Accra, March 27, GNA – The West African Science Service Centre for Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (WASCAL) has been inaugurated in Accra to provide evidence base information to support sustainable adaptation and mitigation of climate change effect in West Africa.

WASCAL is also to help the region to build resilience to climate change through the provision of the necessary scientific evidence and policy briefs on sustainable management of the environment.

The Centre, located at the premises of the Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in Accra, was inaugurated by Mr Elvis Afriyie Ankrah, Minister of State at the Presidency, on behalf of Vice President Kwesi Amissah-Arthur on Friday.

WASCAL was established in 2012 by 10 West African countries namely, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Togo, Cote d’Ivoire, Mali, Niger, the Gambia, Senegal and Benin while the Federal Ministry of Education and Research of Germany funded the infrastructure, to assist in the scientific study and research into climate change issues.

The Centre among other things, is to assist policy and decision makers in design and implementation of land use patterns at watershed level that ensure the provision of the essential ecosystem services while supporting the livelihoods of local communities.

It is also to help educate the next generation of scientists and policy makers that have intimate knowledge of the different climate related issues that can help the region in developing suitable coping strategies.

In a speech read on his behalf, Vice President Amissah-Arthur described WASCAL as a very important developmental tool through which science and education could interface to find appropriate responses to the phenomenon of climate change and its attendant adverse effects on the livelihood of people.

‘For the millions of people and our sub-region, WASCAL is a source of hope that our environment can be managed in a sustainable manner to ensure their future and our generations yet unborn’.

Vice President Amissah-Arthur said climate change is a threat to the basic foundation of the lives of people, adding that about 80 per cent of the populations depended on agriculture and that the exploitation of and use of natural resources for their livelihood and agriculture contribute about 50 per cent of GDP of most countries.

He noted that in Ghana, the current power crisis being experienced was partly the creation of climate change.

He therefore commended the German government for it support towards WASCAL and gave assurance that Ghana would continue to support WASCAL to ensure that the ECOWAS region collectively benefited from its work.

Mr Wilfried Kraus, Director in charge of WASCAL at the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, in Germany said the German government was committed to the programme and it was prepare to support the first phase of WASCAL scheduled for the end of 2016, with 50 million Euros to advance the course of climate change research and capacity building in the West Africa.

He said another WASCAL Competence Centre has been built in Ouagadougou, which host the climate research and climate service programmes while the capacity building programmes would be coordinated from WASCAL in Ghana.

GNA

Accra, March 27, GNA – The West African Science Service Centre for Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (WASCAL) has been inaugurated in Accra to provide evidence base information to support sustainable adaptation and mitigation of climate change effect in West Africa.

WASCAL is also to help the region to build resilience to climate change through the provision of the necessary scientific evidence and policy briefs on sustainable management of the environment.

The Centre, located at the premises of the Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in Accra, was inaugurated by Mr Elvis Afriyie Ankrah, Minister of State at the Presidency, on behalf of Vice President Kwesi Amissah-Arthur on Friday.

WASCAL was established in 2012 by 10 West African countries namely, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Togo, Cote d’Ivoire, Mali, Niger, the Gambia, Senegal and Benin while the Federal Ministry of Education and Research of Germany funded the infrastructure, to assist in the scientific study and research into climate change issues.

The Centre among other things, is to assist policy and decision makers in design and implementation of land use patterns at watershed level that ensure the provision of the essential ecosystem services while supporting the livelihoods of local communities.

It is also to help educate the next generation of scientists and policy makers that have intimate knowledge of the different climate related issues that can help the region in developing suitable coping strategies.

In a speech read on his behalf, Vice President Amissah-Arthur described WASCAL as a very important developmental tool through which science and education could interface to find appropriate responses to the phenomenon of climate change and its attendant adverse effects on the livelihood of people.

“For the millions of people and our sub-region, WASCAL is a source of hope that our environment can be managed in a sustainable manner to ensure their future and our generations yet unborn”.

