Other current projects

Towards a Congolese Observatory of Urban gullies for Research, Governance, and Early warniNg sysTem development (CO-URGENT / 2025-2027 / ARES Valorisation)

Urban gullies (UGs) are a rapidly growing concern in many tropical cities of the Global South. These gullies are typically much larger than gullies found in rural environments and their formation and expansion can occur very rapidly. Within just a few years, they can reach widths and depths of several tens of meters and lengths extending to several hundreds of meters. As this drastic expansion typically occurs in densely populated areas, UGs are frequently associated with significant impacts, including the destruction of property, buildings, roads, and other infrastructure. In many cases, this also results in the displacement of people, injuries, and even casualties. A cartographic inventory of UGs in the Democratic Republic of Congo reveals that over half of Congolese cities are significantly affected by these severe forms of erosion. In 2023 alone, approximately 3,000 UGs were documented, including 868 in Kinshasa (the most affected city) and 83 in Bukavu. These gullies directly resulted in the displacement of approximately 142,000 people between 2004 and 2023 in DRC. Furthermore, these displacement rates appear to have accelerated in recent years, increasing from approximately 5,800 individuals per year before 2020 to 13,600 individuals per year after 2020. Currently, around 3.2 million people in Congo live within the potential expansion zones of UGs—a figure that is clearly expected to continue growing alongside ongoing urban development.

Focusing on the cities of Kinshasa and Bukavu the main objective of CO-URGENT is to create a collaborative framework that combines scientific research, citizen science, and policy advocacy to better monitor, understand and mitigate urban gullies in DRC, and to improve disaster risk management and urban planning. CO-URGENT will provide a proof of concept for the development of an urgently needed observatory of UGs and their impacts, in preparation of an early warning system. Specifically, this project aims to (1) raise awareness and encourage public involvement in monitoring UGs in Kinshasa and Bukavu, (2) gather more precise, in-situ data on (i) the socio-economic impacts of UGs, (ii) the formation and expansion dynamics of UGs and (iii) the rainfall events associated with these dynamics, and (3) advocate in an informed, responsible and collaborative way for political and administrative authorities, as well as NGOs, to take concrete and effective measures to reduce UG disaster risks.

CO-URGENT is a two-year (2025 – 2027) project funded under the ARES – Valorisation projects programme. It is coordinated by UCLouvain and Université Officielle de Bukavu, in collaboration with Université de Kinshasa and RMCA.

Stabilisation of Urban Gullies by mAnaging Rainwater at parcel scale (SUGAR / 2025-2027 / VLIR-UOS)

Urban gullies (UGs) wreak havoc in Kinshasa and other cities across the DRC, resulting in numerous socio-economic impacts. They form due to a combination of factors, including intensive rainfall and erodible soils, lack of urban planning and inadequate water management infrastructure. Numerous mitigation measures are already implemented, but remain mostly ineffective. Nevertheless, recent research indicates that implementing water retention structures (WRS) at sufficiently large scale shows great promise in stabilizing and even preventing UGs.

SUGAR aims to demonstrate the effectiveness of such strategy. For WRS will be installed in a representative catchment in Kinshasa affected by UGs. This will be done in close collaboration with local stakeholders. By monitoring and studying participation rates as well as the resulting hydrological effects (e.g., through the involvement of local students), actionable guidelines to this growing problem in Kinshasa and elsewhere will be developed.

SUGAR is a two-year (2025 – 2027) project funded under the VLIR-UOS – Short Initiatives programme. It is coordinated by KU Leuven and Université de Kinshasa, in collaboration with Université Officielle de Bukavu, UCLouvain, CEEDD (NGO), and RMCA.

COnstructing remote sensing and MaPping capacities to Assess geohazards, for a more Sustainable Society (COMPASS / 2025-2027 / VLIR-UOS)

Landslides and erosion threaten Burundi’s cities, infrastructure, and agriculture, yet local institutions lack the tools to assess and mitigate these risks. This project strengthens the University of Burundi (UB) as a regional hub for geospatial expertise, equipping it with advanced UAV and satellite remote sensing capabilities. By providing adapted training, upgrading equipment, and applying remote sensing to real-world case studies with stakeholder), the project directly supports SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities & Communities) by enhancing disaster resilience and land-use planning. Additionally, it reinforces SDG 4 (Quality Education) by allowing the integration of remote sensing into UB’s teaching and research programs, ensuring long-term knowledge transfer. Through capacity-building and institutional collaboration, this initiative empowers UB to address geohazards and contribute to sustainable urban and environmental management in Burundi.

