UWI researchers confronting the global crises
by Karel Mc Intosh
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Entrepreneurs often get the glory for charting new territories, taking risks, identifying needs in the marketplace, and offering solutions that can change people’s lives. But oftentimes, researchers can trump even the most seemingly gutsy move. Like their counterparts all over the world, researchers and academics at The University of the West Indies (UWI) have taken up the huge mantle of finding solutions to many of their societies’ problems and crises – some of which have already become huge challenges, and others in which improvements can lead to a better quality of life for all.
“I chose UWI as my base for research and teaching because life here is never boring,” says Professor Anthony Clayton, Alcan Professor of Caribbean Sustainable Development at UWI’s Institute for Sustainable Development in Mona, Jamaica. “Through strategies for sustainable development, I would like to do what I can to make the world a better place for my two children and future generations.”
This is exactly the sort of sentiment that the UWI aims to foster in its staff and students, and in increasing its research output and its innovation capacity, the University continues to set high standards despite the lack of structured, national and regional mechanisms for funding relevant research.
“The challenges that we face are no different from the global challenges now demanding creative responses from the region’s business, political and community leaders, as the Caribbean region seeks to navigate and to negotiate an increasingly complex, globalised world,” says Sir George Alleyne, UWI Chancellor. “The stature of our legacy will be determined by our ability to become the first port of call for regional leadership seeking advice and technical expertise for policy development, strategic planning and programme implementation.”
Getting on the world stage
International recognition of UWI researchers’ work certainly goes a long way in strengthening the institution’s reputation as a research powerhouse. In October 2007, when former US Vice President Al Gore Jr. and the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Control (IPCC) were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their work on climate change, three UWI researchers – representing UWI’s three main campuses, respectively – shared the glory. As members of the IPCC, Professor Anthony Chen – a retired Professor in Applied Atmospheric Physics at Mona (Jamaica), and Former Visiting Scientist at the Center for Ocean Land Atmosphere Studies (COLA, USA), Dr. Leonard Nurse – a Senior Lecturer in Coastal Management at The Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies (CERMES), Cave Hill (Barbados), and Professor John Agard – Professor of Life Sciences in the Department of Science and Agriculture, St Augustine (Trinidad) were Lead Authors for scientific, working group reports related to the connection between human activity and global warming.
Bringing together more than 2,000 scientists and officials from over 100 countries, the IPCC has worked to assess scientific, technical, social and economic information relevant for the understanding of climate change, its potential impacts, and options for adaptation and mitigation.
Home is where the lab is
Amidst such international recognition, UWI’s academics continue to zero in on problems at home. In his native Trinidad and Tobago, Professor Agard is currently coordinating the restoration of the Nariva Wetland – a project sponsored by the World Bank Biocarbon Fund. The project is unique – globally – in having three components of greenhouse gas emission reductions, while seeking to improve the livelihoods for villagers in the surrounding communities and enhancing biodiversity. Meanwhile, his UWI Cave Hill colleagues Professor Robin Mahon, Director of the Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies (CERMES), and Professor Julia Horrocks, of the Department of Biological and Chemical Sciences are equally consumed by environmental matters. Both researchers are based in the Faculty of Pure and Applied Sciences. As the Regional Project Coordinator for the UNESCO IOCARIBE Large Marine Ecosystem initiative, Professor Mahon is highly involved in efforts to implement institutional arrangements for governance of the shared living marine resources of the Caribbean region. Professor Horrocks has long established herself as an expert on biodiversity conservation and animal behaviour.
In today’s world, the issues of financial crises, food security, biodiversity, and chronic diseases are some of the priority areas for governments worldwide. Since its early years, UWI has been involved in the discussion and research of crises facing the Caribbean, and the rest of the world.
The impact of the University’s work has been felt directly in Jamaica’s health sector with units such as the Sickle Cell Unit at the University Hospital being lauded for an excellent track record in research and treatment. Not only does the Unit operate clinics for over 5,000 patients in Jamaica, it also attracts research fellows from numerous countries. Together with the Tropical Metabolism Research Unit and Epidemiology Research Unit – also based at Mona – and the Chronic Disease Research Unit (Cave Hill), the Sickle Cell Unit falls under the umbrella of UWI’s Tropical Medical Research Institute (TMRI). Established by the University to increase the output of research in major areas affecting the health of regional peoples, to increase the number of trained research scientists working in health, and to facilitate the uptake of research into policy, programmes and practice, the TMRI is actively contributing towards the betterment of the health status of Caribbean peoples.
