By Benjamin A. Commey
Accra, Oct 16, GNA – Professor Kehinde Ogunjobi, Director of Research at the West African Science Service Centre on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (WASCAL), has urged African governments to increase investments in climate research.
He emphasised that such investments are crucial for the continent to effectively adapt to climate change and foster resilient development across Africa.
Prof. Ogunjobi made this call during an interview with the media at the opening of a three-day final technical workshop on the WASCAL Research Action Plan (WRAP 2.0) in Accra on Tuesday.
WRAP 2.0 is a three-year climate change project aimed at delivering demand-driven climate and environmental services.
It focuses on formulating and executing research that leads to development-oriented outcomes, generating sound, evidence-based knowledge, and creating tools, including software, to support informed decision-making.
The project seeks to provide policy information and support for developing climate and environmental risk management strategies, building resilient socio-ecological landscapes, and achieving sustainable agricultural production and food security.
WRAP 2.0, conducted from April 2021 to April 2024, concentrated on five thematic areas: land use and land degradation, risk and vulnerability to climate extremes, rural-urban and cross-border migration, sustainable agriculture and climate-smart landscapes, and renewable energy.
The project was funded by the German Federal Ministry of Higher Education (BMBF) at a cost of €3.5 million.
The workshop aimed to evaluate the achievements of projects under the WRAP 2.0 Action Plan, discuss their integration into WASCAL’s climate and environmental services, and highlight benefits for stakeholders in West Africa.
It also provided a platform for multidisciplinary interaction among project scientists, including those from WASCAL Competence Centres, to build resilience in the region.
Participants showcased research and innovation products developed from various projects, fostering knowledge and information sharing. The event attracted representatives from WASCAL member countries, including Ghana, Benin, Nigeria, Gambia, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Togo.
Prof. Ogunjobi said building resilience against climate change and mitigating its impact on communities in Africa required extensive research to enable countries to develop strong systems, such as early warning systems for flood and drought and climate change-resistant crops.
“Research is very important for us to build resilience against climate change. We must continue to fund research, our countries must continue to fund research, we must continue to build capacity,” he emphasised.
Prof. Ogunjobi praised the project’s success, stressing that it had facilitated the development of an early warning system aimed at mitigating the impacts of floods and droughts in the region.
“One of the things we have been able to do is to be able to simulate and predict some onset and succession date for the region, length of growing period for some crops, we have been able to look at the effect of greenhouse gases from rice production,” he said.
Prof. Ogunjobi underscored the importance of active citizen participation in efforts to combat climate change, stressing that community involvement was crucial for effective adaptation and resilience-building initiatives.
“We can’t continue to pollute, we can’t continue to degrade by cutting down the forest, we can’t continue not to manage our water bodies very well, we can’t continue to block our drains or build on the channels,” he said.
Prof. Emmanuel Ramde, Executive Director, WASCAL, stressed the need for stakeholders, such as the Environmental Protection Agency and the Ghana Meteorological Agency, to collaborate to put the findings of the Action Plan to effective use for the benefit of all.
“Let us work together to turn the results of WRAP 2.0 into practical, policy-relevant solutions that address the real challenges our people face. The seeds of knowledge have been planted; now is the time for us to nurture them into action,” he urged.
Prof. Ramde also urged member states to build on the success of WRAP 2.0 and undertake more ambitious projects that mitigated climate change and promoted sustainable development in the sub-region.
Ms Sivine Jansen, Deputy German Ambassador to Ghana, stressed on the need for countries to focus on adaptation, indicating that that was key in mitigating the impact of climate change.
Mrs. Pia Seidel, a representative from the Global Change, Climate Research, BMBF, called for continuous science-based research to achieve a sustainable future.
GNA