The Bolgatanga Technical University (BTU) in the Upper East Region has won a grant of GH₵ 480,000.00 to implement a cutting-edge Climate Change project dubbed “Enhancing Traditional Building Materials for Sustainable Climate – Smart Green Development”, in the Upper East Region.
The GH₵ 480,000.00 funding is from the Canadian International Development Research Centre (IDRC) under the Science Granting Council Initiative.
The implementation of the 18-month project, which is to be supervised by the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation (MESTI) would implement activities including a thorough investigation e of conventional building materials and the measurement of their environmental effects through life cycle assessments and carbon footprint calculations.
The project will also investigate and find sustainable alternatives to typical construction materials, taking into account issues such as recyclability, energy efficiency in manufacturing, and eco-friendliness.
Under the renewable energy integration component of the project, the intervention would explore the viability and efficacy of incorporating renewable energy sources, such as solar panels, biomass, and wind turbines, into traditional building constructions.
In a media briefing on the implementation of the intervention in Bolgatanga on Thursday, the Principal Investigator (PI), Surv. Prof. Callistus Tengan explained that to reduce transportation-related emissions and the total carbon footprint of building projects, the project would also encourage the use of locally produced materials in traditional construction.
The project will further investigate the integration of smart technologies in traditional buildings, using sensors and automation to optimize building’s energy efficiency, and monitor resource utilization leading to improved energy management”, he added.
Prof Tengan explained that as part of the implementation strategies, the project team which includes Miss Zangina Emmanuella and Ing. Raymond Gyaang would undertake community engagement initiatives to create awareness about sustainable construction practices and to engage local populations in the adoption of green building approaches.
The PI also added that to ensure accountability and transparency, the project implementation stages, results, and outputs would be disseminated by the MESTI and IDRC’s Open Access Policy for public consumption.
He indicated that Open-access publishers of books and journal articles would also publish articles on the project interventions and their impact.
He again stated that the anticipated outcomes would include a catalog of sustainable material alternatives, guidelines for renewable energy integration, toolkits for local sourcing and carbon reduction, manuals for smart technology integration, and documents detailing effective community engagement strategies.
“This initiative aims to provide practical tools, guidelines, and frameworks applicable in traditional construction practices, fostering sustainable, climate-conscious development. These will contribute to creating climate change-resilient, sustainable built environments, aligning with the broader goal of promoting sustainable practices and minimizing the environmental impact of construction activities.
Prof Tengan who concluded that Traditional building materials can have a large environmental impact, explained that the overall goal of the project is to undertake a complete study of the environmental effects of conventional building materials such as concrete, bricks, and wood.
Understanding their life cycle emissions, resource depletion, and waste creation will offer a benchmark against which other materials may be compared.
The Vice-Chancellor, Prof Samuel Erastus Alnaa, congratulated the team and asked for more collaborations from industry and other partners in solving society’s challenges through research. He stated that the intervention has a bearing on Sustainable Development Goal Three, which advocates for good health and well-being for all, and is also in line with some of the core values of BTU, which centers on innovation and sustainability.
