Sudan will increasingly become severely affected by climate change with alarming projections of rising temperatures up until 3.1 degrees celsius in 2060.  In addition to a hotter climate, the country is also challenged by erratic rainfall, drought and extreme flooding events, dust storms, thunderstorms, and heatwaves. 

This paper assesses and analyses the results of a study on climate change resilience in urban Sudan, supported by the Swedish Research Council, implemented by Malmö University in collaboration with the Institute of Environmental Studies (IES) at Khartoum University and the Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies (LUCSUS). In order to integrate local knowledge into national and international policy strategies and governmental practices, the study is focused on learning from the grassroots in two different urban localities in Khartoum that differ in size, population diversity and are affected by climate change threats, specifically erratic flood events.  

An interdisciplinary Swedish-Sudanese research team studied various aspects of two selected neighbourhoods in Khartoum using a mix of research methods. Between 2020 and 2022, the researchers have conducted over 30 semi-structured interviews in person, on zoom and via digital means in over two different selected study sites, it also implemented a participatory approach to photography and ESRI story mapping and organised community level workshops on local knowledge and its important role for policy development on climate change and flood mitigation. 

Focusing on the extreme floods of 2020, gave the researchers an excellent data range to closely observe a climate change event. A series of community workshops gave wider insight into local knowledge. A delegation of the research team also participated in COP26 to engage with international policy makers. The results indicate that an elaborate knowledge system present at grassroots level is present and provides excellent opportunities to develop and implement good governance and policy on climate change action and development plans. The study organised two seminars to engage with a wider stakeholder group, including policymakers and politicians.

The researchers conclude that the generated data, in particularly composed and compiled through storymaps, video and 360 degree video content has good potential to be translated into policy documents at both national level at the Sudanese Higher Council for Environment and Natural Resources as well as international level at COP 26 and through the IPCC delegations in which the Sudanese counterparts in this study participated. The final step is to translate this policy making into practice and good governance.