Projects

S1_RGL_GEORISK

Développement des capacités en observation et étude des géorisques dans la région des Grands Lacs (S1_RGL_GEORISK)

The Lake Kivu and North-Tanganyika region in Central Africa (Great Lakes Region : DRC, Burundi, Rwanda) is affected by a combination of geological risks (volcanism, earthquakes, mass movements, carbon dioxide emanations, limnic gas eruptions, …). Their exceptional combination in a single region, together with a growing high density population result in a particularly high exposure to georisks. Those risks are related to the geodynamic activity which is particularly intense in this region of the East African rift. On the other hand, this region lacks qualified specialists able to understand and investigate these process. The local universities and scientific institutions do not have enough capacities for their investigation and to train specialists in this field. They also lack modern observation means for monitoring this geodynamic activity (seismicity and crustal deformation) as the climatic factor which can induce trigger mass movements. In consequence, those risks are not taken into account in the regional development policy by the local authorities and the civil society, which are the final beneficiaries of this project. The project S1_RGL_GEORISK aims at re-enforcing the capacity of local universities and scientific institutions (target groups) for teaching, research and monitoring in the domain of the geological risks. The objective is to train specialists and produce scientific information’s necessary for raising the awareness, advice and help the local authorities to allow them to take into account these factors in their regional development policy, to the benefit of the population. It is a 3-year project which will give about 20 scientists a background formation and a practical training in scientific research in the domains of the georisks, and install 3 new observation stations (sismic, GPS and weather), for improving the capacity of the 5 partner institutions for the observation and investigation of the georisks. This project started in May 2013 and will run for years.

Principal investigators:

Dates:

2013 2018

Museum staff:

External collaborators:

Observatoire Volcanologique de Goma (OVG), Goma, RDC (Katcho KARUME)
Centre de Recherches en Sciences Naturelles (CRSN), Lwiro, RDC (Sivanos FIAMA BONDO)
Université Officielle de Bukavu (UOB), Bukavu, RDC (Jean Berckmans MUHIGWA)
Institut Supérieur Pédagogique (ISP), Bukavu, RDC (Rigobert BIRHEMBANO)
Université du Burundi, Bujumbura, Burundi (Pascal NKURUNZIZA)