A team from the University of California (UC Davis and UC Merced), led by Valeria La Saponara, professor, mechanical and aerospace engineering, College of Engineering, will collaborate with the team from the University of Juba in South Sudan, led by John Akec, professor, department of mechanical engineering, to investigate a system of unique international importance, hugely vulnerable to climate change, unsustainable economic pursuits, and human conflicts: the food web of the African Sudd. 

The Sudd wetland, formed in a floodplain of the White Nile in South Sudan, is among the world’s largest and most threatened freshwater ecosystems. Sudd’s complex food web includes diverse aquatic and semiaquatic plant communities, rich wildlife and Indigenous human inhabitants. The Sudd directly impacts the livelihood of over 1 million people across international borders, and it also strongly affects the regional microclimate.

The first objective for this UC Davis Global Affairs funded project will be leveraging the remote sensing expertise of the entire team to build baseline data for multiple attributes of the Sudd food web at appropriate resolutions. Validation will be provided by carefully planned field work directed by the University of Juba, and with input from the local team of the International Institute of Rural Reconstruction (IIRR), led by Ms. Pamela Nyamutoka Katooro. Last but not least, US Africa Initiatives (USAFI), led by Mr. Solomon Belette, will provide expertise on sustainable development and capacity building, and engagement with potential stakeholders in the region.

"This project, named Project Abuk by Prof. Akec, really embodies our shared principles of tackling global challenges, transforming global partnerships, taking care of global community and telling global stories, while we document the climate change emergency in a front-line country", said Prof. La Saponara.

"The African Sudd’s ecology has sustained livelihoods, reared cultures, supported a rich biodiversity, and balanced regional hydrological cycle for millennia", said Prof. Akec, "Yet for close to a century, this vital ecosystem and nature’s gift to Africa and the world has continued to be threatened by unregulated economic activity, foreign mega projects, oil exploration, and greed by local, national, and foreign interests/actors. Project Abuk, I believe, is a first step in a long effort to bring science and sense into the equation in order to balance the conflicting economic, social, and environmental interests, and safeguard the interests and rights of future generations”.

Partner Institutions

• University of California, Davis and University of California, Merced, USA
• University of Juba, South Sudan
• US Africa Initiatives (USAFI), USA
• International Institute for Rural Reconstruction (Africa Regional Director and South Sudan Office)

Collaborative Team Members

University of California, Davis

• Professor Valeria La Saponara (PI, lead)
• Professor Isaya Kisekka
• Professor Eliska Rejmankova
• Associate Professor Zhaodan Kong
• Associate Professor Sanjai Parikh
• Professor Yufang Jin

University of California, Merced

• Associate Professor Erin Hestir

University of Juba, South Sudan

• Professor John Akec (lead)
• Professor Salah Jubarah
• Professor Tony Ngalamu
• Professor Yatta Samuel Ngerja
• Professor Khidir Abdalla Deng

US Africa Initiatives (USAFI)

• Solomon Belette (lead)

International Institute for Rural Reconstruction

• Pamela Nyamutoka Katooro (lead)
• Edwin Chemoiywo
• Nicholas Rabach
• Benard Ngeywo
• Mike Chemorei

For more information

• Valeria La Saponara, University of California, Davis, vlasaponara@ucdavis.edu
• John Akec, University of Juba, South Sudan, ja_akec@yahoo.co.uk
• Solomon Belette, US Africa Initiatives (USAFI), solomon@us-africa-initiatives.com
• Pamela Nyamutoka Katooro, International Institute for Rural Reconstruction, pamela.nyamutoka@iirr.org