In a bid to promote the uptake of research findings by relevant stakeholders, the Building Resilience of Lake Bosomtwe to Climate Change (RELAB) Project of UENR has partnered with two projects; VOLTRES (climate effects on lake Volta aquatic resources) and CLEAT (projections of climate effects on lake Tanganyika) under the funding of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark to hold a science engagement and Knowledge in action meeting in Kumasi where various research findings as well as strategies and challenges to promote uptake of research results by stakeholders were shared.
The meeting which was held under the theme: “Promoting Research Uptake to Enhance Climate Resilience and Sustainability of African Lake Ecosystems and their Fisheries”, from October 25 to 26, 2023, the meeting convened representatives from key stakeholder institutions to discuss and share their successes, failures, and challenges on uptake of results from the projects. It afforded participants to identify effective strategies for dissemination of key research findings to impact society.
Prof. Francis K. E. Nunoo, WP3 Lead, RELAB-UG
The Chairman for the meeting, Prof. Francis K. E. Nunoo of University of Ghana, Legon, and a member of the RELAB team remarked that using science-based knowledge to guide policy decisions and sustainable development is critical. Prof. Nunoo also noted that knowledge is very important and there is a need to keep adding on to the existing knowledge to avoid it being obsolete. He, thus, charged researchers to rise up to the task. He further reiterated that the three projects would add new ideas to existing knowledge in building resilience of aquatic ecosystems to climate change.
Dr. Peter Sanful-Project Lead, RELAB-UENR
Addressing the participants in the opening session, the Project Coordinator (PI) of the RELAB project, Dr. Peter Sanful acknowledged that the world is faced with a lot of climate change challenges, and it is required that researchers make maximum use of science-based knowledge to address these issues. He noted that the meeting was purposefully to bring research results to the end users and stakeholders to maximize its utilization and also to create network opportunities among the research community.
Dr. Peter Sanful gave an extensive presentation on the RELAB project highlighting the research problem, main objectives, methodology, key findings as well as the challenges, successes, and lessons learned. Notable amongst the findings was the arsenic level of the lake, which according to Dr. Sanful, was ten (10) times higher than the standard of the World Health Organization (WHO). This, therefore, calls for further research to probe into the impact of this poisonous chemical on fishes, vegetables farmed around the lake as well as the human beings living around the lake..
Dr. Sanful’s research also revealed that the mean daily air temperature of the lake had increased by 0.72°C over the years from 2005 to 2022 with a reduction of fish species. His findings also established an increase in farmland around the lake where this could be drawn from the fact that the fisherfolk were drifting from fishing to farming as an alternative source of livelihood due to low fish catches. To promote research uptake, Dr. Sanful emphasized that regular engagement with stakeholders on common interests is required.
Dr. Ruby Asmah, Project Lead-VOLTRES
The Lead Researcher of the VOLTRES Project, Dr. Ruby Asmah, who is also the Head of the Aquaculture Department at Water Research Institute, CSIR, Accra, in her presentation on their research also revealed that the volta basin is warming, with a decal increase of + 0.35C from a period of 1961-2005. She indicated that future climate projections suggest a warming between 2 to 4 degrees Celsius by the end of the century. Dr. Asmah recommended among others that good, quality and long-term data are critical for any modelling work. She added that more research equipment and capacity building for real time data collection to aid climate change studies are needed.
Dr. Prisca Mziray of CLEAT, and a Programme Officer at the Tanzanian Fisheries Research Institute (TAFIRI), also gave a presentation on their research on lake Tanganyika in East Africa. She listed workshop and training, media engagement, policy briefs, attendance at International conferences, school children education and essay competitions for secondary school on the lake and conservation as some of the mechanisms and strategies used to disseminate their research findings.
Mathias Thuborg Madsen-Counselor for Cities, Water and Climate, Danish Embassy, Accra
Addressing the participants, the Counselor for Cities, Water and Climate at the Danish Embassy in Accra, Mathias Thuborg Madsen stressed the need for strategic sector collaboration in the areas of meteorology and climate, water, statistics and maritime. He also emphasized the private sector involvement in the partnership team who have a lot of funds to support research activities. Mr. Madsen also mentioned government institutions, Danish private sector, investment organization, DANIDA Fellowship Centre, Development partners as part of the collaboration team.
Participants also reviewed the Decision Support Guidelines Towards Building Climate Resilience in the Lake Bosomtwe Biosphere, a policy document compiled by the RELAB Research Team.
Cross-section of Participants
Participating institutions were the Danish Embassy, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Bosomtwe and Bosome-Freho District Assemblies, Water Resources Commission, Fisheries Commission, Ghana Tourism Authority, Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), Community Resource Management Areas (CREMA) and Civil Society Organizations such as AROCHA, Ghana, a leading environmental and conservation organization in Ghana.
