What's New
U of G Gets $4.7 Million for International Projects
November 6, 2006
The University of Guelph has received nearly $5 million from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) to enhance resource-poor livelihoods in Ghana and to restore the tsunami-affected areas of Sri Lanka. Both projects are headed by researchers from OAC.
The Ghana project received funding from CIDA’s prestigious Tier 1 fund, totalling $3 million over six years. This is the first time U of G has received Tier 1 funding. Tier 1 projects are managed by CIDA’s Universities and Colleges Program and promote major development and institution-building projects.
Environmental biology professor Andy Gordon and research associate Naresh Thevathasan are heading the Ghana project. Their goal is to enhance livelihoods in resource-poor communities using agroforestry technologies.
The Sri Lanka project received $1.7 million from CIDA under the tsunami reconstruction facility program. The project, headed by retired rural extension studies professor Jana Janakiram, was developed by a consortium of Canadian universities, including U of G, the University of Manitoba, Queen’s University and the University of Waterloo.
The Sri Lanka project aims to help reconstruct the shattered lives of communities affected by the tsunami in an environmentally friendly and sustainable manner. Emphasis will be placed on empowering women through skills training, entrepreneurship training and alternative livelihood training. It will also develop community-based early warning and emergency response plans for natural disasters.
