WASCAL has pledged its commitment towards the fight against climate change by bridging climate change and water related needs with potential innovative solutions in Africa.

In a three-day launch conference with partners from across Africa and Europe at the AfriAlliance Launch Conference 2017 which took place in Ekurhuleni, South Africa, Dr. Barry Boubacar of WASCAL showcased the key milestones of WASCAL in bridging the climate change and water related needs through its innovative research efforts and capacity building programmes.

WASCAL, in partnership with the University Abomey Calavi in Benin, continues to increase capacity building for water resource scientists and policy makers in West Africa through its Doctoral Programme in Climate Change and Water Resources through the support of the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).

The AfriAlliance is a 5year project funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovative programme. It facilitates the collaboration of African and European stakeholders in the areas of climate change innovation, research, policy and capacity development by supporting effective means of knowledge sharing and technology transfer

The Launch Conference was the inaugural meeting of the AfriAlliance innovation alliance, of which WASCAL is amongst the consortium partners, together with other institutions such as UNESCO, Waternet, University of Twente and Global Water Partnerships.

German and African scientists have developed a system that uses mobile communications to bring up-to-date and accurate weather forecasts to farmers all over Burkina Faso.

http://www.dw.com/en/searching-for-rain-in-burkina-faso/av-38204367

A fundamental goal of WASCAL is the improvement of West African livelihoods by supporting research, capacity building and decision making with cutting-edge knowledge on climate change and adapted land use. Consequently, many research and services provision activities of WASCAL focus on the development, extension and validation of research-based methods, technologies and adaptation options in the field of hydrology, meteorology, agriculture, biodiversity, remote sensing, and climate modelling amongst others.

In light of the consolidation phase of the core research programme (CRP), the WASCAL Competence Centre in Burkina Faso (WASCAL CoC) is jointly organising a hydro-climate & remote sensing training course in partnership with its German partners KIT/IMK-IFU, University of Augsburg, DLR and DKRZ.

WHO CAN ATTEND?

WASCAL students and scientists but also up to 10 additional seats are available for other students and early career scientists working in the field of meteorology, hydrology and remote sensing.

SESSIONS & FACILITATORS:

· SESSION I- Climate and Eddy-covariance stations of the Core Research Program: Specifications, data availability & maintenance (Berger S, Salack S)

· SESSION II- Station-based precipitation database, related gridded datasets and their retrieval from WADI (Bliefernicht J, Salack S)

· SESSION III- Introduction to algorithms to retrieve precipitation information from commercial microwave link: Fundamentals, data acquisition system & algorithms (Boose Y)

· SESSION IV- Remote sensing: Selected methods and tools for derivation of land surface characteristics for West Africa, and introduction of WASCAL-EUMETCAST antenna (Gessner U, Forkuor G)

· SESSION V- Climate model data and metadata: planting, growing and harvesting in the WASCAL Data Discovery and CERA/WDCC Portals (Hamann I)

· SESSION VI- Regionally adapted and fully coupled Regional Climate Model simulations (WRF, WRF-HYDRO description, data needs, case studies) (Kunstmann H)

SESSION VII- An analysis of high resolution regional climate simulation results and its retrieval from WADI (Olusegun C)
SESSION VIII- Fundamental objectives and principles of RCM bias correction (Laux P, Lorenz M)

TRAINING COST

The training course is free. Funding for the course covers only training, coffee breaks and lunch for participants. Therefore, every participant is expected to bear the cost of his/her transportation, breakfast, dinner and accommodation.

OTHER CONDITIONS FOR APPLICANTS

Beside WINDOWS operating system, the potential participants must also be familiar with Linux/Unix operating system. Having a basic programming skill is an advantage (e.g. MATLAB, FORTRAN, PYTHON, bash scripting, etc.). To participate, please send a motivation letter and an updated curriculum vitae (1 page max.) to sylla.b(at)wascal.org and cc to salack.s(at)wascal.org with the subject line “CoC March training” before 28th of February 2017, 16h30 GMT.

During the coffee and lunch breaks there will be time for poster presentations and scientific discussions. The participants should therefore prepare and bring a poster to the training course showing their current research.

DATE & VENUE

The training sessions will be held from 14th to 21st of March 2017 in the Conference room of WASCAL Competence Centre, Blvd Moammar El-Khadafi, 06 BP 9507 Ouagadougou 06, Burkina Faso. The language of instruction will be English.

