By Dennis Peprah
Fiapre (B/R), July 17, GNA – University students have been urged to leverage technology to do vigorous research on climate change to help enhance the nation’s adaptability, build and strengthen resilience to mitigate its impacts in society.
Dr Mary Antwi, a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Environmental Management of the University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR) who gave the advice, called on the government to be committed to providing funding to support research works.
She noted though the nation was doing well in climate change adaptation and mitigation, the changing trends and unpredicted weather patterns, extreme heat, and other adverse effects of climate change on the nation required more research work to improve adaptability.
Dr Antwi gave the advice at a student forum on climate change, causes, effects and adaptation and mitigation actions held at Fiapre, near Sunyani.
The Students Movement for Climate Resilient Environment (SMOVCARE), a climate change advocacy group at the UENR with support from the Global Green Grant Fund organised the forum to sensitize the more than 500 student participants on climate change, effects and mitigation and adaptation actions.
Dr Antwi highlighted the role of students towards building a sustainable environment and asked them to make productive use of the internet and conduct more research into climate change adaptability.
She regretted that despite the effects and impact of climate change being felt in parts of the country, human-induced causes of climate change remained heavy.
She advised the students to also serve as advocates against indiscriminate felling of trees and burning of fossil fuel.
“Let’s leverage on technology and improve research to help farmers with early warning systems and harvesting periods, and how they can manage harvested crops, build, restore and preserve the eco-system as wetland protection,” she told the students.
Dr Antwi said if more were not done to mitigate the impact, climate change could affect national food productivity and supply, extinct indigenous species and further contribute to the invasion of unfamiliar pests and insects.
“The invasion of the fall armyworm in parts of the country are all the effects of climate change and we must all contribute our quota and help the nation improve climate change mitigation actions and adaptation,” she said.
Dr David Adu-Poku, a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Chemical Sciences, UENR, also highlighted some causes and adverse effects of climate change and global warming and advised the students to avoid behaviours that destroyed the environment.
He said it remained imperative for the students to serve as advocates and help change people’s bad attitudes towards the environment for the nation to build a climate-resilient environment to mitigate climate change impact in the country.
Earlier in a welcoming address, Bismark Nkrumah, the leader of SMOVCARE said the movement worked to mobilise students to champion the cause of climate change and mitigate its impact on society.
GNA