Elaine Tweneboah

I attended the Associateship Programme at the African Gender Institute from May to August 2002. At that time I was at crossroads in my professional career. A few months earlier, I had completed an MPhil in Environmental Science at the University of Ghana, Legon. Around the same time too, I was a team member on the Women’s Health in the City of Accra Project, a collaboration between the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Michigan and the Institute of African Studies of University of Ghana, Legon. During the project, I developed the desire to do more research into issues affecting women. However coming from a natural science background, I did not have any theoretical training in this field. The three months at the AGI offered me time and space to decide in which direction I wanted to go.

After leaving the AGI, I took up an appointment as a Researcher at the Centre for Social Policy Studies (CSPS), University of Ghana. My main duties include publishing material and promoting interdisciplinary research on women related issues and the environment; organizing and participating in workshops, lectures and seminars on the environment; actively promoting capacity building and training, advocacy and community service; and actively participating in networking and information sharing both nationally and internationally.

My research interests include

• Human-environment Interactions
• The role of women in natural resource management
• Sanitation and environmental health
• Integrated Coastal Zone Management
• Sustainable tourism and Eco-tourism
• Water and Sustainable Development
• Community perceptions on Government Policy
• Poverty, Vulnerability and the environment
• Environmental Education

Since April 2005, I have been pursuing my PhD in the International Study Course in Environmental and Resource Management (ERM) at the Brandenburg Technology University (BTU,) Cottbus, Germany. The topic for doctoral thesis is “Environmental Values and Attitudes of Ghanaian coastal women towards Natural resource Management”. Fundamentally, the study proposes to assess the kind of environmental values coastal women have regarding natural resources in two coastal towns in Ghana. It investigates any poverty-coastal natural resource linkages and how this affects natural resource management in Ghana. It also examines the feasibility of using the paired comparison method as an alternative methodology in assessing environmental values.

I am also a member of the following

• Association of Women’s rights in Development (AWID)
• International Association of Impact Assessment (IAIA)- Ghana Chapter
• The Economy of Ghana network (EGN) Social Development Forum
• The World Academy of Young Scientists (WAYS)
• Women In Science and Technology (WIST) Ghana
• I got married in September 2004 and live with my husband in Accra. My hobbies include travelling, reading, writing and cooking.

Published/Unpublished works

• Tweneboah, E and Gordon, C. (In press) Women and the Environment in Ghana. Research Review
• Tweneboah, E. 2003. Women, Coastal pollution and Health in Ada-Foah, Ghana. Women and Environments International (60-61): 16-18

Abstract only

• Adanu, R. M. K. and Tweneboah, E. 2004. Reasons, Fears and Emotions behind induced abortions at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra. Research Review 20 (2): 1-4.

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