COMPASS is a two-year (2025 – 2027) project funded under the VLIR-UOS – Short Initiatives programme. It is coordinated by VUB and Université du Burundi, in collaboration with IFDC (NGO), Kirasa Energy (private sector), and RMCA.

Advanced Remote sensing Techniques for greenhouse gas EMISsion modeling In African lakes (ARTEMISIA / 2025-2030 / BELSPO STEREO IV)

The lacustrine emissions to the atmosphere of greenhouse gases (GHGs), mainly CO₂ and CH₄, are significant components of global GHG budgets. However, available estimates remain very uncertain due to sparse data coverage, in particular in tropical lakes. With over 1.4 million lakes (>0.1 km²) worldwide, the limited availability of sites-specific lacustrine CO₂ and CH₄ emission data presents a significant challenge for accurate global and regional assessments. African lakes, which comprise 66% of the tropical lake surface are, are critical contributors to these emissions, yet remain along the least studied. ARTEMISIA addresses this gap and aims to develop, after a proof of concept for a selection of African lakes, the first pan-African, Earth Observation (EO)-based framework for quantifying lake CO₂ and CH₄ emissions. The project will fill a critical blind spot in the global carbon cycle.

ARTEMISIA is a four-year research project (2025-2030) funded under the BELSPO STEREO IV programme. It is coordinated by VITO, in collaboration with ULiège, VUB, the University of Tartu, TAFIRI, and RMCA.

Supporting Early-warning systems and nature-based solutions using opportunistic rainfall monitoring in Rwanda (SENSOR² / 2024-2029 / VLIR-UOS)

Flash floods and landslides in Rwanda claimed 135 lives and cost €400 million between 2nd and 3rd May 2023 alone. A lack of accurate and sufficient rainfall data hampers the ability to issue timely warnings and prevent these increasingly frequent disasters. SENSOR² will establish a multi-stakeholder, multi-institutional partnership to introduce an innovative and cost-effective rainfall monitoring system using mobile phone network antennas. These unprecedented, nationwide rainfall data will be integrated in updated, accessible early warning systems and will be used to support research on nature-based prevention measures in the rapidly expanding city of Musanze.

SENSOR² will bring together academia, government bodies and the private sector to design targeted solutions towards the most vulnerable communities in rural and urban areas of Rwanda. SENSOR² is a four-year (2024 – 2029) project funded under the VLIR-UOS – TEAM programme. It is coordinated by UGent and INES Ruhengeri, in collaboration with University of Rwanda, Meteo Rwanda, Rwanda Water Resources Board MINEMA, MTN, TU Delft, KU Leuven, and RMCA.

Geo-HydrolOgicaL dIsaster riSk and the associated naTural resource degradation in sub-Saharan AfrICa: a transdisciplinary approach in densely-populated changing environments (G-HOLISTIC / 2024-2028 (2033) / FED-tWIN)

Geo-hydrological (GH) hazards (volcanic activity and emissions, floods, droughts, landslides, gully erosion and flash floods) and the degradation of natural resources (soil, water, forest, ecosystems) are often interrelated with self-mutual cause-and-effect reinforcements. In sub-Saharan Africa, high population densities are often found, frequently on the rise and combined with high societal vulnerability. It is therefore no surprise that GH disaster risks and the associated natural resource degradation disproportionately hit these regions. Environmental alterations induced by land-use changes combined to changing climatic conditions are expected to increase these impacts. In sub-Saharan Africa, research on GH disaster risk and resource degradation is often at its infancy and non-adapted to the local population and stakeholders needs.

This FED-tWIN project proposes a unique long-term funding that will allow to undertake longitudinal, co-produced and transdisciplinary strategic research in urban and densely populated rural regions of sub-Saharan Africa. To have real in-the-field impact, the project aims to fill a clear research gap in bringing high resolution, disaggregated information about risk and resource degradation. The short-term (5 years) general scientific objective of the FED-tWIN project is to assess the vulnerability, exposure and resilience to GH hazards. It aims to arrive at integrated/comprehensive highly spatially resolved disaster risk assessments relevant for stakeholders and for the development of adapted mitigation strategies. To provide such detailed analysis, we will focus on selected, densely-populated and rapidly changing regions where GH hazards are being studied by both teams.

