Skip to main content

Research Repository

Advanced Search

Restoring Environments, Societies, Ecosystems and Trees (RESET)

People Involved

Project Description

Africa is due to experience the most rapid urbanisation and population growth in this century. The combination of these phenomena in other countries has led to two dire outcomes: enormous loss of ecosystems, biodiversity and natural land (i) and Gigatonnes of greenhouse gases emitted to the atmosphere as a result of building materials and construction activities (the so-called embodied carbon of buildings). RESET aims to address this incredibly complex challenge from a strongly interdisciplinary perspective to explore the possibility for Africa to leapfrog to future sustainability avoiding the urbanisation pathway experienced by the Global North. Starting from Chad as the ‘live’ case study for piloting our approach, and with additional desk-based scoping-studies in Uganda, Ethiopia and Madagascar, the project team will address the key role of reforestation programmes in order to promote carbon storage and bio-based construction materials from four different disciplinary angles: engineering, carbon accounting, social science and the natural sciences. The engineering stream will focus on understanding the potential for bio-based construction, while the carbon accounting stream will evaluate the economic benefit of scaling up nature-based solutions for carbon dioxide removal and storage. On the other hand, the social science will inform and support a meaningful engagement with local communities to facilitate their understanding of the climate crisis and the role that nature-based solutions can play, and to empower them in ‘owning’ an important climate solution through the preservation and increase of forest areas, and an intelligent use of bio-based materials for long-term carbon storage in built assets. Lastly, the natural science stream will ensure that key criteria of ecosystems preservation, geological monitoring, land degradation, and water resources are factored in to inform outputs that are viable from all different disciplinary angles with a realistic pathway to sustainable implementation at their heart.

Project Acronym RESET
Status Project Complete
Funder(s) Royal Academy of Engineering
Value £29,868.00
Project Dates Nov 24, 2021 - Feb 28, 2023


You might also like

Getting the numbers right and getting the right numbers: quantifying the embodied carbon of building structures Feb 1, 2018 - Apr 30, 2019
Building-related carbon emissions in the UK total over 200MtCO2e, which is more than 40% of the national figure. The correct measurement of the embodied carbon of structural materials would enable a reliable and correct assessment of the carbon inten... Read More about Getting the numbers right and getting the right numbers: quantifying the embodied carbon of building structures.

InFutUReWood Mar 1, 2019 - Feb 28, 2022
Timber and construction research

Research informed teaching of sustainable development in South Africa: The case of 'Local' Building Materials and their Environmental impacts Apr 1, 2019 - Jun 14, 2023
The study examines the properties and benefits of selected local materials (such as clay and recycled elements) and whether their use as construction materials enhances environmental protection. The rationale for this examination stems from the views... Read More about Research informed teaching of sustainable development in South Africa: The case of 'Local' Building Materials and their Environmental impacts.