The UKCEH West Africa Office turns one
A year of impact and advancing environmental science and innovation in West Africa
As the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) West Africa Office celebrates its first anniversary this month, we look back over some of the activities of the past year. Situated on the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) campus in Accra, Ghana, the office has rapidly established itself as a hub committed to driving impactful environmental initiatives that engage a wide range of stakeholders including governments, NGOs, businesses, and research institutions, building on existing relationships and developing new partnerships.
With a strong foundation laid in its first year, the UKCEH West Africa Office has focused its efforts around three core objectives: growing its partnerships, expanding its scientific outputs, and increasing overseas impacts in West Africa.
Adelaide Asante, Head of the UKCEH West Africa office comments, “Key progress has been made in engaging over 250 new stakeholders throughout the year. As we enter our second year, we hope to expand our work across these pillars, by strengthening collaborations, engaging more stakeholders, and developing impactful research ideas and projects that address pressing environmental challenges in the region and beyond.”
Professor Harry Dixon, UKCEH’s Associate Director of International Research and Development, adds, “It is great to build on our long-term existing collaborations in West Africa and develop new ones through these new initiatives. This is a key part of our evolution to deliver our strategic pillar of expanding our international reach as an independent research institute.”
Ongoing projects
The Sankore Project
Sankore is a strategic initiative aimed at strengthening Science, Technology, and Innovation (ST&I) ecosystems in Ghana and Nigeria. Funded by the Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), the project is being executed by UNESCO in partnership with UKCEH, who successfully won the bid to partner in a highly competitive selection process. UKCEH through its West Africa Office is leading in innovation, commercialization talks, and actions plans, with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) of Ghana, and the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) and National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) of Nigeria. UKCEH will also oversee the development of a robust ST&I Helpdesk to support FCDO and West African government partners with the demand-led ST&I technical guidance.
The Biodiversity Project
The Biodiversity Project is centered on biodiversity monitoring and mapping in Ghana, with an emphasis on improving data management systems and fostering collaboration among experts, policymakers, researchers, and practitioners to enhance conservation outcomes and support long-term environmental sustainability. Establishing a robust framework as this one for monitoring and mapping biodiversity is complex and has not previously been attempted within the context of West Africa. By taking the lead, the project is pioneering important research frontier and laying the groundwork for a replicable template that could guide successful biodiversity monitoring, particularly in low-income countries which have rich biodiversity, and designed to operate within financial frameworks, leading to a blueprint with potential global impact. Following the successful workshop held on 29-30 April 2025, the West Africa Office has secured a place in a high-level consortium effectively linking the UKCEH to this influential network.
Oil Palm production project in Liberia
UKCEH is actively involved in research related to oil palm cultivation in Liberia, focusing on its environmental impacts and potential for sustainability. UKCEH is collaborating with the University of Liberia to study greenhouse gas fluxes across different land uses, including rainforest, smallholder farms with wild-growing oil palm, and large-scale oil palm plantations. This work is also investigating the impacts of oil palm conversion on biodiversity and ecosystem functions.
Key events and workshops hosted over the year
Stakeholder Scoping Workshop towards 8th Sustainable Phosphorus Summit (SPS8) in Africa (3 October 2024)
The stakeholder scoping workshop brought together distinguished representatives from a diverse range of institutions spanning academia, research and industry including UKCEH, Rothamsted Research, Lancaster University, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), University of Cape Coast (UCC), CSIR – Soil Research Institute, OCP Africa, Crop Services (Ministry of Food and Agriculture), and the International Fertilizer Development Centre (IFDC).
This high-calibre gathering was a pivotal step in leading to the planning of the upcoming SPS8 Africa conference (30 September - 3 October 2025) which will be hosted on African soil for the first time. Discussions were focused on identifying the key areas for enhancing sustainable phosphorus management by fostering collaboration, innovative approaches, and capacity-building, both across Africa and globally. Indeed, the tone was set for a transformative SPS8 positioning Africa as a driving force in shaping global phosphorus sustainability.
Drought over Sub-Saharan Africa Workshop (22 October 2024)
This workshop convened top tier researchers from UKCEH and leading institutions in Ghana with deep expertise in drought-related research. It aimed to foster collaborative research by leveraging advanced methodologies and integrating data from a diverse group of stakeholders.
Ghanaian institutions participating in the workshop included the Ghana Meteorological Agency (GMA), Ghana Hydrological Authority (GHA), and Water Resources Commission (WRC).
A total of 45 stakeholders benefited from knowledge generating activities in the workshop, with twenty-five key stakeholder groups receiving targeted capacity strengthening support. The workshop delivered on its core objectives and catalysed future-focused collaborations such as plans to explore region-specific impact datasets and oversee the integration of machine learning models for impact-based drought forecasting in partnership with the Water Research Institute (WRI) of Ghana.
A standout achievement was the initiation of a forthcoming hydrological forecasting training project, in which the UKCEH West Africa Office is playing a strategic role. The workshop firmly positioned the UKCEH West Africa Office as a regional hub for driving research partnerships and promoting technical exchanges, particularly in addressing the pressing issue of droughts in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Early Career Researcher Workshop on Inequality & Marginalization (26-27 February 2025)
The Early Career Researcher (ECR) Workshop on Inequality and Marginalization (I&M) workshop jointly organized by the UKCEH West Africa Office and Lancaster University Research Hub (LUARH), provided a platform for engaging a vibrant mix of emerging scholars, seasoned experts, and industry leaders from across Africa, to discuss the impact of I&M in academia and beyond. The two-day event was held at the UKCEH West Africa premises, and participants examined the far-reaching impacts of I&M challenges and explored strategies for addressing systemic inequities in research.
With strong attendance from a wide range of disciplines including education, accounting, technology, and computer science—the workshop featured fourteen insightful presentations by ECRs, each shedding light on how I&M manifests in their respective fields. These sessions sparked rich panel discussions focused on amplifying African perspectives in global academic discourse. Day two of the workshop focused on hands-on sessions on guidance around journal publication, grant writing, and essential skills for academic and professional advancement. The objectives of the workshop which were fully met align strongly with UKCEH’s broader mission of building capacity among Early Career Researchers, reinforcing its commitment to nurturing the next generation of scientific leaders across the continent.
Women in Science Forum in Celebration of International Women’s Day (11 March 2025)
The Women in Science forum was organized by the UKCEH, in collaboration with UNESCO Ghana Office, to commemorate International Women’s Day. The event brought together female university students, early-career professionals, and leading women in STEM fields, including engineering, physics, environmental sciences, and beyond to reflect on the progress made in their journeys in sciences and share insights on charting the way forward for them in the next 10 years. The initiative aligns with the UNESCO Recommendation on Science and Scientific Researchers (RS/SR), which emphasizes the need to enable and support women and girls in pursuing careers in science.
Career journeys of leading women scientists were highlighted to empower the next up-and-coming generation of women in science to envision and pursue successful careers in science and technology. The webinar also created a networking platform between Ghanaian women in science and their peers in other parts of Africa and the UK. The success of this forum highlighted the great work that the UKCEH is undertaking, particularly in positioning itself as a key partner in promoting gender equity in science.