Vice President Amissah-Arthur said climate change is a threat to the basic foundation of the lives of people, adding that about 80 per cent of the populations depended on agriculture and that the exploitation of and use of natural resources for their livelihood and agriculture contribute about 50 per cent of GDP of most countries.

He noted that in Ghana, the current power crisis being experienced was partly the creation of climate change.

He therefore commended the German government for it support towards WASCAL and gave assurance that Ghana would continue to support WASCAL to ensure that the ECOWAS region collectively benefited from its work.

Mr Wilfried Kraus, Director in charge of WASCAL at the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, in Germany said the German government was committed to the programme and it was prepare to support the first phase of WASCAL scheduled for the end of 2016, with 50 million Euros to advance the course of climate change research and capacity building in the West Africa.

He said another WASCAL Competence Centre has been built in Ouagadougou, which host the climate research and climate service programmes while the capacity building programmes would be coordinated from WASCAL in Ghana.

GNA
Source: GNA Story (http://www.ghananewsagency.org/science/climate-change-centre-inaugurated-in-ghana–87623)
Published: 2015-03-28 17:57:11
© Ghana News Agency

On March 27, 2015 the headquarters of WASCAL was officially inaugurated in Accra, Ghana. As part of the ceremony the first graduates of the WASCAL doctoral program West African Climate System, led by the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), Nigeria, were presented with their graduation certificates from WASCAL. Representatives of the West African Economic Community (ECOWAS), government representatives of Germany, various Ambassadors in Ghana and the ten participating West African countries, as well as partners from universities and research institutions attended the ceremony.

The move to the new WASCAL building and the inauguration of the headquarters on March 27, in Accra mark important steps in establishing WASCAL as a regional and international institution in the long run. As an additional cause for celebration, the first ten students of the WASCAL Doctoral Program received their graduation certificates. Coming from different WASCAL countries, the students graduated from the Doctoral Program “West African Climate System” located at the Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA), Nigeria, where they worked on such topics as micrometeorology, climate modeling, impact studies in hydrology and agriculture, rainfall onset and secession, extreme events such as droughts as well as rainfall recovery over West Africa. Dr. Laurent Sédogo, the Executive Director of WASCAL, acknowledged the ten graduates as the first doctoral students to graduate from the WASCAL Doctoral Program. Ten more doctoral students from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi, Ghana will defend their thesis in the coming weeks adding up to a total of 98 PhD and 40 MSc Students that will be graduating by the end of the year 2015.

At the inauguration ceremony for the new headquarters the international organization was honored by high-ranking guests from all WASCAL countries and Germany. Honourable Elvis Afriyie-Ankrah, the Minister of State of Ghana, who presented a speech on behalf of the Vice President, Mr. Kwesi Amissah-Arthur, described WASCAL as a very important developmental tool through which science and education could interface to find appropriate responses to the phenomenon of climate change and its attendant adverse effects on the livelihood of people. „For the millions of people and the subregion, WASCAL is a source of hope that our environment
can be managed in a sustainable manner to ensure the future and the generations yet unborn“, he further emphasized and stressed that climate change is a threat to the basic foundation of the lives of the people of West Africa as about 80 per cent depend on agriculture. Similarly, the use of natural resources for their livelihood and agriculture contribute about 50 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of most countries in the region. He commended the German government for the support it continues to give WASCAL and further gave assurances that Ghana would continue to support WASCAL to ensure that the ECOWAS region collectively
benefited from its work.

The milestone that was achieved with the commission of the WASCAL headquarters in enhancing the visibility of science in West Africa was welcomed by Mr. Wilfried Kraus. The BMBF’s representative further expressed that WASCAL’s continued efforts will strengthen the long-lasting cooperation between African and German universities and research institutions, support working and career options for scientists in Africa, and strengthen the capabilities of the scientists and organizations in Africa to manage and to implement knowledge for their own objective over time.

