SASSCAL Executive Director, Dr. Jane Olwoch standing in the middle of DLR-PT Executive Director, Mr Klaus Uckel (right), WASCAL Executive Director Prof. Emmanuel Ramde (left), Head of Department, Sustainable Land Use-DLR-PT, Dr Jens Liebe (third from right),DLR-PT Management and SASSCAL accompanied staff
The Southern African Science Service Centre for Climate Change and Adaptive Land Management (SASSCAL) visited and engaged with key stakeholders from likeminded institutions in Germany from the 7th to 16th May 2024. The courtesy at the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), set out discussions on SASSCAL’s position and sustained relevance in the region through the different projects funded by BMBF. Further engagements stressed the importance of strengthening SASSCAL collaborations with the strategic partners, Project Management Agency (DLR-PT) and the International Centre for Water Resources and Global Change (ICWRGC).
The engagements anchored on positioning SASSCAL regarding the implementation of projects and the possibility of re-shaping SASSCAL to deliver innovative and on-demand climate services. During the engagements, Dr Olwoch presented on the progress achieved on existing projects and emphasized that SASSCAL is committed to drive the projects to achieve their objectives within the predefined framework. She further urged the partners to support the collaboration through regular and open communication. The discussions stressed the importance of synergizing, and creating a platform where the parties shared lessons from implementation, recommendations and future opportunities for collaborations.
Looking to the future outlook, Dr Olwoch emphasised that the automatic weather stations are a vital resource not only for SASSCAL but for Africa and the world as a whole and that their long term maintenance remains important. In this vein, SASSCAL will initiate collaborations with Meteorological Departments in the countries, promote cooperation with international Scientific institutions such as National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and find amicable solutions to long term funding of the AWS.
During the engagement, Dr Olwoch highlighted the progress on the SGSP-IWRM programme, hosted at the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST). “The programme is working very well and that 12 students have completed their proposals, with 8 already in Germany under the mobility framework”, said Dr Olwoch. SASSCAL Executive Director further affirmed BMBF’s commitment to the programme and urged for their consideration to fund the second co-hort which should commence in the year 2025. Both SASSCAL and DLR-PT agreed that there has to be intensified public relations around the SGSP programme and promote the graduate school.
SASSCAL Executive Director, Dr Jane Olwoch and audience
During the German-African Forum held in Hamburg, Germany on 15-16 May 2024, SASSCAL’s Executive Director gave an “impulse” in the session “Building local capacity to support green transition in West and Southern Africa”. Dr Jane Olwoch highlighted that the current and deserved attention on renewables in Africa and globally requires new skills to support new businesses, research areas, academic programs, and policy development.
Skills development is the key to Africa’s energy future, be it for renewable energies, energy efficiency or green hydrogen production. This, according to Dr Olwoch “calls for action that will bring about solutions fostered through the synergy of ideas from multidisciplinary teams united for a common cause”. In this regard, partnerships can support the investment and funding that will transform Africa’s energy sector. “This is why the partnerships between the BMBF and West and Southern Africa, bringing together academics, researchers, institutions, and industry from Africa and Germany, are so vital”, said Dr Olwoch.
During the session, Dr Olwoch said that many young people who have received scholarships to pursue their postgraduate degrees and vocational training in Green Hydrogen and Renewable Energy and related fields will be ready to support new businesses and their governments. Highlighting that about 40 students and young scientists from Southern and West Africa are being hosted in several German institutions and are acquiring new skills from the best labs in Germany and the intangible benefits from the cultural immersion.
“WASCAL and SASSCAL’s partnership with BMBF in the areas of research and Human Capital Development is already testing green Hydrogen technologies in the region” she said.
Citing examples of successful partnerships, Dr Olwoch mentioned that in Namibia, the BMBF is funding the first Green Hydrogen Pilot Projects namely; The Daures Green Hydrogen Village, the Clean energy refueling station in Walvis Bay and HyRail Locomotive project whose funding process is also underway. The results of these pioneer projects, she said, are the benchmarks for commercial projects to follow. Dr Olwoch concluded her impulse by retaliating that Human Capital Development and Research hold the key to the success and long-term sustainability of the Renewable energy and Green Hydrogen revolution.
The German-African Energy forum is a platform that aims to identify new and re-defined action points for a strong and future-oriented African energy partnership fostering Africa’s energy potential and promoting a global energy dialogue on equal terms and with equal benefits. This year’s 17th German-African Energy Forum carried the theme “Africa’s energy roadmap: Breaking new grounds for green(er) economies”.
