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07 June 2023 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Supplied
Dr Soumya Ghosh
Dr Soumya Ghosh is one of eight authors who contributed to the article: ‘Funding African-led Climate Initiatives’, which was published in the reputed journal, Nature Climate Change.

Africa has an important role to play in mitigating the climate crisis, and the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) will be a critical opportunity for Africans to demonstrate to other world leaders where and how actions can meet the ambitions of African climate initiatives.

These are some of the findings in an article published in the scientific journal Nature Climate Change Dr Soumya Ghosh, Postdoctoral Researcher in the Department of Genetics at the University of the Free State (UFS), is one of eight authors who contributed to the article: ‘Funding African-led Climate Initiatives’, which appeared in the reputed journal, Nature Climate Change.

“With this paper, inspired by the African action at the United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties 27 (COP27) that took place in November 2022, we showed the world the role of the African continent in mitigating the climate crisis, which has been neglected for many years,” says Dr Ghosh.

Opportunity for Africa

The article he co-authored in Nature Climate Change mainly focuses on the way in which the African-led climate initiatives from COP27 could serve as an opportunity for the African continent. In the article, it states that “The African-led initiatives represent an opportunity for Africans to create solutions for Africans and to unlock much-needed finance. In contrast to initiatives led by international organisations, the African-led initiatives would allow Africans to determine where and how to use climate mitigation and adaptation funding, which is an important step forward.”

Moreover, the authors also investigated initiatives to unlock the much-needed finance to fund climate solutions. The article stated that funding must come from the combined efforts of African governments, regional institutions (such as the African Union and the African Development Bank), and bilateral development agencies. They pointed out debt-for-nature swaps as a possible funding mechanism. Here, a debtor country is given a substantial discount on the debt owed to its creditors in exchange for investments in conservation and enactment of environmental protection measures.

Another important focus of the article was the way in which the upcoming COP28 – scheduled to take place in the United Arab Emirates from 30 November to 12 December 2023 – can fill the gaps in climate solutions. In the article, it states that COP28 will be a critical opportunity for Africans to demonstrate to other world leaders where and how actions can meet the ambitions of African climate initiatives.

While working on this article, he came to the conclusion that climate initiatives would help to improve the living conditions in the rural villages of sub-Saharan Africa, secure access to affordable energy, establish a vibrant African carbon market, and support climate change research.

Food security

As a postdoctoral researcher at the UFS, the focus of Dr Ghosh’s studies is to mitigate the impact of global climate change on sustainable agriculture, which will eventually ensure food security.

He explains his work as exploring the intersection of biology, chemistry, and physics. “One of the key activities in my work involves collecting samples from different sources and isolating different types of microbes, such as fungi (mushrooms). These microbes are then subjected to techniques such as morphological, microscopical, and molecular analysis and screened for enzymatic and antimicrobial effects.”

“After identifying positive candidates,” he continues, “the next step involves extracting chemicals from these candidates. Once extracted, the active compounds are separated to obtain purified substances. These purified substances then undergo a detailed physical and chemical analysis to ensure their purity, making them suitable for use in pharmaceuticals, agriculture, and biotechnology.”

First article in Nature

On a more personal note, Dr Ghosh, who aspires to be a full-time researcher at senior researcher/senior lecturer level, says, “Publishing in this type of journal has definitely added a lot of value to my continuing and future scientific career. Although this is my first article in Nature, I would like to continue publishing articles in this type of journal, which would not only enrich my scientific portfolio, but will also bring laurels to the UFS in a broader way.”

The article published in Nature Climate Change stemmed from the manuscript ‘Global Warming Status in the African Continent: Sources, Challenges, Policies, and Future Direction’. The manuscript that was recently accepted for publication, focused mainly on the fact that Africa contributes to two to three percent of global emissions, that more than 1 °C of warming has already occurred across parts of Africa, and that the Sahara Desert has expanded at a rate of more than 11 000 km²/ year between 1950 and 2022. Moreover, it also states that less precipitation is predicted to occur over North Africa and the southwestern regions of South Africa by 2040.

Read the article

News Archive

New challenges for animal science discussed
2006-04-04

Some of the guests attending the congress were from the left Dr Heinz Meissner (honorary president of the South African Society for Animal Science (SASAS) and senior manager at the Animal Production Institute of the Agricultural Research Council), Mr Paul Bevan (President of SASAS) and Prof Magda Fourie (Vice-Rector:  Academic Planning at the UFS).
Photo: Lacea Loader

New challenges for animal science discussed  

The South African Society for Animal Science (SASAS) is presenting its 41st Congress at the University of the Free State’s (UFS) Main Campus in Bloemfontein. 

The congress started yesterday and will run until Thursday 6 April 2006.  The theme is New challenges for the animal science industries.

It is one of the largest congresses in the 45 years since SASAS was founded in 1961.  Among the delegates 12 African countries are represented, with the biggest delegation from Kenya.  Delegates are also from the United States of America, Iran, Turkey, Germany, the Netherlands and Portugal and African countries like Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Botswana.

“Many of our members play an important role in the training of animal scientists at universities.  The congress is specifically industry orientated so that scientists can interact with farmers through the respective producer organisations,” said Prof HO de Waal, Chairperson of the organising committee and lecturer at the UFS Department of Animal, Wildlife and Grassland Sciences.

According to Dr Heinz Meissner, honorary president of SASAS and a senior manager at the Animal Production Institute of the Agricultural Research Council, the National Livestock Strategy (NLS) Plan clarifies the role and responsibility of the livestock sector. 

“Through this strategy we need to focus on enhancing equitable access and participation in livestock agriculture, improve global competitiveness and profitability of the livestock sector and ensure that the ventures implemented do not over utilise our resources,” said Dr Meissner.

In her welcoming address, Prof Magda Fourie, Vice-Rector:  Academic Planning at the UFS highlighted the related challenges that the UFS will be focusing on specifically over the next five years.  “We have identified five strategic clusters that represent broad areas of excellence in research and post-graduate education.  Two of these are food production, quality and safety for Africa and sustainable development,” she said.

“The food safety and security cluster will focus on the production of food in all its varieties within the African context, encompassing the entire value chain – from production to consumption and nutrition related issues.  This would include a strong emphasis on sustainable production systems,” she said.

According to Prof Fourie the rural development cluster will engage in questions around the role of higher education in sustainable development.  “One of the focus areas in this strategic cluster pertains to sustainable livelihoods.  It refers to a way of approaching development that incorporates all aspects of human livelihoods and means by which people obtain them,” she said.

Prof Fourie said that the challenges we are facing such as food production can only be effectively addressed through collaborative efforts.  “That is why it is important that collaboration takes place between different scientific disciplines, researchers, institutions and countries who are confronted with similar difficulties,” she said.

According to Prof de Waal the congress will give key role players a unique opportunity to present a profile of what they perceive an animal scientist should be and state their specific requirement regarding the animal sciences and its applications. 

“In this way we can determine what the industry’s needs are and we can re-align our curriculum to suit these needs,” said Prof de Waal.

During the next two days, various areas of interest will be discussed.  This includes ruminant and monogastric nutrition, animal physiology, beef, dairy, sheep and ostrich breeding and sustainable farming covering the range from commercial to the small-scale farming level.

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel:   (051) 401-2584
Cell:  083 645 2454
E-mail:  loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za
4 April 2006

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