UNU Collaborates with African Universities

The United Nations University (UNU) with African universities with African universities in order to develop postgraduate programmes on climate change and sustainable development to assist Africa to adjust to climate change conditions. The UNU is also collaborating with academics and scientists to create a network, from which information sharing and scientific knowledge cold be made practical and available to people, equipping them to better manage their environment, economies and livelihoods in the face of uncertainties from climate change. In line with this, the University of Ghana, Legon, has hosted a two-day consultative conference in Accra on the theme �The Role of Higher Education in Adapting to climate Change.� The conference was part of the Integrated Research Systems for Sustainable Science (IR3S) programme on climate change and the adaptation was co-ordinated by the University of Tokyo, in partnership with Education for Sustainable Development Africa (ESDA) project, co-ordinated by the UNU. It brought together representatives from universities all over Africa and the notable scientists in climate change science. Opening the conference, the Rector of the UNU, Professor Konrad Osterwalder, emphasised the commitment of the UNU in collaborating and networking with Africa in funding solutions to the challenges. In presentation on �Climate and Ecosystems Change Adaptation Response,� a Vice Rector of the UNU and IR3S, Prof. Kuzuhiko Takeuchi, stressed sustainable development for Africa as one of the ways to adjust to the challenges of climatic variations. Prof. Takeuchi said scientific knowledge was sustainable, and that it would be the norm to give people the skills to improve on their lives, even in the face of challenges. He said the demands of climate change made it imperative for all initiatives of the economy and society to be undertaken in a sustainable manner. He also announced that within the collaborative framework of the UNU, the Government of Japan, through the ESDA project, was sponsoring the establishment of a forum on specific challenges in Africa, one of which is sustainable natural resources exploitation which is chaired by Ghana. Other speakers at the conference were Prof. Bob Su of the International Institute for Geo-Information science and earth Observation (ITC) in The Netherlands, who took participants through several tools used in observing climate change conditions and predicting future effects. Prof. Dr Mohammed Tawfik Ahmed of the Suez Canal University, Ismaillia, Egypt, in a presentation on �Climate Change Impacts with Special Emphasis on Dry Lands,� used El Magara in Egypt to show the effects. His presentation showed that there was loss of some plant and insect species in the area, while new invasive species were also found.