The West Africa Science Service Centre on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (WASCAL) is to train about 3,000 research scientists by the year 2020.

This is intended to contribute to efforts by member countries of WASCAL to fight the effects of climate change on the West African sub-region and also improve the resilience of West African countries to climate change and climate variability.

The Director, Capacity Building, WASCAL, Professor Janet Olatundun Adelegan, gave the hint yesterday, when she presented a brief on WASCAL’s capacity-building programme, during the opening ceremony of a sub-regional consultative meeting on climate change in Accra.

The two-day meeting was attended by representatives from four West African countries – The Gambia, Liberia, Nigeria and Ghana.

“In West Africa we have a population of about 348 million and looking at what WASCAL has done so far, producing about 200 research scientists, our projection is to have about 3,000 climate scientists by the year 2020,” Prof. Adelegan said.

She explained that the centre was expected to organise short courses and workshops to complement the major courses which would be demand-driven and focused on the priorities of countries in the sub-region, so as to make them relevant.

Essence of meeting

The Executive Director of WASCAL, Dr Laurent G. Sedogo, said the meeting was the last of three sub-regional consultative meetings that were “aimed at identifying common research and capacity building needs of different member countries for consideration in a final regional meeting in a few months” in Ouagadougou.

He said WASCAL had commissioned national and regional consultative meetings and had so far held 14 of such , to solicit the inputs of partners and customers for their research agenda for 2017 to 2020.

“Our overarching objective is to integrate, as much as possible, the research and capacity-building needs expressed by our partners into our research agenda, so as to make our research findings and the climate services relevant to the needs of the ECOWAS region,” he stated.

Sense of ownership

The Deputy Head of Mission and Head of the Economic Section of the German Embassy, Mr Bernhard Abels, who was the special guest of honour, said the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and Germany wished that through the consultative workshops, member countries would develop a high sense of ownership of the WASCAL programme and agenda.

He said the BMBF also hoped that African countries would increasingly commit human and financial resources to achieve the ultimate goal of significantly reducing the effects of climate change and climate variability on human and environmental systems.

Citing some of the effects of climate change on the West African sub-region, Mr Abels said, “As the main source of livelihood for majority of the populace, rain-fed agriculture is becoming unattractive and unbeneficial for millions of smallholder farmers due to factors such as delayed start of rains, long spells during the season and declining soil fertility.”

He indicated that it was to reduce the impact of climate change that over €30 million had already been invested in infrastructure, scientific equipment, capacity building and research by German and African scientists in the last five years.

As part of efforts to strengthen West Africa’s human resource capacities to analyze regional climate change impacts, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research of Germany, (BMBF) has given scholarships to 100 postgraduate students to pursue courses in Climate Change thematic areas in West Africa.

The program is managed by the Capacity Building Department of West African Science Service Center on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (WASCAL).

The students, who will be studying in 10 of the highest universities in West Africa, expressed delight about the opportunity given them by BMBF through WASCAL. They pledged to fully maximize for their future and that of West Africa.

The scholarship also forms part of WASCAL’s commitment to training and building the capacity of the next generation of African scientists to champion the fight against climate change, while influencing governments and policy makers.

The graduate program also aims at designing strategies to adapt to threats, opportunities and uncertainties of climate change within the region.
The 100 students, comprising 60 Doctoral Research Program and 40 Master’s Research Program Students were drawn from Ghana, Nigeria, Niger, Mali, Togo, Benin, The Gambia, Senegal, Burkina Faso and Cote d’Ivoire. They will be moving into their various universities, depending on the climate change thematic courses they have chosen to pursue.

This is the third batch of students admitted into the WASCAL program since the inception of the WASCAL Capacity Building Program in 2012. So far 255 students have benefited from the scholarship program. The postgraduate program is a partnership between 10 West African Universities and selected German Institutions.

The West African Science Service Center on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (WASCAL) is a large scale research focused Climate Service Centre mandated to help tackle the challenges of climate change in West Africa.

It was established by its member countries- Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria, Niger, Senegal, Mali and Togo- with the support of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).

With the vision of becoming one of Africa’s leading name in the provision of climate change services in and for West Africa, WASCAL is organized around three principal departments: Climate Service Department, The Research Department and the Capacity Building Department.

