A technical mission of Japanese experts visited Ghana,to deepen the cooperation between Africa Centre of Excellence in Coastal Resilience (ACECoR), University of Cape Coast and Japan.
The Japanese delegation and staff from ACECoR visited several coastal sites including the Volta River estuary where they explored areas of cooperation; and the Anlo Beach for a joint topographic survey to better understand the challenges.
ACECoR and Japan Partnership under WACA Knowledge Hub
The visit was in line with the signing of Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) signed between Japan Infrastructure Development Institute (IDI) and ACECoR under the West Africa Coast Areas Management Program (WACA) to groom the next generation of innovators.
Under the agreement ACECoR’s mandate is to promote the sustainable management and use of coastal environment. This would be done through training and conducting demand-driven research to support coastal policy development in Africa.
In line with the MoA, IDI will collaborate with ACECoR to make experiences, knowledge and technologies on coastal erosion, flood and sediment management available to West Africa countries.
As an island nation with 75% of its land covered by mountains, Japan boosts a rich experience in Integrated Sediment Management that considers coasts, mountains, and rivers. Activities under the partnership will include knowledge exchange, research studies, training programme, expert dispatch, short courses and academic cooperation between Japanese relevant organisations and ACECoR.
Through the partnership an online workshop on “Integrated Sediment Management in WACA Countries” was organized with regional partners in May 2022 to build awareness on the issue. About 80 participants from different WACA countries participated.
Additionally, Professor Yoshimitsu Tajima of the University of Tokyo gave a lecture to ACECoR researchers and students on a rapid assessment of Ghana coasts and future prospects based on coastal engineering.
The Director of ACECoR, Prof. Denis W. Aheto described the visit as very relevant to the to achieving the aims of the agreement.
“I thank the Japanese team for coming a long way to Ghana and I hope future cooperation will lead to long-term human resource development” Prof. Aheto noted.
Sediment issues
One might think that beach erosion is caused by direct forces such as high waves or rising sea level. In reality, the root cause is often human activities: Interruption of downstream sediment transport caused by sediment deposition in dam reservoirs and excessive river sand mining, reduce sediment supply to the coast.
To address coastal erosion and other coastal issues, it is essential to take an integrated approach from the river catchment to the coast. In West Africa specifically, effective and sustainable solutions cannot be taken without looking at the root causes in upstream areas.
Deepening the collaboration
Based on the lessons learned from the site visits, the teams agreed to prepare a concrete plan for future cooperation. This includes cooperation to strength modern research; building the educational capacity of ACECoR on Integrated Sediment Management and especially on coastal engineering; and applying for a joint research project on Integrated Sediment Management.
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