Welcome to the website of the United Nations University (UNU) Institute for Natural Resources in Africa (INRA). UNU-INRA is part of UNU's worldwide network of 13 Research and Training Centres/Programmes (RTC/Ps). It is the only UNU-RTC/P in Africa and the only one in a low-income country.
UNU-INRA was established in 1986 and it moved to its current location on the campus of the University of Ghana in Legon, Accra, Ghana, in 1994.
In addition to its main office in Accra, UNU-INRA has 4 Operating Units in Africa, associated with the following universities:
(1) University of Cocody, Abidjan, Ivory Coast (socio-economics and policy analysis related to natural resources),
(2) University of Yaoundé I, Yaoundé, Cameroon (geo-informatics and computer technology for natural resources management),
(3) University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia (mineral resources), and
(4) University of Namibia, Windhoek, Namibia (marine and coastal resources).
During the past 2 years UNU-INRA has made significant progress in a number of areas:
Strategy. UNU-INRA has developed a new strategy and a medium-term plan, which were discussed and approved in its Board meetings of Nov06 and May07. With the advent of a new Rector of the UNU on 1st Oct 2007, there was a need to adapt the approved UNU-INRA strategy to the new strategic directions developed by the new Rector. The amended strategy was submitted by the end of February to the Rector's office.
Staffing and external funding. UNU-INRA has been able to significantly increase its external funding during the 2006-07 biennium and this upward trend continues in the 2008-09 biennium. In addition, UNU-INRA has been able to increase its staff strength through the appointment of a number of temporary staff, funded by UNU-MERIT in Maastricht, the Netherlands, the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), Winnipeg, Canada, and the Centre for Development Research (ZEF) of the University of Bonn, Germany, as well as through the externally funded GLOWA Volta Project. Finally, UNU-INRA hopes to move to a new building on the campus of the University of Ghana, Legon, by the end of 2008 or early 2009. This move has been made possible through the generous support of the Dreyer Foundation, München, Germany.
Research and training. UNU-INRA is the lead institution for the training and extension component of the GLOWA Volta Project phase III, which is coordinated by ZEF and funded by the German government (BMBF). This project deals with the effects of climate change on water, land and crop genetic resources in the Volta Basin, and UNU-INRA has organized 6 training workshops during the past year associated with this project. UNU-INRA is also in the process of strengthening its collaborative links with the International Foundation of Science (IFS) in Stockholm, Sweden, regarding the development of a research support mechanism for young scientists in Africa, who have applied for research grants with IFS. A project proposal on "Enhancing human security through developing local capacity for holistic community based conflict prevention in Northern Ghana" has been developed by the UN system in Ghana, with the active participation of UNU-INRA, and will now be submitted for funding to the UN Trust Fund for Human Security (UNTFHS). Other externally funded projects, which are in an advanced stage of preparation, include a project on medicinal plants, to be co-funded by the Dreyer Foundation, and phase II of the challenge programme on Water and Food. Hence, even though UNU-INRA would need (more) core funding to implement its core tasks, it has been able to conduct training and research in areas relevant to its mission, with the help of external donors.
The current and planned activities of UNU-INRA are described on this website. We hope that you will find this information of use to you.
Dr. Karl Harmsen