As part of efforts to strengthen West Africa’s human resource capacities to analyze regional climate change impacts, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research of Germany, (BMBF) has given scholarships to 100 postgraduate students to pursue courses in Climate Change thematic areas in West Africa.

The program is managed by the Capacity Building Department of West African Science Service Center on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (WASCAL).

The students, who will be studying in 10 of the highest universities in West Africa, expressed delight about the opportunity given them by BMBF through WASCAL. They pledged to fully maximize for their future and that of West Africa.

The scholarship also forms part of WASCAL’s commitment to training and building the capacity of the next generation of African scientists to champion the fight against climate change, while influencing governments and policy makers.

The graduate program also aims at designing strategies to adapt to threats, opportunities and uncertainties of climate change within the region.
The 100 students, comprising 60 Doctoral Research Program and 40 Master’s Research Program Students were drawn from Ghana, Nigeria, Niger, Mali, Togo, Benin, The Gambia, Senegal, Burkina Faso and Cote d’Ivoire. They will be moving into their various universities, depending on the climate change thematic courses they have chosen to pursue.

This is the third batch of students admitted into the WASCAL program since the inception of the WASCAL Capacity Building Program in 2012. So far 255 students have benefited from the scholarship program. The postgraduate program is a partnership between 10 West African Universities and selected German Institutions.

The West African Science Service Center on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (WASCAL) is a large scale research focused Climate Service Centre mandated to help tackle the challenges of climate change in West Africa.

It was established by its member countries- Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria, Niger, Senegal, Mali and Togo- with the support of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).

With the vision of becoming one of Africa’s leading name in the provision of climate change services in and for West Africa, WASCAL is organized around three principal departments: Climate Service Department, The Research Department and the Capacity Building Department.

As part of efforts to strengthen West Africa’s human resource capacities to analyze regional climate change impacts, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research of Germany, (BMBF) has given scholarships to 100 postgraduate students to pursue courses in Climate Change thematic areas in West Africa.

The program is managed by the Capacity Building Department of West African Science Service Center on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (WASCAL).

The students, who will be studying in 10 of the highest universities in West Africa, expressed delight about the opportunity given them by BMBF through WASCAL. They pledged to fully maximize for their future and that of West Africa.

The scholarship also forms part of WASCAL’s commitment to training and building the capacity of the next generation of African scientists to champion the fight against climate change, while influencing governments and policy makers.

The graduate program also aims at designing strategies to adapt to threats, opportunities and uncertainties of climate change within the region.
The 100 students, comprising 60 Doctoral Research Program and 40 Master’s Research Program Students were drawn from Ghana, Nigeria, Niger, Mali, Togo, Benin, The Gambia, Senegal, Burkina Faso and Cote d’Ivoire. They will be moving into their various universities, depending on the climate change thematic courses they have chosen to pursue.

This is the third batch of students admitted into the WASCAL program since the inception of the WASCAL Capacity Building Program in 2012. So far 255 students have benefited from the scholarship program. The postgraduate program is a partnership between 10 West African Universities and selected German Institutions.

The West African Science Service Center on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (WASCAL) is a large scale research focused Climate Service Centre mandated to help tackle the challenges of climate change in West Africa.

It was established by its member countries- Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria, Niger, Senegal, Mali and Togo- with the support of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).

With the vision of becoming one of Africa’s leading name in the provision of climate change services in and for West Africa, WASCAL is organized around three principal departments: Climate Service Department, The Research Department and the Capacity Building Department.

environewsnigeria.com 02-03-16

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The Federal University of Technology in Minna (FUT Minna), Niger State has produced its second set (or ‘Batch B’) of graduates under a special scheme being bankrolled by the German government.

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The Federal University of Technology in Minna (FUT Minna), Niger State has produced its second set (or ‘Batch B’) of graduates under a special scheme being bankrolled by the German government.

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The Federal University of Technology in Minna (FUT Minna), Niger State has produced its second set (or ‘Batch B’) of graduates under a special scheme being bankrolled by the German government.
Tagged the Master Programme on Climate Change and Adapted Landuse (CC&ALU), it is being implemented under the West African Centre for Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (WASCAL) initiative involving Nigeria and several other countries in the sub-region.

