JICA Donates Automatic Weather Stations (AWS) To GMET In Bole, Salaga, And Yendi

On 17th June, 3 automatic weather stations (AWSs) will be handed over to the Ghana Meteorological Agency (GMET) in Bole, Salaga, and Yendi in Northern region by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Three AWSs are installed to enhance meteorological services and research, such as numerical weather prediction and climate information.

The installation of these AWSs is one component of the project for 'Enhancing Resilience to Climate and Ecosystem Changes in Semi-Arid Africa' (CECAR-Africa) project. GMET and Kyoto University of Japan are conducting this component of joint research to enhance weather forecasting and risk assessment in northern Ghana.

CECAR-Africa was initiated in 2012 as the second SATREPS (the Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable development) project in Ghana to promote collaborative research between Ghana and Japan.

The project is a five-year project (2012-2017), involving seven leading research institution on climate change adaptation and resilience in Ghana and Japan, which are Ghana Meteorological Agency (GMET), University of Ghana, University for Development Studies, United Nations University-Institute of Natural Resources in Africa from Ghana, and United Nations University institute for Sustainability and Peace, University of Tokyo, and Kyoto University from Japan.

CECAR-Africa has three major objectives. It focuses on the vulnerable semi-arid region of northern Ghana where the impacts of climate change have been severely felt in forms of unpredictable floods and droughts. CECAR-Africa's objectives include practical research consisting of three cores:

1) Forecast and assessment of the impact of climate and ecosystem change on agricultural production;

2) Risk assessment of extreme weather events and introduction of adaptive water resource management methods; and

3) Planning and implementation of capacity development programs enabling local residents and professionals to utilize the assessment results derived from (1) and (2).

The goal of this project is to combine research on climate change and ecosystem change and to build an integrated resilience enhancement strategy as a 'Ghana model'. This model will be further discussed in a wider international development and environmental policy arena to contribute to the global sustainable development.

The project is a joint program of the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

NEW PICTURE (8)