Innovative designs of sustainable agro-hydro-health systems

PROJECT OBJECTIVES

Under the Researcher Links scheme offered within the Newton Fund, the British Council and Akademi Sains Malaysia held a 5-day workshop in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia which commenced on 31 July 2017. The workshop was coordinated by Professor Sue Charlesworth and Associate Professor Dr. Abdul Halim Ghazali and included contributors from other leading researchers. The workshop explored research topics in relation to ‘off-grid’ communities. These communities that reside in remote areas and, due to their location, are deprived of direct access to municipal water supply, electricity, wastewater or other utility services.

• Participatory action research
• Water, sanitation and hygiene (WaSH)
• Sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDS) or bio-ecological drainage systems (BIOECODS)
• Surface water and sediment modelling and management
• Biomonitoring and bioassessment
• Small scale hydropower, design and mitigation
• Public health
• Environmentally and socially sustainable financing for technology transfer and development

The CAWR team returned from their trip to Malaysia where they were inspired to tackle challenging research on the wellbeing of the Orang Asli (‘original people’) against a background of rapid economic development in the country. Several lines of investigation are now being pursued, ranging from ecotourism and sanitation to biodiversity conservation and water resources, working with the indigenous communities of Belum Rainforest.