DATE / TIME:

July 14, 2016

Location:

Accra

The United Nations University Institute for Natural Resources in Africa (UNU-INRA) respectfully invites the general public to a seminar. The seminar aims at sharing information with stakeholders on research being conducted by two of the Institute’s visiting scholars.

Date: 14^th July, 2016

Time: 10-12pm

Venue: UNU-INRA Office, 2nd Floor, International House, University of Ghana campus, Legon, Accra

Details of the Seminar

Effects of Barriers to Eco-Innovation within Small and Medium-Sized Manufacturing Firms in the Peripheral Regions of Lagos by Dr. Maruf Sanni

This paper examines barriers that limit the capability of SMEs to introduce eco-innovation in the peripheral regions of the Lagos metropolis. The study categorized obstacles to eco-innovation into cost, technological capability, market, organizational culture and regulatory barriers.  Results of the ordinal probit regression analysis reveal that technological capability, regulatory environment as well as search for external knowledge and the firm’s sector are the most critical factors that affect eco-innovation among the SMEs. The results also suggest that the more barriers the firms overcome, the more eco-innovative they become. The policy implications from these results indicate that policy makers should nurture and support external sources of knowledge and networks where SMEs seek solutions to their challenges. Policy makers are also advised to be wary of proposing blanket eco-innovation policies for manufacturing firms but rather they should envision policy mixes targeting a specific sub-sector to enhance its competitive advantage in the emerging green market.

Mining, Game of Powers and Sustainable Development in Burkina-Faso by Mr Tongnoma ZONGO

This research investigates how mining interacts with its environment at the local and national levels for sustainable development. To achieve this goal, we adopt the empirical inductive method. It appears from the study that the mining sector’s contribution to social and economic development is very insignificant. Although efforts have been made by the government in setting up a new mining code in 2015 to regulate the mining sector, the applicability on the ground is not effective. We found that the weakness of the state in regulating the mining sector may be explained by its indecisive position on partnership. Thus the government’s aim is to affirm its power over resources, meanwhile the population continues to face numerous social and environmental problems. Adequate policies to make mining a real lever for sustainable development are discussed in the paper

About the Speakers

Dr. Maruf Sanni, a Visiting Scholar of UNU-INRA, obtained his doctorate degree in Public Policy with a focus on low-carbon development pathways from the University of KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. His doctoral thesis examined policy pathways for eco-innovation in the manufacturing sector of Nigeria. He is a Senior Research Officer at the National Centre for Technology Management in Nigeria. He has worked with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as an Intern on Climate Resilient Development and Action Intelligent Platform projects. His research interests are in the areas of low-carbon innovation pathways, low-carbon learning and competence building, and climate-resilient development.

Mr Tongnoma ZONGO is a PhD Intern at UNU-INRA. He holds an Mphil. Degree in Geography (Land Use Option) from the University of Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso and is currently a PhD student in the Geography Departments of the University of Ouagadougou and University of Paris I, France. His research area focuses on natural resources management, specifically on “Gold Panning and Territorial Dynamics in Burkina Faso”. Zongo has been a Researcher at the National Centre for Scientific and Technological Research (CNRST) since 2014.