• To conduct an in-depth study on the predictive power of the environment and climate science for appropriate planning and policies evaluations;
• To contribute to the existing knowledge in environmental and climate sciences issues through empirical studies and research;
• To educate and create awareness of proper and genuine issues in environmental, climate science issues and socio-cultural policies in corrective and
development planning through workshops, seminars, symposiums etc; and
• To understand how the environment and climate science have impacts on human health etc.
Hands-on and results-driven, environmental science and climate change professional, expertise in consultancy and advisor to international efforts in mitigating environmental damage. Fierce commitment to improve the human condition as it relates to protecting the environment and improving living conditions. Impressive academic background coupled with extensive experience teaching undergraduate and graduate students on subjects of Geography and Environmental Sciences. Serve as a strong influencer amongst government officials, international dignitaries, opinion drivers, and key stakeholders.
Drought Vulnerability Assessment of Central and North-West Liberia to Climate Change
My PhD research proposal is an assessment study on drought vulnerability due to climate variability impacts in Central and North Western Liberia. Liberia’s location in West Africa allows for the country’s climate to be described in terms of two separate climate regimes. The equatorial climate regime with rainfall occurring throughout the year in the southernmost part of Liberia and the tropical regime dominated by the interaction of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) including the West African Monsoon (LNDP, 2019).
Due to the prevailing climatic condition, West Africa has been described as a hotspot of climate change (IPCC 2014). In this region a temperature of 3-60 C above the late 20th century baseline is “very likely” to materialize within the 21st century and the fact that this projection is expected to occur one or two decades earlier than other regions (IPCC 2014) contributes to making the region even more vulnerable to climate change as it hinges on Liberia.
The purpose of this study is to assess the characteristics of drought as it impacts agriculture focusing on precipitation trends, data on actual and potential evapotranspiration, soil water deficit patterns and ground water or reservoir profiles.
To address the thesis objectives, the researcher will use an integrated range of methods, including acquiring climate data from satellite station, using ArcGIS/Google Earth to model observe climate for the period (2001-2041), fix to a temperature rise of 00 C to get the de-trended observation, and to project for future climate for 40 years’ time period (2026-2066). To ensure data quality and reliability of the data, longer period of data will be used to calculate changes in intensity and frequency of drought over the entire country. Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) will be used to analyze the extent to which temperature and precipitation rates determine drought intensity and frequency of drought in Liberia; quantitative assessments of agricultural data; participatory methods to assess indicators of exposure, and sensitivity and adaptive capacity and experts stakeholders and interviews to assess institutional capabilities and policy arrangement at the district, county and national levels in Liberia.
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