The West African Centre for Water Irrigation and Sustainable Agriculture of the University for Development Studies (UDS-WACWISA) in collaboration with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), has organized a three-day seminar for Post graduate students of UDS at the Tamale Campus in Dungu. The seminar, which was held on July 23, 2022, was under the theme, “Connecting Land Degradation Neutrality, Nature based Solutions, Landscape and Value Chain Development Approaches”.

The seminar which was sponsored by IUCN’s project, “Creating Lands of Opportunity: Transforming Livelihoods through Landscape Restoration in the Sahel, had in attendance, several lecturers and postgraduate students including those on WACWISA scholarships and faculty of Natural Resource and Environment (FNRE).

Professor Samuel Kobbinah, the Dean of the Faculty of Natural Resource and Environment, indicated that “Land degradation has become a source of global concern. It has also become a threat to sustainable development, conservation of biodiversity and mitigating and adapting to climate change. Its impacts can be far-reaching, including loss of soil fertility, destruction of species habitat and biodiversity, soil erosion. Adding Land degradation also has serious knock-on effects for humans, such as malnutrition, disease, forced migration, cultural damage, and even war”. He added that, more than 75 percent of Earth's land areas are substantially degraded, undermining the well-being of 3.2 billion people, according to the world's first comprehensive, evidence-based assessment. He reiterated that, it is estimated that 75-80% of the cultivated area in Africa is reportedly degraded, with a loss of 30 to 60 kg of nutrients per hectare per year. While Ghana has 35% of its land under threat of desertification and that as a result of land degradation, grasslands, woodlands and forests are being lost while natural water bodies are drying up due to prolonged droughts and sedimentation of water courses.

Professor Kobinna, said the main aim of the seminar was to discuss the landscape and value chain perspectives of the LDN in the sites of the Sahel Opportunity Project, share lessons learned on how to achieve the LDN targets using landscape and value chain development approaches, practically build and strengthen the capacity of the youth and middle level manpower on Land Degradation Neutrality, Nature based Solutions and Value Chain Development Approaches, to provide an opportunity for Researchers/experts and graduate students to study and discuss the LDN, NbS and VCD approaches into the student’s research themes. He intimated that the seminar also aimed at preparing the future generation of scientists and development practitioners with new concepts and approaches to solve the problem of Land degradation.

He encouraged the students to take the seminar serious as it was meant to augment the faculty’s teaching and research with graduate Programmes in Environmental Management and Sustainability, Agroforestry, Biodiversity Conservation and with new upcoming programmes in Environmental Science with Eco-technology and Ecological Restoration Sciences.

Dr. Jacques Somda, the Chief of Programmes of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), said the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development offers countries opportunities to reduce the growing threats of land degradation and reap the multiple socio-economic benefits of LDN. In particular, Sustainable Development Goal 15 "Life on Earth" and its target 15.3 on land degradation neutrality (LND) specifically encourages countries to "combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil, including land affected by desertification, drought and floods, and strive to achieve a world free of land degradation by 2030". He added that, Ghana, like other countries in the world, has committed to contributing to the achievement of this global goal on land degradation neutrality. He said it is therefore important for academia to be deeply involved to help create science-based enabling environment for leveraging land-based investments that benefit local communities and the nature they depend on.

The Chief of Programmes of IUCN, said the IUCN, through the LOGMe Project has ambitions to connect pieces of knowledge on Land Degradation Neutrality, Nature based Solutions, Landscape and Value Chain Development in the implementing countries namely Burkina Faso, Ghana and Niger. “For this to happen, there is the need to improve knowledge, increase the knowledge basis, empower communities and value chain actors in selected areas in Burkina Faso, Ghana and Niger and so the need for seminars like this”. he added.

Professor Gordana Kranjac, the Deputy Director of WACWISA who represented the Vice-Chancellor of UDS, and the Director of WACWISA, welcomed the participants to the University and encouraged the students to pay attention to the details of the seminar in order to get maximum benefits of the time spent.

The participants were taken through several topics including: LDN concept (policy context, IUCN scientific conceptual framework and operationalization), Ghana’s LDN commitment and the contribution from academic and scholars, presentation on sustainable value chain development and their relationship with environmental studies, introduction to Nature based solutions approaches and techniques for screening research topics with a view to integrate environmental management, irrigation and sustainable agriculture and some of the case studies from IUCN project field work.
 
The students were made to submit presentations on their own selected topics based on the knowledge acquired. 
Also at the seminar were Professor Saa Dittoh, the Grants Coordinator of WACWISA, Professor Francis Amagloh, Dean of Graduate School,  Dr. Dzi Gbodi Doke, Head of Department of ESS, Mr. Solomon Bezia, Representative from EPA, and Mrs. Dorcas Owusuaa Agyei.
 
Story by: Isaac E. Dramani (University Relations)