The Federal University of Technology, Akure has produced its first set of Doctoral graduates under the West African Science Service Centre on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (WASCAL) Graduate Research Program in West African Climate System (GRP-WACS). Speaking at the passing out ceremony of ten Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) graduands Monday, March 23rd 2015, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Adebiyi Daramola expressed excitement at the initiative’s commitment to the advancement of Climate Science in West Africa and the development of the manpower needed to address climate change that particularly threatens the sub-region. He expressed appreciation to the German government for establishing the GRP-WACS Centre in Nigeria which is one of the six in operation across West African Universities.
Daramola highlighted with satisfaction FUTA’s trailblazing role in the production of PhD graduands. He said FUTA enjoyed the unique privilege of being the only University in West Africa offering full degree programmes in Meteorology, both at undergraduate and postgraduate levels from 1984 until recently when it was joined by Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, Ghana and Universite Cheikh Anta Diop, Dakar, Senegal.
The Vice-Chancellor noted that the passing out ceremony reminds the system that it owes the future of the environment to the men and women who are well-trained and equipped to ask questions and provide answers to the many Climate Change challenges for decades to come, pointing out that FUTA already serves as the University component of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Regional Meteorological Training Centre (RMTC) of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency. He said “today we send the first ten PhD candidates produced by the WASCAL programme into the world to be teachers, climate scientists, planners and possibly revolutionaries ready to tackle issues of deficient rainfall, floods, drought, food security, environmental management, climate modeling and prediction as well as climate change adaptation and mitigation. We must continue to provide necessary funds to attract and support many more of such talented students in order to ensure the fullest development of their capacities in a rapidly changing world”.

He congratulated the graduands on what he termed laudable achievement in preparation for their contribution to solving the myriads of environmental challenges facing the region and commended their hard work, patience, endurance and dedication which he attributed to their success. He wished them the best in future endeavours and charged them to be ambassadors of WASCAL and FUTA.

Earlier, the Honourable Minister of Environment, Mrs. Laurentia Laraba Mallam who was represented by a Director in the Ministry, Mr. Paul Tafa congratulated the University Management on the timely completion of the first circle of the programme which she attributed to the dedication and commitment to duty of the WASCAL Centre alongside the cooperation and encouragement from the University authority and the community as a whole.

The Minister who traced the establishment of the WASCAL GRP-WACS Centre, in West Africa (FUTA) from 2009 explained that the lack of adequate, reliable and verifiable scientific research findings, data and information on Climate Change in Africa and indeed in Nigeria had continued to be a major challenge against effective policies and actions to combat climate change, hence the Centre which is aimed at engaging in research with Africa to develop excellence as well as build Institutions and capacities. She said “it is for this reason and considering Nigeria’s existing facilities, vast manpower and resources that will put the Centre in good stead to effectively deliver on its goals that the Nigerian government vigorously pursued the opportunity provided by the German government’s initiative which led to the establishment of the Centre in FUTA”.

The Minister who expressed gratitude to the German government for the laudable initiative highlighted socio-economic implications, added benefit to the nation’s research potential, proximal benefit to research Institutions and the opportunity for the nation to drive the process as benefits to Nigeria for hosting one as WASCAL’s Centres, adding that the graduation is the beginning of such benefits.

She noted that the best gift any country could give another was the tool to enhance its ability to tackle challenges and chart a well-defined course for its people to attain their full potential and share knowledge through quality research and education. She explained that the Federal Ministry of Environment built on the WASCAL initiative to further enhance the Centre’s data management by installing a state-of-the-art High Performance Computing (HPC) System at FUTA WASCAL Centre and also undertook a training on “Establishing and Use of the E-infrastructure for Climate Change Data and Information Management System in Nigeria” between 5th August and 30th September, 2014 towards better policy formulation and implementation.

She therefore urged the University Management and the Centre to explore options of availing wider spectrum of stakeholders the services of the centre and the climate information for use in research and other socio-economic sectors of the nation. She assured the Centre and the University as a whole of government’s support in sustaining the beneficial initiative in fulfilling its obligations under the WASCAL cooperative agreement and to also support and partner the Centre to initiate, plan and finance training activities that will showcase the importance and practical use of climate information. She congratulated the graduands and called on them to use the knowledge acquired effectively in their respective countries and beyond.

