By Florence Afriyie Mensah
Fumesua (Ash), Oct 15, GNA – A total of 36 Ghanaians are expected to benefit from tailored master’s degree training programmes in either, wood science and technology, remote sensing/geomatics, or ecological studies in Canada.
This offer is part of the Canadian International Development Scholarships 2030 (BCDI 2030), a unique international development programme that harnesses higher education to strengthen social and economic development across 26 developing countries.
The BCDI 2030 is a grant awarded by Global Affairs Canada to Professor Mathew Leitch of Lakehead University’s Faculty of Natural Resources Management, for research he is conducting in Ghana on a project titled “Best Practices in Sustainable Natural Resources Management”.
The five-year $570,000 grant, which is expected to end in 2029, will be used to build capacities and educate the selected Ghanaians from academia, industry, and research.
Prof. Leitch, speaking at a press and partner institutions briefing at Fumesua near Kumasi, explained that in 2020, Lakehead University signed a memorandum of understanding with ten institutions in Ghana.
They are the Forestry Commission (FC), University of Ghana, University of Energy and Natural Resources, University of Cape Coast, University of Development Studies, KNUST, and CSIR-Forestry Research Institute (CSIR-FORIG).
The rest are Samartex Timber and Plywood, Charcoal Chamber of Commerce and CSIR College of Science and Technology.
Prof Leitch noted that technologies developed for landscape mapping were crucial to improve the lives of Ghanaians and the environment.
He said from previous meetings with the Forestry Commission, there were ways to team up to tackle issues including illegal mining using remote sensing combined with forestry, wood science for afforestation and reclamation.
“The Lakehead University do have technologies to help and assist fix these problems and affected sites by developing new greenhouses, we will also work in the tropical regions – use tropical plants in mining affected areas as well as tackling climate change by using carbon in the atmosphere to address these issues.
Lakehead prides itself in hands-on learning and I believe such practical approaches these Ghanaians receive will help sanitize the environment”, he explained.
Dr Beatrice Darko Obiri, Chief Research Scientist, CSIR-FORIG, indicated that the research institution’s responsibility as a partner was to create the conditions to enhance capacity for efficient development and application of knowledge as well as finding solutions relevant to Ghana’s natural resource management needs.
She said FORIG acknowledged the investment to strengthen the expertise that enabled research to inform policy and improve practice in sustainable use and efficient management of forestry and natural resources.
Madam Valerie Fumey Nassah, Director of Operations Plantation, Forest Services Division of the Forestry Commission, sees the project as one of the best ways to bridge the capacity building gap and be able to achieve the mandate of sustainable natural resource management.
She was particularly grateful to the Lakehead University for engaging one of the FC’s foresters on training in geographic information system whose expertise upon completion could go a long way in providing real time data in the forest reserves under management.
GNA
Edited by Kwabia Owusu-Mensah/Kenneth Odeng Adade
Reporter: Florence Afriyie Mensah
Email: [email protected]