Delegates at the 2024 Coastal Ocean Environment Summer School in Nigeria and Ghana (COESSING), an initiative endorsed by the Ocean Decade, have been urged to harness the programme’s interactive sessions and expert insights to pioneer innovative solutions for the enhancement of Africa’s coastal environment.
The Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academics and Research), University of Lagos (UNILAG) Professor Bolanle Oboh made this call on Monday August 12, 2024 while representing the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Folasade T. Ogunsola, OON, FAS, at the COESSING 2024 Opening Ceremony held at the Tayo Aderinokun Auditorium, UNILAG.
Welcoming the over 40 instructors and 120 participants drawn from various West African countries including Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, and Togo to the University, Professor Oboh pointed out the significant knowledge gap in the maritime space as well as the need to safeguard the coastal environment.
According to her, “the coastline is prone to hazards such as coastal erosion, flooding due to storm surge and rainfall, land subsidence and pollution especially from plastics, so those of us in the field of Marine and Ocean Studies should conduct more research, share research findings, and collaborate on projects that can address the pressing issues facing our coastal communities’’.
In his address, the Lead Facilitator of the School and Professor of Physical Oceanography, Prof. Brian Arbic elaborated the importance of the summer school and its positive impact on participants.
He explained that COESSING which began in August 2014 as an exploratory “scouting trip” alongside Research Scientist Dr. Joseph Ansong, has now evolved into a capacity-building programme in oceanography and environmental sciences for several individuals across the globe.
Professor Arbic revealed that “more funding, research partnerships, field trips, panels, and tutorials have been incorporated into the School to make the learning experience of participants even better”.
Earlier, COESSING 2024 participants and instructors had paid a courtesy visit to the Senate House Office of Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Folasade Ogunsola, OON, FAS.
Led by the Chairperson of COESSING 2024 Local Organising Committee, Professor Aderonke Lawal-Are who is a carcinologist extraordinaire and Professor of Marine Science at UNILAG, the team was received by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academics and Research), Professor Bola Oboh.
The week-long summer program, which commenced on Monday, August 12, 2024, will end on Friday, August 16, 2024. It is an endorsed project of the United Nations (UN) Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development and financed by a grant from the University of Michigan, United States of America.
University of Lagos (Akoka Campus), Nigerian Institute for Oceanography and Marine Research (NIOMR, Victoria Island), Lagos and Yaba College of Technology, Lagos are the three venues where a blend of theoretical, in-class and practical, on-the-Lagoon-training will be offered to the next generation of Oceanographers in Africa.
Report: Bayo Salau
Photographs: Michael Joshua & Samuel Dosunmu
This article was originally published on the website of the University of Lagos.