TD Walter Bean Professorship in Environment

We are proud to welcome Professor Denis Aheto as the TD Walter Bean Professor for 2023

Building the knowledge and skills necessary for society to address complex environmental issues, the TD Walter Bean Professorship aims to attract top international research professors on the environment to campus to give public lectures, teach classes, and meet with professors and students. Described as a "fitting testament" to the late Walter Bean’s legacy of community involvement and commitment to youth, education and community, the professorship is made possible thanks to the generosity of TD Canada Trust and their commitment to building a sustainable future together with their partners.

This year's TD Walter Bean Professor, Dr. Aheto visited the Faculty of Environment and delivered two lectures on Africa's Plastic Revolution.

As the Director of The Centre of Coastal Resilience at the University of Cape Coast, Ghana, Denis has been involved with interdisciplinary researches on the marine and coastal systems including assessing various aspects of pollution focusing on microplastics, heavy metals, and nutrient impacts on aquatic systems, biodiversity and livelihoods.

These studies have involved postgraduate students, faculty and coastal communities as a crucial component. As a contribution to global and regional goals, his Centre holds membership in the Global Partnership on Marine Litter and the Africa Marine Waste Network respectively. Some of these activities have been backstopped on the Vulnerability to Viability (V2V) Project, a transdisciplinary global partnership program led by members of the Faculty of Environment, University of Waterloo, Canada and researchers globally in Africa, Asia, among others.

About the 2023 TD Walter Bean Professor

Denis W. Aheto is a Professor of Coastal Ecology and Interdisciplinary Oceans Studies and Foundation Director of the Centre for Coastal Management - The Africa Centre of Excellence in Coastal Resilience (ACECoR) at the University of Cape Coast. He holds PhD and MSc Degrees in Environmental Sciences and Tropical Aquatic Ecology respectively from the University of Bremen. He also holds an MSc. Degree in Rural Development from the Swedish Agricultural University. He earned his BSc (Hons) Degree from the University of Cape Coast. Professor Aheto is a distinguished scholar, with over 15 years of scientific project management experience. He is the authorized representative of institutional donor funded projects in marine/coastal and fisheries management at the University of Cape Coast funded by the World Bank, African Union, USAID, DANIDA among others. He’s passionate about international academic partnerships in his area of professional work. He has an outstanding intellectual publication record in indexed journals on issues of coastal/marine ecosystem conservation, small-scale fisheries, marine spatial planning, wetlands ecology, and marine conflict issues. He serves on several national and international Boards including his role as technical advisor to West Africa Coastal Areas Management Program of the World Bank. He holds several meritorious awards for his contributions.  

Discover past lectures

Over the past three decades we have welcomed a number of outstanding research professionals from around the globe, including Dr. Shari Fox, Dr. Amber Wutich, and Dr. Julian Agyeman. Their lectures and many more are in our archives. 

History of TD Walter Bean Professorship