CONTACT

For more information please contact commey.n(at)wascal.org

2017-03-14 – 08:00h to 2017-03-21 – 16:00h

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TRAINING OPPORTUNITY: HYDRO-CLIMATE AND REMOTE SENSING FOR WEST AFRICAN STUDENTS & EARLY CAREER SCIENTISTS

A fundamental goal of WASCAL is the improvement of West African livelihoods by supporting research, capacity building and decision making with cutting-edge knowledge on climate change and adapted land use. Consequently, many research and services provision activities of WASCAL focus on the development, extension and validation of research-based methods, technologies and adaptation options in the field of hydrology, meteorology, agriculture, biodiversity, remote sensing, and climate modelling amongst others.

In light of the consolidation phase of the core research programme (CRP), the WASCAL Competence Centre in Burkina Faso (WASCAL CoC) is jointly organising a hydro-climate & remote sensing training course in partnership with its German partners KIT/IMK-IFU, University of Augsburg, DLR and DKRZ.

WHO CAN ATTEND?

WASCAL students and scientists but also up to 10 additional seats are available for other students and early career scientists working in the field of meteorology, hydrology and remote sensing.

SESSIONS & FACILITATORS:

· SESSION I- Climate and Eddy-covariance stations of the Core Research Program: Specifications, data availability & maintenance (Berger S, Salack S)

· SESSION II- Station-based precipitation database, related gridded datasets and their retrieval from WADI (Bliefernicht J, Salack S)

· SESSION III- Introduction to algorithms to retrieve precipitation information from commercial microwave link: Fundamentals, data acquisition system & algorithms (Boose Y)

· SESSION IV- Remote sensing: Selected methods and tools for derivation of land surface characteristics for West Africa, and introduction of WASCAL-EUMETCAST antenna (Gessner U, Forkuor G)

· SESSION V- Climate model data and metadata: planting, growing and harvesting in the WASCAL Data Discovery and CERA/WDCC Portals (Hamann I)

· SESSION VI- Regionally adapted and fully coupled Regional Climate Model simulations (WRF, WRF-HYDRO description, data needs, case studies) (Kunstmann H)

SESSION VII- An analysis of high resolution regional climate simulation results and its retrieval from WADI (Olusegun C)
SESSION VIII- Fundamental objectives and principles of RCM bias correction (Laux P, Lorenz M)

TRAINING COST

The training course is free. Funding for the course covers only training, coffee breaks and lunch for participants. Therefore, every participant is expected to bear the cost of his/her transportation, breakfast, dinner and accommodation.

OTHER CONDITIONS FOR APPLICANTS

Beside WINDOWS operating system, the potential participants must also be familiar with Linux/Unix operating system. Having a basic programming skill is an advantage (e.g. MATLAB, FORTRAN, PYTHON, bash scripting, etc.). To participate, please send a motivation letter and an updated curriculum vitae (1 page max.) to sylla.b(at)wascal.org and cc to salack.s(at)wascal.org with the subject line “CoC March training” before 28th of February 2017, 16h30 GMT.

During the coffee and lunch breaks there will be time for poster presentations and scientific discussions. The participants should therefore prepare and bring a poster to the training course showing their current research.

DATE & VENUE

The training sessions will be held from 14th to 21st of March 2017 in the Conference room of WASCAL Competence Centre, Blvd Moammar El-Khadafi, 06 BP 9507 Ouagadougou 06, Burkina Faso. The language of instruction will be English.

CONTACT

For more information please contact commey.n(at)wascal.org

Two international research methodology workshop and networking sessions between WASCAL and Pan African University Institute of Water and Energy Studies from Algeria (PAUWES) are concurrently ongoing at the University Abomey-Calavi, Benin and University Abdou Moumouni de Niamey, Niger.

Forty (40) students have been drawn from eighteen (18) countries in West Africa, East Africa and North Africa to participate in the workshops which run from 27th February, till Sunday 12th of March, 2017. With focus on Climate Change and Energy in Niger, and Climate Change and Water Resources in Benin, the workshop is focused on enriching and extending the current curricula of WASCAL and Pan African University institute of Water and Energy Studies from Algeria on Climate Change related issues and providing a platform for students from WASCAL and PAUWES to interact and network on scientific issues.

In her opening remarks, Director of WASCAL’s Capacity Building Department, Professor Janet Adelegan was confident that by the end of the two sessions, both universities would have built strong ties, networked, and created lots of synergies in their quests to serve as the solution providers Africa has been looking for to tackle its numerous climate change problems in the areas of energy and water resources.