The 2013 batch of 10 WASCAL graduates joined 2,741 others at the 25th Convocation Ceremony of their host university in the Niger State capital recently. The graduates, who completed their programme in October 2015, returned to formally participate in this year’s graduation ceremony as they joined 464 other Masters degree holders. But, in their case, they were awarded Master of Technology (M. Tech) in Climate Change and Adapted Land Use.

The degree was awarded after 15 months of intense course work and nine months of research, which focused on the “food basket” of Nigeria, which are the North Central states of Niger, Kogi, Nassarawa and Kwara.

The Director of the Centre in FUT Minna, Dr Appollonia Okhimamhe, one of the key objectives of WASCAL is to conduct credible research to safeguard the “food basket” of West Africa from the ravages of the impacts of climate change.
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According to her, six of these graduates were competitively selected in their various countries and would soon commence their PhD in different WASCAL host universities. She is getting set to welcome the 2016 Batch of students, 10 of whom had been selected competitively after “a very rigourous” selection process that included a “face-to-face” interview at the country level.

The graduates are: Marsanne Gloriose Bignon Allakonon (Benin), Talardia Gbangou (Burkina Faso), Gnenakantanhan Coulibaly (Cote D’Ivoire), Isaac Larbi (Ghana), Assitan Daou (Mali), Soule Moussa (Niger), Femi Oluwatosin Asonibare (Nigeria), Gloria Chiwendu Okafor (Nigeria), Dodzi Kossi Bissadu (Togo) and Séna Koglo Yawovi (Togo).

Their areas of thesis were listed to include:

Assessment of vulnerability of agroforestry trees to climate change in Niger State (Allakonon)
Analysing climate change projection on water availability for rainfed agriculture in Awan basin, Kwara State (GBangou)
Evaluation of root and tuber crops yield under the changing climate conditions in Kwara State (larbi)
Assessment of climate change and land use impact on groundwater resources in Kogi State, using GIS techniques
Assessment of the impact of climate change and land use/land cover in Kogi State (Daou)
Impact of land use and climate change in vegetation dynamics of Doma Forest Reserve in Nasarawa State (Moussa)
Site selection for urban forestry development as a mitigation of climate change in Ilorin area, Southern Guinea Savanna of Nigeria (Asonibare)
Household vulnerability and adaptation to water stress induced by climate change on Downstream Kaduna River Basin (Okafor)
Remote sensing and GIS-based assessment of land degradation driven by climate land use/change in Nasarawa State (Bissadu)
Assessment of crops lands changes using remote sensing and GIS and adaptation strategies to climate extremes in Lapai Local Government Area.

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Dr Okhimamhe disclosed that the vision of WASCAL on research is that at least a paper is published from the final output of each student’s masters research thesis.

Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. Mubau Adewunmi Akanji, expressed the institution’s gratitude to the German Ministry of Education and Research for funding the WASCAL programme, adding that FUT Minna has kept its vision for a robust academic development.

“Our 2015 annual report offers and introspective perpective of an institution committed to promoting academic excellence through autonomous intellectual partnerships,” he disclosed.

Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council, Prof. Rufa’i Ahmed Alkali, urged the graduating students to see the degrees and grades as work in progress.

His words: “You must see your graduation today not as an end to the journey. Rather, you must see today as the beginning of the beginning. You must rise to the occasion and always aspire to do better. Opportunities and challenges await you in the world ahead.”
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Chancellor of FUT Minna, Eze Eberechi N. Dick, the Eze Udo I of Mboko Ngwa Amaise, described the event as unique in the sense that “the graduands will be the first that I will confer with degrees and diplomas as the chancellor of the university.

The Eze, who is also Chairman, Abia State Council of Traditional Rulers, said: “I feel a deep sense of pride to be here with you all on this auspicious occasion where some of you who have been found worthy in character and learning are being bestowed with certificates as a reward for your academic exploits.

“As you may be aware, this university was established to provide the much-needed manpower for the development of the country in the areas of science and technology and the university has remained committed to its mandate.”

Countries under the WASCAL programme include Nigeria, Benin Republic, Niger Republic, Togo, Cote d’Ivoire, Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, The Gambia and Ghana.

Dr Okhimamhe described WASCAL as a regional centre for capacity building in climate change across West Africa. She added that WASCAL is also designed to help tackle challenges of climate change thereby enhancing resilience of human and environmental system to climate change and variability.