UNESCO, Spanish gov’t give scientific equipment to Ghana’s Water Research Institute
UNESCO in collaboration with the Spanish government has donated scientific equipment to the Water Research Institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) towards the sustainable management of Lake Bosomtwe in the Ashanti Region.
The equipment include portable wireless rain gauges, portable water quality testing kits, GPS and sediment monitoring equipment, camera for sociological covering and flow meter were at the cost of $39,000.
At a ceremony in Accra on Friday to hand over the equipment, the country Director of UNESCO, Mr Tirso Dos Santos said, the project was designed to put together a number of measures to help sustain the environment around lake Bosomtwe.
He noted that Lake Bosomtwe, the only natural lake in Ghana was degrading at a faster rate and needed an urgent attention.
“That is why UNESCO requested the assistance of the Spanish Government for the sustainability of the lake and it was fully granted with an amount of 1.4 million Euros, and the Water Research Institute was awarded the contract in the area of hydrology, hygiene and water quality”, he said.
Mr Dos Santos said as part of the project, the livelihood of the people living around the lake would be taken into consideration to prevent them from further degrading the lake.
He stated, those living around the lake would be provided with an income generating activities like rearing of grass cutter and other agricultural techniques to improve productivity.
He added that the project would also include capacity building to monitor the lake, sustainable soil management, sustainable alternative livelihood, document guide and culture fishing practices and that six organizations have been contracted to take care of that.
Mr Juan Frutos, Deputy Head of Mission at the Spanish Embassy in Ghana, said the project would help establish quality water for Lake Bosomtwe and expressed the hope it would be completed on schedule.
“The Spanish Government is in partnership with Ghana and we are always happy to support Ghana in developmental projects”, he said.
Dr Frederick Amu-Mensah, Senior Research Scientist at CSIR, thanked UNESCO and the Spanish government for the support towards the sustainable management of the Lake Bosomtwe project and promised to put the equipment to good use.
The sustainable management of Lake Bosomtwe Project is deigned in a form of agreement, which involves the government of Ghana, UNESCO, and Otumfuo Osei Tutu II.
Source: GNA