaptation strategies that would support them to overcome the impacts.
The discussions and debates that took place between the farmers while developing each of these maps were noted to help in the analysis steps later. This whole cognitive mapping exercise gave more profound insights into drought impacts and corresponding coping strategies, as perceived by the farmers in Morocco. The main aim was to learn the relationship between each of the indicators from farmers’ perspective based on their experiences so far. These maps would help to rank and prioritize the indicators and thereby suggest drought mitigation strategies for increasing the coping capacity of the farming communities in Morocco. Once all the maps are analyzed individually, aggregated maps would be developed to compare the perceptions and get a holistic view of the different farmer groups.
June 21, 2022: Laayoune City, Morocco
Workshop
Societal resilience to droughts and role of energy systems and policy– Management of Disaster Risk and Societal Resilience (MADIS) project was a workshop organized by Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) and Cranfield University with the participation of researchers and professors from Cranfield University, Penn State University, University of Sao Paulo, UM6P Benguerir, UM6P Laayoune, Green Energy Park, Ministry of Agriculture, and INRA. The workshop focused on reviewing nexus and resilience concepts, Morocco’s energy policy, the application of resilience concept in power networks, and the impacts of droughts on the Moroccan economy, as well as energy system development and policy in the country.
4/23/22: PSU Berks Campus
HECBC Undergraduate Research Conference
Alina Rodriguez was able to make a poster presentation on the research conducted in the process of competing for the Nittany AI Challenge with the team AquaSafeAI. Their focus was on applying AI to water point data in Africa. She was able to present the information to attendees, making people more aware of the issues which the project addressed.
4/7/22: PSU University Park Campus
President Barron’s Reception
The Nittany AI Challenge Team AquaSafeAI, who focused on applying AI to water point data in Africa, placed top 3 in the Prototype Phase. They were then asked to meet with President Barron and attend the Reception, an event to honor to work successful teams had for PSU startup competitions. This opportunity allowed the group to present their idea, and meet with experts in technology and innovation.
