WASCAL A DECADE- CELEBRATING 10 YEARS OF PROVIDING CLIMATE CHANGE AND GREEN HYDROGEN SOLUTIONS IN WEST AFRICA

Accra, Ghana– A West African Centre of Excellence in Climate Change and Green Hydrogen, WASCAL, is delighted to announce the celebration of its the 10^th anniversary and to showcase its achievements to its West African and global partners.

In a statement issued by Prof. Mouhamadou Hassirou, the Chairman of the Governing Board of WASCAL, he articulated the strides and enormous contributions the organization has made since its inception.

“The last 10 years has presented a lot of reasons to be thankful for. Our mandate as a West African Centre of Excellence in combating climate change, land use and promoting sustainable green hydrogen has progressed across the various pillars on which we operate, including, the provision of climate services, research, and capacity building. Our presence in West Africa, and particularly working with governments and policy makers, has accelerated our climate action for sustainable development in the sub-region. Today, the WASCAL brand has become synonymous to climate change and renewable energy within the sub-region, and beyond. The writings of our successes are boldly written on the walls as a leading actor in combating climate change and improving livelihoods, thanks to the government of Germany through the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), for their financial and technical support since the inception of this organization”. He said.

Since its establishment in 2012, WASCAL has drawn its strength from the members, comprising of eleven West African countries, and its German partners to pursue its vision of becoming one of Africa’s leading science-based institutions in the provision of climate services in and for West Africa. This, it has done successfully by the providing information and knowledge at the local, national, and regional levels to its West African member countries to cope with the adverse impacts of climate change and devise integrated mid and long-term options to build up resilient and productive socio-ecological landscapes, through its three main arms: climate change and environmental services, capacity building and renewable energy projects.

WASCAL’s Competence Centre based in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso serves as a reference point for climate change research, climate and environmental services provision. The centre has significantly improved the climate change research infrastructure and capacity, formulated, and carried out demand-driven research with development-oriented outcomes and generated sound, evidence-based knowledge across the sub-region. It has also donated and fixed ultra-modern Automatic Weather Stations and automatic hydrological sensors with governments of West Africa to enable then operate a more contemporary weather forecasting.

In terms of Capacity Building, the organization has provided full scholarships to 595 West African students at the master’s and doctoral levels through its Graduate Studies Programme, which consists of ten (10) Doctoral and two (2) Master’s programmes in Climate Change, and four (4) International Master’s Programme in Energy and Green Hydrogen (IMP-EGH).

WASCAL has been guided by the use of unique approach in tackling climate change and promoting renewable energies, using transgenerational approach, driven by sustainability and long-term solutions

To mark the decade of Climate Change and renewable energy excellence, series of activities have been earmarked across the national, regional international levels to engage all partners and stakeholders to celebrate the milestone

“We are proud of what we have achieved as an organization, with the contributions of our various partners in the region and internationally, mark a decade of great stories of sustainable development, improving livelihoods and promoting a green future. We are confident of the next decade as we anticipate greater milestones and accomplishments. Our partnerships with regional and international institutions and platforms and with other over the years go a long to deepen the depth of our contributions to climate change and green hydrogen in Africa. While celebrating the successes, we are also guided by the challenges that we are faced along the way, and we are even more determined to traverse the road to the next decade stronger We believe that success is not an event. It is a journey, and we shall continue to traverse the road towards our destination of combating climate change, improving livelihoods and promoting green future”. He concluded.

ABOUT WASCAL

WASCAL is a wholly West African international organization with focus on academic and transdisciplinary research, building graduate-level scientific capacity and serving policy makers in West Africa with science-based advice on adaptation to climate change impacts and land use management. It cooperates with many agencies and universities in the region, providing a knowledge platform of excellence for its partners.

WASCAL is funded by BMBF, multilateral and bilateral partners and its 11 West African member countries, namely: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, The Gambia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal and Togo. WASCAL’s mission is to provide information and knowledge services at the local, national and regional levels to West African member countries to cope with the adverse impacts of climate change. We do this through capacity building support to young West African scholars in fields of climate, natural and social sciences and by delivering climate and environmental services in member countries.

WASCAL was established to fill the gaps within the scientific capacities of West Africa in Climate and e-Services under the umbrella of ECOWAS and in the framework of the international commitment through the UNFCCC and the Sustainable Development Goals. It is a large-scale research-focused climate service provider, and capacity building institution mandated to enhance the resilience of human and environmental systems to Climate Change and increased variability.