BURKINA FASO: WASCAL TO BUILD A COMPETENCE CENTRE IN OUAGADOUGOU

Laying of the foundation stone for the construction of the competence centre, by Dr. Christoph Rövekamp & Professor Alkassoum Maïga ©FASO7

Sidelines of the 4th meeting of the Council of Ministers of 11 member countries of the West African Science Service Centre on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (WASCAL) held in Ouagadougou, Burkina-Faso. Member countries of the organization proceeded in the afternoon of the same day to laying of the first stone of the construction of its Competence Centre

The Minister of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation, Professor Alkassoum Maïga, laid the foundation stone for the construction of the WASCAL Competence Centre, which will serve as a research centre related to climate change in West Africa.

“This centre will allow our Universities to shine through training”, Pr Alkassoum Maïga

“This centre will allow our Universities to shine through training”, Pr Alkassoum Maïga

This centre, which will serve as a place for computer training applied to climate change, will be built on a 4-hectare plot of land donated by the Burkinabe State to WASCAL. This is a building that will be built on 3 levels. It will include a doctoral school, offices, a geographical data management centre and applications. The overall cost of this infrastructure is CFK 4 billion.

For Minister Alkassoum Maïga, the construction of this centre is a major asset in favour of actions to combat climate change. “This centre will allow our universities to shine through training. It will also allow our countries to know how to manage climate change because there will be instruments here that will allow us to have reliable data, and to deal with climate change,” he said.

A tree planted…

The Burkinabe Minister of Higher Education took the opportunity to thank WASCAL’s main partner, Germany, thanks to whom this centre will be built. “I thank the Germans for this considerable support,” said Alakassoum Maiga before inviting the member countries of WASCAL to take responsibility so that this centre, which will soon be built, “does not require the intervention of other countries” for its operation.

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“We in Germany are experiencing the effects of climate change every day. So, this proves to us that the effects of Climate Change are a reality in the world”, Dr Christoph Rövekamp

According to the head of Germany’s Green Energy and Hygiene Technology Division, Dr Christoph Rövekamp, the decision to fund WASCAL and the construction of the Competence Centre in particular, was motivated by the fact that Germany is aware of the dangers of Climate Change as it is also a victim. “We in Germany are experiencing the effects of Climate Change every day. This proves to us that the effects of Climate Change are a reality in the world. It is in this context that we have decided to finance this centre in West Africa,” he suggested.

On the sidelines of the ceremony of laying the foundation stone for the construction of the centre, a tree was planted in the courtyard by Professor Alkassoum Maiga and other representatives of the member countries of the organization.

Source: Climate change: WASCAL members take stock of their actions in Ouagadougou – Faso7