The workshop, will also increase the visibility of WASCAL as a climate change research and capacity building centre of excellence in West Africa, while building partnerships with new stakeholders.

At the end of the workshop, ten students will ultimately be selected to have a two-month intensive internship at WASACL’s Competence Centre in Burkina Faso, under the sponsorship of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, Germany (BMBF).

This is a collaborative programme between the Pan African University in Tlemcen, Algeria and WASCAL’s Masters Research Programme (MRP) Climate Change and Energy in Niamey, Niger and Graduate Research Programme (GRP), Climate Change and Water Resources in Abomey Calavi, Republic of Benin, with Lecturers drawn from across Western and Southern Africa.

As climate change brings with it increased extreme weather events, one of the pressing issues for Africa’s farmers will be how to address these challenges. One dimension to be factored in is that men and women farmers are responding to the pressures differently. The Conversation Africa’s Samantha Spooner asked Grace Villamor about her research on gender-specific responses by farmers in Benin.

How are extreme weather events affecting farmers in Benin?

Volatile climatic conditions and dwindling natural resources have been cited as the reason for persistent emigration from Benin to other West African countries.

The northern part of Benin, in particular, is highly vulnerable. Floods have become more intense and there have been more droughts as well as erratic rainfall patterns.

The impact of this has been evident. In 2013, the River Niger overflowed its banks and caused massive damage in the areas of Karimama and Malanville. The majority of the population in those areas are farmers and fishermen so families along the river lost crops, livestock and fishing grounds. Approximately 3,000 houses were destroyed, forcing more than 10,000 people to move and find shelter. According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the value of crop losses was estimated at $20 million.

Another study conducted in Tanguieta, north-west Benin, found that winds have become increasingly violent and are responsible for the destruction of crops. Farmers also told the researchers that they had suffered delayed rainy seasons and less rain. As a result, the FAO estimated cereal production in northern Benin to have declined by about 5% in 2014 over the previous year’s harvest.

How important is agriculture to Benin and the Beninois?

Benin is predominantly a rural society. About 80% of the country’s 10.9 million people earn a living from agriculture and the sector contributes 40% to the country’s GDP. Most agricultural production is based on subsistence farming and 93% of that goes into food production.

Women play a crucial role in this sector. About 70% of women live in rural areas where they are responsible for 60%–80% of agricultural work. They are more vulnerable to the impact of climate change than men because of their locally defined roles as wives and mothers, while they have limited access to natural resources and little voice in decision making.

Is there a difference between how male and female farmers are coping with extreme changes in weather patterns?

I did a study on gender-specific responses to climate variability in northern Benin. A total of 260 respondents – of which 197 were male and 63 were female – were surveyed using a semi-structured questionnaire. There were also role-playing games related to climate change adaptation that were conducted with men-only and women-only groups.

The questionnaire covered respondents’ socio-economic characteristics (such as income or occupation) and land-use preferences. It also included questions on decisions about farm and household-level adaptation strategies.

One of my key findings was that men and women are equally aware of climate variability and share similar coping strategies. For example they adopt new, improved crop varieties when possible.

But they differ in their specific land-use strategies such as crop expansion or intensification. They also differ in relation to preferences of crop types and motivations – if they are motivated to reduce household expenses or by income security.

For example, women chose to plant maize and rice to satisfy food consumption whereas men chose cotton for which they receive government subsidies. Women planted things which can be eaten, men planted things that earned them an immediate income. We believe these differences emanate from their specific gender productive and reproductive roles, norms and identity.

In terms of livestock, women view livestock animals (such as goats or cattle) as a source of investment capital to expand their farms. For their part men sell livestock and use the proceeds to emigrate from the area to find work elsewhere, particularly during extreme weather events.

In the long run, these differences could lead to differentiated vulnerabilities and challenges. For example, in areas where men migrated to non-farm jobs, women would bear the entire responsibility of cultivating the family plot. This would include post-harvest storage, processing of food products for household consumption and marketing agricultural products.

What can be done to help farmers cope?

Due to the increasing role of women in agriculture in Benin, agricultural extension services – such as new crop varieties resistant to drought – should target women. These services should also include access to climate and weather related information, credit and farming technology. However, because the majority of female farmers in rural areas do not have any formal education, extension services and the decision making process are currently always shared by men.

Adjustments such as knowing the best time to train the women and a solid means of communication are needed on the part of government and non-government projects or services to reach more women.