The UCAR Africa Initiative
Recent Insights, Challenges, and Opportunities to Foster Collaborative Research for Environmental Sustainability
Wenfu Tang (University Corporation for Atmospheric Research)
Rajesh Kumar (University Corporation for Atmospheric Research)
Anna Del Moral Méndez (University Corporation for Atmospheric Research)
Felicity Ahafianyo (Ghana Meteorological Agency)
Akintomide A. Akinsanola (University of Illinois at Chicago, Argonne National Laboratory)
Agbeli Ameko (University Corporation for Atmospheric Research)
Marleen Dekker (Universiteit Leiden)
Zhe Zhang (University Corporation for Atmospheric Research)
Pieternel F. Levelt (University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, TU Delft - Civil Engineering & Geosciences, Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI))
More Authors (External organisation)
More Info
expand_more
Other than for strictly personal use, it is not permitted to download, forward or distribute the text or part of it, without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), unless the work is under an open content license such as Creative Commons.
Abstract
Africa is increasingly being exposed to the negative impacts of climate and environmental change, while having less capacity to respond compared to other continents. The vulnerability partially results from unprecedented demographic growth, urbanization, and industrialization. However, the continent has still largely been underserved by the broader Earth system science (ESS) community, as evidenced by the limited amount of ESS data and research that cover Africa compared to other areas of the world. Here, we present the recent University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) Africa Initiative that aims to enhance environmental sustainability in Africa by fostering international collaborative research partnerships coled by African scientists. Specifically, we outline urgent challenges and opportunities identified through an international workshop in six areas of ESS, namely, 1) air quality and health, 2) weather, 3) climate, 4) land and water, 5) social science perspectives, and 6) developing equitable collaboration and sustainable infrastructure. We highlight examples of successful partnerships and conclude with recommendations to advance collaborative, actionable ESS research that addresses Africa’s critical environmental challenges.