Tackling climate change impacts and ensuring sustainable development requires effective partnerships among researchers, policymakers, development partners and local communities to translate scientific knowledge into practical interventions to improve livelihood and resilience.
The Director of West African Centre for Water, Irrigation and Sustainable Agriculture at the University for Development Studies (WACWISA-UDS), Prof. Felix Kofi Abagale, also said that sustainable water management, climate resilience and clean energy systems were critical to agricultural productivity, hydropower generation and economic growth across the continent.
He added that innovation, research-driven solutions and partnerships would address growing water resource and climate change challenges confronting the country.
The director was speaking at the fifth IRAD International conference at the Nyankpala Campus of the UDS.
In attendance were researchers, policymakers, students and development practitioners who would deliberate on water resources, climate resilience and sustainable systems.
The conference, which is on the theme: “Water resources, climate change resilience and sustainable systems”, seeks to promote knowledge sharing, foster partnerships, and develop practical solutions to water and climate challenges facing Ghana and Africa.
Among topics being discussed are resource economics and governance, renewable and green energy systems, climate-resilient infrastructure, climate change and sustainable water resource management and water-energy-food systems nexus.
Significance
Prof. Abagale said that this year’s conference received more than 85 scientific abstracts from 16 countries, representing a significant increase from the previous edition, underscoring the conference’s growing importance as a platform for research collaboration and innovation.
He added that WACWISA had trained over 142 master’s and PhD students from 26 African countries, as well as more than 1,000 professionals through short courses and strengthening of capacity in water and climate research across the continent.
The director said the centre had also conducted many groundbreaking research projects, which were contributing to the development of the country and Africa at large.
Impact
The Minister of Energy and Green Transition, John Abdulai Jinapor, said that although Africa contributed only about two to three per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, the continent remained the most vulnerable to climate change impacts due to low adaptive capacity.
He said nearly 70 per cent of Africa’s population depended on agriculture, with about 90 per cent relying on rain-fed farming, making livelihoods highly susceptible to climate variability.
The minister urged participants to ensure that research outcomes are translated into practical interventions, emphasising the importance of the energy-water-food nexus in strengthening climate resilience.
He also announced that the government planned to install solar-powered water pumps along the Black Volta River to support irrigation and food security.
Rainfall pattern
In a speech read on his behalf, the Northern Regional Minister, Adolf Ali John, said climate change continued to alter rainfall patterns in Northern Ghana, resulting in prolonged droughts, flash floods and declining agricultural productivity, thereby increasing the vulnerability of smallholder farmers who depended largely on rain-fed agriculture.
He said sustainable water management remained central to achieving food security, energy security, public health and environmental protection.
The minister further emphasised the need to expand irrigation infrastructure, promote rainwater harvesting, restore degraded watersheds and adopt climate-resilient agricultural practices to safeguard rural livelihoods and strengthen resilience in vulnerable communities.
For his part, the Principal of the Nyankpala Campus of UDS, Prof. Mohamed Muniru Iddrisu, added that climate change was redefining the hydrological cycle in northern Ghana, affecting rainfall patterns, water availability and agricultural productivity.
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