In parallel with the focus on GH disaster risk, the project will also progressively start to collect spatially explicit data on natural resource degradation associated with these GH disaster risks. The long-term scientific objective is to extend the transdisciplinary approaches (models, datasets, methods, etc.) that were developed on the GH disaster risks to more universal issues of natural resource degradation. In doing so we go beyond what is usually seen as a full integrated study of disasters risks as we will also tackle their interactions with natural resources; which will add a component in the understanding of the vulnerability and resilience as a whole.

Key will be to develop and implement transdisciplinary approaches around a strong collaboration between RMCA, UCLouvain and African institutions. The project builds upon the unique long term existing expertise and networks of collaborators of both institutions. During the first two years, the FED-tWIN researcher will get familiar with one key study area at the border between Burundi, DRC and Rwanda. A key aspect will also be the integration of the RMCA collection of historical aerial photographs in the research, as it has the potential to complement remote sensing data with key information on the state of the environment from the mid of the 20th century till today. It is expected that the FED-tWIN researcher becomes a world-class expert in his/her field with a large autonomy developing new synergies, partnerships, external project funding, and student (PhD and MSc) supervisions. These key challenges are in line with the current R&D strategies of the two institutions. 

GeohazarDs in AfricaN CitiEs: patterns, rates and sustainability in urban sprawling contexts (GuiDANCE / 2020-2024 (2029) / FED-tWIN)

Africa today faces multiple challenges involving economic development, population growth, environmental issues, and climate change, to name but a few. Faced with these challenges, rapidly expanding cities in Africa generate large concerns in terms of the increasing impacts of geohazards such as landslides, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, local subsidence, ground collapse and gully erosion. Although significant progress has been made in establishing institutions and regulations for risk reduction in Sub-Sahara Africa over the last 10 years, knowledge on hazards and capacities to design and implement adequate risk reduction remains extremely limited. The short term (5 years) general scientific objective of this FED-tWIN project is to gain insight into baseline patterns/rates of geohazards in urban sprawling contexts. The research will focus on the study of geohazard patterns/rates that occur under natural conditions as well as the way in which humans have affected these processes or their exposure to these processes therefore increasing the level of risk.
The specific objectives are (1) estimating the surface distribution of ground deformations associated to geohazards in Sub-Saharan urbanized contexts; (2) documenting active geohazard processes using a range of techniques to identify the most suitable strategies for operational monitoring of these events using a combination of data (ground-, air- and space-borne)/platforms and analytical techniques; (3) exploring the interplay between natural (climatic, geomorphologic, seismic conditions) and human-induced parameters (urban expansion, urban infrastructure, land use change) controlling the dynamics and frequency-magnitude relations of these processes in these environments. The long-term scientific objective (10 years) is to develop specific expertise in the field of remote sensing and geohazards in Africa and with Africans around a strong collaboration between the VUB Department of Geography and the RMCA Department of Earth Sciences to tackle the challenges related to Disaster Risk Reduction. The project builds upon the unique existing expertise and networks of collaborators of both institutions. During the first two years of the project, the FED-tWIN researcher will get familiar with new techniques and skills that he/she is expected to master (additional to the ones he/she already has experience with); capitalising on RMCA/VUB expertise in the key techniques to be used.
The recent advent of high frequency satellite data acquisition (e.g. Sentinel-1 and -2, Planet imagery) opens the scope for systematic data analysis for a large series of urban targets using state-of-the art methods. Radar remote sensing techniques are a priority method for the FED-tWIN candidate. A key aspect will also be the integration of the RMCA collection of historical aerial photographs in the research, as it has the potential to reveal key information on the state of the environment from the mid of the 20th century till today. It is expected that the FED-tWIN researcher becomes a leader in his/her field with a large autonomy developing new synergies, partnerships, external project funding, and student (PhD and MSc) supervisions. These key challenges are in line with the current R&D strategies of the two institutions.