With climate change being one of the most severe challenges to rural Africa in the 21st century, West Africa is facing an urgent need to develop effective adaptation and mitigation measures. WASCAL is a large-scale research-focused Climate Service Center designed to help tackle this challenge and thereby enhance the resilience of human and environmental systems to climate change and increased variability.

It does so by strengthening the research infrastructure and capacity in West Africa related to climate change and by pooling the expertise of ten West African countries and Germany.

Funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), WASCAL is implemented in a collaborative effort by West African and German partners.

The Competence Center, a newly established institute in West Africa, carries out research and provides science-based advice to policymakers and stakeholders on climate change impacts, mitigation, and adaptation measures. The Core Research Program complements the scientific activities of the Competence Center, and is implemented by a network of German and West African research institutes. The Graduate Studies Program, involving the creation of ten graduate schools in West Africa, contributes to the education of the next generation of African scientists and policy makers in the field of climate change and land management.

West African Science Service Center on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (WASCAL)