The University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR; French: Université de l'énergie et des ressources naturelles) is a public-funded university in Ghana, that was established by an Act of the Parliament of Ghana, Act 830, 2011 on December 31, 2011. The University is a public funded national institution which seeks to provide leadership and management of energy and natural resources and be a centre of excellence in these critical areas. The University approaches its programmes and research emphasizing interdisciplinary collaboration and taking into account, areas such as economics, law and policy, management, science, technology and engineering as well as social and political issues affecting energy and natural resources.Prior to the passing of the bill establishing the University into law, the then President, J. E. A Mills set up a National Task Force Planning Committee on January 8, 2010 with the mandate to develop, organize and supervise the implementation of the programme for the establishment of the two new Universities at Volta and Brong Ahafo (Now Bono) Regions. The 24-member Task Force was chaired by Samuel Kofi Sefah-Dedeh, a former Dean of the Faculty of Engineering Services, University of Ghana with Christine Amoako-Nuamah of the Office of the President, Osu Castle as the convener. Following the recommendations of the committee, the former president, J.E.A Mills cut the sod for the commencement of the University at Sunyani on February 8, 2011. The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology also handed over its campus of Faculty of Forest Resources Technology to the UENR at a colorful ceremony at Sunyani on June 7, 2012. When fully operational, the University would have seven schools. These are:The University is a multi campus set-up and currently has three campuses located in Sunyani, Nsoatre and Dormaa Ahenkro. The Sunyani campus which is approximately 85 acres (34 ha) is home to the School of Sciences; School of Natural Resources; School of Graduate Studies and the Main Administration of the University as well as the University Library.The School of Engineering would be located at the Nsoatre campus which is approximately 2,000 acres. The School of Agriculture and Technology and Geosciences would be situated on approximately 2000 acres of land at the Dormaa campus. The University would also have four field training stations in Mim, Bronsankoro and Kyeraa for the Agriculture and Forest Resources Management students and one at Bui for Engineering students. The University hopes to become a centre of excellence for the training of scientists and technologians for Ghana and beyond..
Efficient conversion of nitrogen oxides (NOx) in oxygen-rich exhaust remains a major challenge for selective catalytic reduction (SCR) with C3H6 and CO, especially at low temperature (<200 degrees C). In this study, in-situ coprecipitation method was used to support Cu-Mn-Ce on layered double oxide (LDO), which was then anchored on reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and further doped with Co, Ni, or Al, to prepare the nanocomposite catalysts, Cu-Mn-Ce-LDO/rGO/M. The C3H6/CO-SCR reactivity of the catalysts was evaluated by a fixed bed microreactor. Results proved that the nanocomposite catalysts have two functions: capture and storage NO via strong adsorption on oxygen-vacancy-rich coordinatively unsaturated sites (CUS) at lower temperature and reduce NO to N-2 via C3H6/CO-SCR at higher temperature. The capacity for NO capture-storage was between 159.35-58.81 mu mol. g(-1). The NO conversion and N-2 selectivity was proven to be as high as 92.5 % and 93.7 % at 250 degrees C for Co-doped catalyst, i.e., CuMnCe-LDO/rGO/Co, during the C3H6/CO-SCR reaction. The catalysts showed a strong resistance to SO2, above 90 % of NO conversion and 94 % of N-2 selectivity in the presence of 1000 ppm of SO2. Detailed characterizations illustrated that finely dispersed oxide nanodomains were anchored to rGO surface with abundant defects, which enhanced NO adsorption and reduction. In-situ DRIFTS showed that bidentate nitrates were the dominant intermediates, alongside bridging and monodentate nitrates were also formed. A mechanism combined the C3H6-driven Langmuir-Hinshelwood mechanism below 200 degrees C and Mars-van-Krevelen mechanism above 250 degrees C for CO oxidation was proposed.
