Extending the dialogue on informal e-waste recycling and nature-based solutions for climate resilience
Funding period: 13 January 2025 – 11 July 2025
Type of funding:
International Fellowship
Michael Osei Asibey is a Lecturer at the Department of Planning, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi. Michael is an Urban Development and Environmental Policy and Sustainability expert, who had his training at the Department of Planning, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, Ghana. He holds a B.Sc. (Hons) degree in Development Planning, a Master of Philosophy degree in Planning, and a PhD in Planning from the Department of Planning, KNUST. Michael’s research background is in development and environmental policy and sustainability, with broad experience in urban and regional planning gained through teaching and research conducted in Ghana. He has worked in the areas of environmental management, urban planning and management, regional planning, natural resource management, climate change and development of research packages to guide urbanisation and sustainable ecological development in Africa, focusing on Ghana.
He has also served as an expert consultant on several local, national, and international projects for Newmont Ghana Gold Limited, the World Bank, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), the Ministry of Roads and Transport, the Department of Urban Roads, the Ministry of Railway Development, Newmont Ghana Gold Limited, Asanko Gold Ltd., SEND Ghana, Asanko Gold Ltd., and the World Resources Institute (WRI), among others.
Between 2021 and 2023, Michael received funding from the West African Science Service Centre on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (WASCAL) through the Migration and Translocality in West Africa (MitTraWa) Project for his Postdoctoral research. He is currently a co-lead researcher and team member on the “Advancing Knowledge for Long-term Benefits and Climate Adaptation Through Holistic Climate Services and Nature-based Solutions (ALBATROSS)” project for research involving 18 partner institutions, with funding from the European Commission. He is also currently a Co-PI researching “Leveraging and scaling up in-situ solid waste management strategies to reduce flood risk in low-income communities of Accra” through the Climate Adaptation Research Program (CARP) with funding support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through its Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance. He has published in reputable urban studies environment and planning journals such as Cities, Journal of Environmental Management, Habitat International, Land Use Policy, Geoforum, International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, Urban Governance, Planning Practice and Research, among others.
As a USF International Fellow, Michael will spend six months working at the University of Melbourne’s Faculty of Architecture Building and Planning in Australia under the mentorship of Professor Patrick Brandful Cobbinah. His research will focus on critically examining commitments and measures to employ appropriate nature-based solutions (NbS) to build resilience to climate change impacts across vulnerable informal settlements with deteriorating environmental and health conditions as a result of improper electronic waste (e-waste) recycling activities. It is in line with several international protocols such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), AU Agenda 2063 and Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, which, among others, seek to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient to disasters, and sustainable; stabilize CO2 emissions – limit global warming below 2°C.
Profile at Scholar Google | Profile at KNUST | moasibey@knust.edu.gh