Dr. Laurent Sedogo, the Executive Director, WASCAL who was represented by the Director, Department of Graduate Studies, Dr. Mamadou Ouattara said the graduation was a landmark for both WASCAL and FUTA. He praised the exemplary collaboration received from the Vice-Chancellor and Management teams of FUTA WASCAL had worked with. He said “the commitment and efficient conduct of the Programme’s activities by your team and the support provided by your colleagues in other Universities of Nigeria, of West African Countries, Germany, South Africa, United States of America and so on have allowed reaching the results we are celebrating today”.

The Executive Director explained that WASCAL is an ambitious initiative owned by ten African Countries of the ECOWAS region, Nigeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo, strongly supported by the Federal Government of Germany to carry out research intended to provide science-based advice to policymakers and stakeholders on Climate Change impacts, mitigation and adaptation measures. Expressing joy over the success of the graduands, he told them to be aware that they are the first tangible and probably the most important products of WASCAL. He urged them to always represent a unique and important investment that the West African region can count on; reminding them of the uniqueness of the training they had received.

He promised WASCAL and FUTA’s continued support for the graduands in order to successfully play their roles in the society, asking them to keep in mind the necessity to cherish and maintain the relations established during their studies at the Centre.

The Chairman, WASCAL International Board, Professor Haidara who couldn’t hide his excitement on the production of PhD graduands under the initiative in the region expressed gratitude over the excellent collaboration between WASCAL and FUTA and hoped that the partnership would continue.

Addressing the gathering, the Director, WASCAL, FUTA, Professor Jerome Omotosho described the occasion as unique. He reiterated that it was the first of its kind in FUTA, Nigeria and West African as a region. He noted with pride that FUTA was the first University in the region to receive the privilege to host WASCAL PhD programme in Climate System. He thanked the immediate past Professor Adebisi Balogun led-administration for keying into the initiative that has become a reference point for FUTA. He expressed gratitude to God and the German government for the success of the programme in FUTA thus far and commended the Vice-Chancellor for the special attention and encouragement the Centre had enjoyed from him and his administration.

Delivering his goodwill message, the Director General, Nigerian Meteorological Agency, Dr. Anthony Anuforom described the event as another major achievement in the training of Meteorologists in the sub-region. He said FUTA set the pace in the establishment of a department of Meteorology and today West Africa is getting to its climax on its account. He noted that almost all meteorologists in the region are products of FUTA and are excelling in their chosen field. He thanked the University Management for providing a conducive learning environment and pledged his continued support for FUTA while congratulating the graduands. The Director General was represented by Mr. Ifeanyi Nnodu, Director, Nigerian Meteorological Agency,

Charging the graduands to be conscious of their training as solution providers on climate change which he tagged a global phenomenon, the immediate past Vice-Chancellor, FUTA, Professor Adebisi Balogun urged them to see themselves as global graduates and not restrain themselves to the region. He enjoined them to make the best of the opportunity given to change the region with the acquired knowledge and congratulated them for coming, seeing and conquering.

The representative of the Vice-Chancellor, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Dr. Appollonia Okhimamhe also noted that FUTA had proven that Nigeria has what it takes to move the region forward.

The graduands who are citizens of West African countries are:
S/N NAME GENDER COUNTRY
1. AKINSEYE, Folorunsho Mathew M Nigeria
2. ANNOR, Thompson M Ghana
3. AWOTUSE, Ayoola Olamitomi F Nigeria
4. BAMBA, Adama M Cote d’ivoire
5. DIASSO, Ulrich Jacques M Burkina Faso
6. QUANSAH, Emmanuel M Ghana
7. MOUNKAILA SALEY, Moussa M Niger
8. NIANG, Coumba F Senegal
9. SANOGO, Souleymane M Mali
10. TOURE, N’Datchoh Evelyne F Cote d’ivoire

The workshop was organized around four main themes and aimed to give greater visibility to research activities of WASCAL in Benin and to stimulate discussions and exchange among researchers, local communities and authorities on strategies of resilience to environmental and climate changes.

