The LUNA Project is a joint project of three German and five African research institutions generously funded by the Volkswagen Foundation.

The aim of the project is to analyse the impact of urbanisation on the use of natural resources and on livelihoods in transition in selected African countries bridging research, networking, capacity building for young scientists and policy work. Whilst urbanisation is a global issue, it is currently most pronounced in developing countries with slum and urban growth rates in Sub-Saharan Africa being the highest in the world. Processes of urbanisation are very dynamic, spanning all facets of human livelihoods and presenting multiple challenges to planners and decision-makers. A conclusive understanding of the rural-urban linkages together with expertise in urban governance concepts is necessary for a sustainable urban management. Scientifically, the project will combine existing models of the periurban environments and food system approaches with livelihood and resilience concepts, focusing on changes in the access to and the use of natural resources within the urbanisation process. The multi-disciplinary research team including members from Germany, France and five African countries will implement a multiple methodological approach, including the STEPS framework, theoretical sampling and action research.

The project is based on three main pillars:

The participating institutions are:

• Department of Physical Geography, University of Freiburg, Germany
• Department of Geography, University of Erlangen, Germany
• Arnold-Bergstraesser-Institut, Freiburg, Germany
• Department of Environmental Science, University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana
• College of Cooperative and Business Studies, Moshi University College, Tanzania
• Department of Environmental Science, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa
• Département d'Anthropologie et de Sociologie, Université de Bouaké, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
• AVRDC - World Vegetable Centre, Yaoundé, Cameroon

For an overview of the project activities, research questions and methodology click here.