Sustainable Development of Informal Settlements and Citarum Basin Ecologies

Sustainable development is a key research and education priority for both Monash and Warwick. While this research theme is spearheaded through Monash’s Sustainable Development Institute (MSDI) and Warwick’s Institute of Global Sustainable Development (IGSD), it is a transdisciplinary endeavour that cuts across many disciplines and research themes, and critically involves partnerships with government, industry and communities.
Our vision is to forge closer ties between our institutions, and the wider university’s research capability, and through transdisciplinary research deliver innovative pathways for sustainable development that considers at its centre people, and links strongly to the environment, health and technology. Sustainable development challenges in informal settlements and their ecosystems, is a strategic priority for both institutes.
This proposal seeks seed funding to develop a roadmap to establishing a research platform that addresses key challenges of planetary health, and builds on existing strengths. To achieve this long-term aspiration, we propose a pilot project to explore together the social and physical factors that impact the health and livelihoods of vulnerable communities. This will allow us to pave the way to a large scale, action research program, around the inter-generational challenge of revitalising one of the world’s dirtiest rivers – the Citarum River in West Java, Indonesia.