The four themes of the workshop were:

Challenges of field research in the study of populations and environmental and climate change
Collected data documentary relationship on environmental/climate change and population dynamics in northern Benin
Rural resilience to Climate Change in the northern Benin
Local resilience actions versus interim results Restitution

Chaired by the representative of the municipality of Matéri, the workshop was opened by Adolphe Sétondji Avocanh, Coordinator of the Dassari Watershed. During his welcome speech he stressed the importance of a constructive exchange on climate change effects, population dynamics and the impact of these changes on existing natural resources. He further presented WASCAL and its objectives, its centers of interests and the role of the involved stakeholders.

Papa Sow (WASCAL, ZEF), who initiated the workshop, emphazised the importance of exchange between all invited actors for a better understanding of climate change and its impacts on natural resources in the region. He further outlied the workshop objectives and presented his research on climate change and population dynamics, where he and his team focus on social aspects of climate change with a perspective from the social sciences to find solution-oriented approaches to adverse effects related to climate and extreme natural events.

The workshop offered an opportunity to present and discuss the interim research results with the participants and to submit the interim results to critical examination. The participants gave valuable feedback and supported the research with additional information. After two days of debate the discussions among participants of the workshop diverged on to the possibility of an institutional partnership, writing scientific research projects under the umbrella of WASCAL and future collaborations between scientists, local populations and policy makers.

Organization Committee

Adolphe Sétondji Avocanh, WASCAL Coordination Unit of the Dassari watershed in Tanguiéta.
Email: a.avocanh(at)yahoo.fr
Phones: 0022995151808 / 00229-97540798/ 00229-90987818

Jane Maureen Ngonjock
Email: janescorpy(at)gmail.com

Yasmina Adebi, Téléphone: 0022997160464
Email: yadebi(at)yahoo.fr

Scientific Committee

Papa Sow, Researcher, Center for Development Research, University of Bonn (Germany)
Boubacar Barry, Director of the WASCAL Competence Center, Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso)
William Fonta, Researcher WASCAL Competence Center Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso)
Karen Greenough, Researcher WASCAL Competence Center Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso)
Daniel Callo-Concha, Researcher, Center for Development Research, University of Bonn (Germany)
Kiansi Yantibossi, Executive Secretary U-AVIGREF
N´Sera Midama Parfait, Head of Ecology Service, Pendjari National Park

For further information, please download the flyer or the program in English or French:

Download program in English
Download Flyer in English

Download program in French
Download Flyer in French

Le CCAFS Afrique de l’Ouest participe activement à la création de nouvelles compétences et expertises en Changement climatique en contribuant à la formation des étudiants ouest-africains en master et PhD

Le changement climatique constitue aujourd’hui l’une des plus graves menaces de notre époque. Ce phénomène est à la base de l’augmentation de la fréquence et de l’intensité des inondations, des sécheresses et des cyclones.

En Afrique de l’Ouest, on assiste à une baisse significative des récoltes, des pénuries d’eau, des crises sanitaires accrues avec pour conséquence une insécurité alimentaire croissante.

Afin de développer des technologies, pratiques, approches, outils d’adaptation pour atténuer ces changements climatiques, il faut se baser sur des connaissances et informations scientifiques qui malheureusement font souvent défaut en Afrique de l’Ouest. Il faut donc des compétences en qualité et en quantité dans le domaine pour générer, partager, former et permettre leur utilisation de manière efficiente. Pour ce faire, il est plus que nécessaire de renforcer les capacités existantes mais aussi et surtout de développer de nouvelles compétences et expertises sur la science du climat en lien avec tous les secteurs, notamment ceux de l’agriculture et de la sécurité alimentaire.
Créer une nouvelle expertise en Changement climatique en Afrique de l’Ouest

Une autre façon de contribuer à la lutte contre le Changement climatique est de former une expertise capable de prendre les choses en main et de proposer de nouvelles alternatives. Convaincu de cela, le CCAFS Afrique de l’Ouest apporte régulièrement sa contribution à la formation des étudiants de divers programmes universitaires.