The present study examines the impact of Buddhist values on agripreneurship and sustainability, with a mediating effect of market orientation. The study is carried out in Bhutan and the Sikkim state of India, employing 287 farmers, and utilised the GET2 Test Scale to assess entrepreneurial orientation, which considers five main parameters: Calculated Risk-Taking, Creative Tendency, Locus of Control, Need for Autonomy, and Need for Achievement. This study employs Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) using SmartPLS 4 to investigate the relationships among Buddhist values, Entrepreneurial Orientation, Sustainability, and Market Orientation. The results reveal that Buddhist values exert a statistically significant direct influence on sustainability across all samples, with comparatively stronger effects observed in Bhutan compared to India. Buddhist values also demonstrate a modest but significant influence on entrepreneurial orientation in India and the pooled sample, while the relationship is not significant in Bhutan. Notably, Buddhist values exhibit a strong and statistically significant association with market orientation across all contexts. Furthermore, market orientation significantly influences sustainability and partially mediates the relationship between Buddhist values and sustainability. Results suggest that incorporating Buddhist values into entrepreneurship training and policy frameworks can enhance sustainable production and consumption while promoting and retaining sustainable livelihoods. The study further recommends that targeted entrepreneurial training for farmers should focus on balancing sustainability and farm economics and positioning them as exemplars of alternative development models. The present study addresses a timely need for culturally focused models of entrepreneurship that reflect the ethical frameworks of farmers in Buddhist-majority Himalayan regions.
Reliable and accessible geospatial data are essential for monitoring sustainable development; however, many African countries face persistent data gaps that hinder evidence-based policymaking. Digital Earth (DE) technologies integrating Earth Observation, geospatial analytics, and cloud computing offer new opportunities to address these challenges. This study provides a systematic review and meta-analysis of Digital Earth applications supporting sustainable development in Africa. Using a PRISMA-based approach, 52 peer-reviewed studies published between 2005 and 2025 were analysed to evaluate the application domains, technological frameworks, and development outcomes associated with DE technologies. The results show that Digital Earth platforms significantly enhance environmental monitoring and decision-support capabilities, particularly in agriculture, land management, water resources, and urban development. However, major barriers remain, including limited technical capacity, inadequate digital infrastructure, and challenges in integrating multi-source geospatial datasets. This study contributes to the literature by providing the first comprehensive synthesis of Digital Earth applications for sustainable development in Africa and by identifying key technological and institutional conditions required for scaling geospatial data systems across the continent.
This study examined the impact of disturbance-related factors on plant communities across ten riparian corridors in the Greater Kumasi Metropolitan Area of Ghana. The prevalence index method was used to classify plants as wetland and non-wetland species. Cluster analysis, the Gambin model, and Hill numbers were employed to assess compositional similarities, species distribution patterns, and diversity, respectively, while the CCA technique was applied to evaluate species responses to disturbances. A total of 3,307 individuals from 40 families and 123 species were sampled. Three of the ten riparian sites (Kaasi (KARV) (χ2 = 9.09, P = 0.03), Denyami (DAST) (χ2 = 9.19, P = 0.02), and Nhyiaso (NHST) (χ2 = 10.31, P = 0.04)) showed significant differences in their species distribution. Overall, the significant effect of disturbances across the ten riparian sites (Kwχ2 = 190.5, P < 0.0004), indicated that burning (r = 0.68, P < 0.01), and clear cutting (r = 0.84, P < 0.001) and solid waste (r = 0.26, P < 0.05) on axis I, and erosion (r = -0.52, P < 0.05), farming (r = 0.80, P < 0.001) and liquid waste (r = -0.25, P < 0.05) were the main drivers that favoured the dominance of dry land species namely facultative upland species (32.5
Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (ASM) is a critical driver of soil contamination in West Africa, yet quantifying the relative contributions of natural and anthropogenic sources remains a major challenge. This study presents an integrated framework combining contamination indices, receptor modelling, and Machine Learning (ML) to evaluate Potentially Toxic Element (PTE) dynamics in soils from the Nangodi area, northern Ghana. A total of 552 grid-based soil samples were analysed for Cr, Co, Cu, Pb, V, and Zn using ED-XRF. Descriptive statistics revealed highly skewed distributions and elevated coefficients of variation for Cr, Co, and Cu, reflecting heterogeneous contamination patterns typical of ASM terrains. Pollution indices indicated divergent outcomes: the ecological Risk Index (RI) classified all samples as low risk (RI < 150), whereas the Nemerow Integrated Pollution Index (NIPI) identified 35.5
