- The Bia Tano station is a joint scientific research project between UENR, the Global Change Research Institute of the Czech Republic (CzechGlobe) and other governmental institutions, including the Forestry Commission of Ghana and the Forestry Research Institute of Ghana (FORIG).
- We believe that the environment is the engine of the future.
Mr Jan Fury, the Czech Ambassador to Ghana, has inaugurated an international greenhouse gas monitoring and global change research station for the University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR) in Sunyani. The Bia Tano station is a joint scientific research project between UENR, the Global Change Research Institute of the Czech Republic (CzechGlobe) and other governmental institutions, including the Forestry Commission of Ghana and the Forestry Research Institute of Ghana (FORIG).
It would be responsible for the direct measurements of forest-atmosphere exchanges of carbon dioxide, water, energy, and other trace gases, allowing the University to observe the whole forest ecosystem metabolism (including soil measurements). The station will further empower the university to quantify the role of forests as sources of trace gases, the input of gaseous pollutants and nutrients, and the role of the nation’s tropical forests in cleansing the atmosphere through carbon uptake from the atmosphere.
Mr Fury explained that the Czech embassy in Accra had operated for almost 70 years and helped Ghana in many areas, including the building industry, agriculture, and education. He said, “We think that agriculture is an important sector of the Ghanaian economy which gives not only food but also a lot of possibilities for the young people to be employed. With the station’s inauguration, Czech had opened up a new chapter in the environment, indicating “we believe that the environment is the engine of the future”.”
Professor Elvis Asare-Bediako, the Vice Chancellor of the UENR, expressed appreciation to the embassy, the government, CzechGlobe and its (university’s) entire local communities, which had helped in diverse ways for the growth and development of the university. He said though it was still one of the youngest public universities in the country, the university could boast of its tremendous contributions to scientific research and education since its establishment ten years ago.