C’est ainsi que le chef de programme du CCAFS Afrique de l’Ouest, le Dr Robert Zougmoré a donné un cours de 30 heures sur « Agriculture intelligente face au climat : une approche pour renforcer la capacité d’adaptation des systèmes de production agricole » à 23 étudiants de divers pays africains inscrits en Mastère Changement Climatique et Développement Durable du Centre régional AGRHYMET.

Il a également donné une conférence sur « L’agriculture intelligente face au climat: Actions pour réduire la vulnérabilité de l’agriculture au changement climatique ». Au sommaire de la conférence ; les défis majeurs pour l’Afrique de l’Ouest, les scenarios futurs, les éventuelles solutions pour les petits producteurs ouest-africains et des cas de succès d’Agriculture intelligente face au climat.

Cette conférence a été organisée par le Centre Régional AGRHYMET en collaboration avec le Programme Alliance Mondiale contre le Changement Climatique (AMCC).

En plus du personnel et des étudiants du Centre Régional AGRHYMET, cette conférence a connu la participation d’une cinquantaine de personnes, dont des invités de l’Ambassade de France, de l’ICRISAT, de l’Université Abdou Moumouni et de l’ONG Karkara, etc.

Puis ce fut le tour des étudiants en master changement climatique et énergie du programme WASCAL hébergé par la Faculté des sciences et techniques de l’Université Abdou Moumouni de Niamey. Là ce fut 10 étudiants venant de dix pays de la CEDEAO qui ont pendant une semaine, reçu le cours en anglais sur le changement climatique et l’agriculture (Climate-Smart Agriculture: an approach to strengthen the adaptive capacity of agricultural production systems).
Ce n’était pas un événement isolé puisque c’est la deuxième fois que le chef de programme du CCAFS Afrique de l’Ouest contribue à la formation des étudiants du programme WASCAL (West African Science Service Center on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use). Il a donné en effet un cours en 2013 sur le changement climatique et l’agriculture et un autre sur les flux d’énergie dans les systèmes de production agricole (Energetics of Production Systems (Energy Flows) visant à renforcer l’expertise de 10 étudiants en PhD du programme WASCAL coordonné par l’IPR/IFRA (Mali) et l’Université Cape Coast (Ghana)

En fait le CCAFS Afrique de l’Ouest et WASCAL développent un partenariat fructueux à travers lequel les deux programmes collaborent pour mener des recherches sur le climat, le renforcement des capacités et le partage des données et des informations scientifiques sur la question du changement climatique dans l’agriculture.

Par conséquent, les deux programmes ont décidé d’utiliser les sites de recherche du CCAFS pour mener des recherches et des études par les étudiants WASCAL, de renforcer l’expertise existante du CCAFS pour élaborer des programmes de l’université pour les divers programmes de maîtrise et de thèses.

Certains des étudiants mènent leur travail de terrain sur les sites du CCAFS comme c’est le cas de Siaka Dembélé, un étudiant doctorant de WASCAL dont le thème porte sur “Le développement de technologies de production pour des conditions de sécheresse : le cas du sorgho” à Cinzana, le site CCAFS au Mali.

Autant de plateformes pour former les étudiants et en faire des spécialistes avertis.

Il faut également tenir compte des aspects sur l’importance du développement de capacités et d’expertise en changement climatique pour bien de domaines dans les pays : mainstreaming du changement climatique dans les stratégies et plans de développement agricoles, développement d’outils et de technologies d’adaptation efficaces aussi bien pour le court, moyen et long termes, génération de connaissances et informations scientifiques devant soutenir des prises de décision bien informées, réalisation de simulations et de scénarios pouvant aider dans la prévention et la gestion des risques et des catastrophes liées à la variabilité et au changement climatique, etc.

Robert Zougmoré est le chef du programme CCAFS pour l’Afrique de l’Ouest

Sékou Touré est Chargé de communication pour le programme CCAFS Afrique de l’Ouest