The United Kingdom Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (UKCEH), a research institute has opened its first international office in Accra to serve the West Africa sub-region.
The new office will see to the building of partnerships with stakeholders and deliver sustainable solutions to environmental and socio-economic developmental challenges facing countries in the sub-region.
It will provide the vital environmental science that governments, businesses, and researchers rely on to meetchallenges, contributing substantially to achieving UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Lord Cameron of Dillington, the Chair of the Board of Trustees of UKCEH and Madam Ophelia Mensah Hayford, the Minister of Environment, Science Technology and Innovation jointly cut a ribbon to signify the opening of the office.
Madam Hayford speaking at the event said one of the major responsibilities placed on all governments was to ensure sound environmental management practices and that called for sound research.
She explained that the establishment of the new centre was a great opportunity to collaborate to conduct more science and environmental research and provide tailored solutions to deal with challenges.
The mission of the UKCEH, she said, was in line with Ghana’s recently revised Science Technology and Innovation Policy and African Union Agenda 2063.
Mr Keith McMahon, the Deputy British High Commissioner, British High Commission recalled that last year the UK Ghana Science Technology and Innovation Strategy aimed to strengthen the partnership between the two countries in the areas of research, innovation, and technology transfer.
That he said, sought to leverage the strengths of both nations to address common challenges and promote sustainable development.
The Commissioner said the UKCEH was a world class research institution that had been at the forefront of environmental research in the last 50 years, helping countries to understand the natural world to inform policy.
He stated that the new office was a testament to the UK’s effort to expand national science partnerships internationally.
Professor Harry Dixon, Associate Director for International Research and Development at UKCEH, said the organisation had a track record of effective delivery, working with partners including cocoa farmers in Ghana, to develop an innovative mobile app to support ongoing productivity, climate change adaptation and long-term resilience.
“We are working with collaborators to measure greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across different landscapes in Southeast Liberia, setting a baseline for future work to mitigate GHG emissions”.
“Our research into Sahel storms is supporting the development of early warning systems and informing long-term climate adaptation planning, in partnership with meteorological services”.
Dr Stuart Wainwright, Chief Executive of UKCEH said for more than 30 years, UKCEH scientists have collaborated with a range of partners in West Africa, such as environmental policymakers, meteorological services, water management authorities, universities and conservation organisations, to jointly address the major environmental challenges in the region.
The opening of an office in West Africa , he noted, demonstrated the Centre’s commitment towards the region and its scientific communities, and assured to work together with stakeholders to tackle the major, complex environmental challenges that affect us all.
He stated that science needed international collaboration across boundaries more than it ever had in the past and expressed the hope that the office would be a hub of environmental science.
Professor Paul Bosu, the Director-General of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) said Ghana was facing challenges in its quest to explore its natural resources and the opening of the UKCEH office was timely to help deal with issues.
He assured of the support of all 13 institutes of the CSIR’s towards the achievement of the vision of the UKCEH office.
The UKCEH is a leading research institute employing over 500 of the world’s best environmental scientists.
Already, the UKCEH is working with scientists in West Africa to enhance monitoring of water resources, as well as improve flood and drought risk assessment and forecasting.
It is working with governments and environmental regulators to monitor metal pollution in watercourses, soil and food systems in mining areas.
The UKCEH is collaborating with the Ghanaian Government and United Nations to jointly develop a programme that maps biodiversity across the country.
