About The B4C Project

Project Rationale

Ghana, like many other African countries, faces enormous social, economic and environmental challenges that are likely to be exacerbated by the impacts of climate change. At both the individual and the national levels, climate change is of serious concern because of the nation's overdependence on climate-sensitive sectors, such as hydro-power generation, agriculture, fisheries and wildlife resources. Projections indicate that temperature will continue to rise, and the survival of coastal communities will be threatened by rising sea level. Reduction in rainfall is already impacting on rain-fed agriculture and hydro-power outages, causing significant decreases in industrial production. The rural poor, especially in the northern regions of Ghana, affected by frequent droughts and annual flooding, are forced to adopt non-sustainable measures such as migration, farming and building in flood plains. These in turn increase their vulnerability and make the fight against poverty increasingly difficult. Presently, some of the challenges facing Ghana are the inadequate climate science professionals and institutional capacities to contribute effectively to Ghana's ability to adapt to climate change. It is against this backdrop that the "B4C-Ghana Project" has become one of the important projects at the University of Ghana, building the next generation of thinkers for climate change adaptation and sustainable development.


Project Goal

The ultimate goal of the project is to develop University of Ghana as a centre of excellence in global environmental change, with capabilities to contribute effectively to Ghana's ability to adapt to climate change

Project Description
The B4C Project will be delivered through four inter - connected approaches:

    1. Training and human resource development,
    2. Building climate change adaptation research capacity,
    3. Influencing policy through public awareness and targeted advocacy, and
    4. Disseminating knowledge and best practices in climate change adaptation.

Building training and research capacity is a long-term endeavour, and so the University of Ghana, its collaborating partners and the Open Society Foundation (OSF) seek to develop an enduring partnership through this project. The first phase of the project is for three years with OSF funding support of US$ 1.64 million. The B4C Project will deliver its objectives in three main work packages:



Work Package I – will focus on Strengthening Teaching and Training in Climate Change Adaptation. The activities aim to mainstream climate change issues into university courses and enhance the pool of climate change experts in Ghana.

Work Package II – seeks to Strengthen the Capacity of the University of Ghana to Embrace and Engage in Global Environmental Change Research. The areas identified for research include: (a). Agriculture and Food Security; (b). Climate Change and Human Health; (c). Biodiversity and Ecosystems; (d). Water Resources and Management.

Work Package II – aims to Equip Policy Makers in Ghana with Relevant Climate Adaptation Knowledge, so they have the capability to take climate change issues into consideration in formulating national development policies. It will also seek to deepen awareness of climate change issues and empower selected local communities to implement climate change adaptation measures.

Implementing Institutions

University of Ghana, Legon, Accra-Ghana. For more information click here http://www.ug.edu.gh/

Centre for African Wetlands, Legon, Accra-Ghana. For more information click here http://www.afriwet.org/index.html

Ghana Wildlife Society, Accra-Ghana. For more information click here http://ghanawildlifesociety.org/index.php

Donor
Open Society Foundation. For more information click here http://www.soros.org/