Dr Elias Nkiaka
Department of Geography
Leverhulume Early Career Research Fellow
Full contact details
Department of Geography
Geography and Planning Building
Winter Street
Sheffield
S3 7ND
- Profile
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Elias hold a BSc in civil engineering from the University of Douala-Cameroon (2003) with additional specialisation as a building and construction teacher, a master’s degree in water resources engineering (distinction) from Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and Vrije Universiteit Brussels, Belgium (2010) and a PhD in hydrology and water resources management from the University of Leeds, UK (2018). Elias is a multiple award winning scholar and was awarded the VLIR scholarship to study for his master degree in Belgium (2008 - 2010), a Commonwealth Scholarship for his PhD in the UK (2014 - 2018) and his current research is funded by the Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowship (2020 - 2023).
During his PhD Elias supervised a master student thesis titled “Application of SWAT model in the Anambra River basin, Nigeria”. Elias was a visiting scientist (August – October 2017) at the Department of Natural Sciences, Stellenbosch University, South Africa working on a Global Environment Facility (GEF) funded project; spatial planning for protected areas in response to climate change (SPARC).
Elias has previously taught building and construction in technical colleges in Cameroon (2004 – 2008) before proceeding for further studies abroad. After completing his studies in Belgium, Elias returned to Cameroon and worked part time as an Assistant Lecturer (2011 – 2013) at the Faculty of Agronomy and Agricultural Sciences, University of Dschang, Cameroon. He has experience teaching diverse group of students at both secondary and tertiary levels.
Elias has published extensively in different peer reviewed journals and is a widely cited scientist. Elias was recently commissioned by the World Bank to write a report on the impact of natural climate variability and short term climate change on the Kenya Livestock Insurance Program (KLIP).
- Research interests
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I conduct research in the areas of water security, water-energy-food-environment nexus, groundwater – surface water interactions, hydrological modelling, environmental flows, climate information services for society, pro-environmental behaviour and citizen science.
- Publications
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Journal articles
- A quantitative understanding of the state and determinants of water-energy-food security in Africa. Environmental Science & Policy, 140, 250-260.
- Evaluating the accuracy of gridded water resources reanalysis and evapotranspiration products for assessing water security in poorly gauged basins. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 26(22), 5899-5916.
- Effects of climate and anthropogenic changes on current and future variability in flows in the So'o River Basin (south of Cameroon). Hydrology Research, 53(9), 1203-1220.
- Exploring the socioeconomic determinants of water security in developing regions. Water Policy, 24(4), 608-625.
- Climate information services available to farming households in Northern Region, Ghana. Weather, Climate, and Society, 14(2), 467-480.
- Impact of rainfall variability and land use change on river discharge in South Cameroon. Water, 14(6).
- Water security assessment in ungauged regions using the water balance and water footprint concepts and satellite observations. Hydrology Research, 53(2), 336-352. View this article in WRRO
- Gendered perceptions and adaptation practices of smallholder cocoa farmers to climate variability in the Central Region of Ghana. Environmental Challenges, 5.
- Effect of climate variability on yields of selected staple food crops in northern Ghana. Journal of Agriculture and Food Research, 6.
- Progress and challenges of demand-led co-produced sub-seasonal-to-seasonal (S2S) climate forecasts in Nigeria. Frontiers in Climate, 3. View this article in WRRO
- Food-energy-water security in sub-Saharan Africa : quantitative and spatial assessments using an indicator-based approach. Environmental Development.
- Water security in sub-Saharan Africa: Understanding the status of sustainable development goal 6. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Water.
- Using traditional agroecological knowledge to adapt to climate change and variability in the Upper East Region of Ghana. Environmental Challenges, 4. View this article in WRRO
- Understanding the role of user needs and perceptions related to sub-seasonal and seasonal forecasts on farmers' decisions in Kenya: a systematic review. Frontiers in Climate, 3.
- Climate Variability, Land Cover Changes and Livelihoods of Communities on the Fringes of Bobiri Forest Reserve, Ghana. Forests MDPI, 12,.
- Exploring the need for developing impact-based forecasting in West Africa. Frontiers in Climate, 2. View this article in WRRO
- Identifying user needs for weather and climate services to enhance resilience to climate shocks in sub-Saharan Africa. Environmental Research Letters, 14(12). View this article in WRRO
- What determines behaviours towards water resources management in a rural context? Results of a quantitative study. Resources, 8(2). View this article in WRRO
- Strengthening the science-policy interface for climate adaptation : stakeholder perceptions in Cameroon. Regional Environmental Change, 19(4), 1047-1057. View this article in WRRO
- Assessing the reliability and uncertainties of projected changes in precipitation and temperature in Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 5 models over the Lake Chad basin. International Journal of Climatology, 38(14), 5136-5152. View this article in WRRO
- Mainstreaming climate adaptation into sectoral policies in Central Africa: Insights from Cameroun. Environmental Science & Policy, 89, 49-58. View this article in WRRO
- Effect of single and multi-site calibration techniques on hydrological model performance, parameter estimation and predictive uncertainty: a case study in the Logone catchment, Lake Chad basin. Stochastic Environmental Research and Risk Assessment, 32(6), 1665-1682. View this article in WRRO
- Using standardized indicators to analyse dry/wet conditions and their application for monitoring drought/floods: a study in the Logone catchment, Lake Chad basin. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 62(16), 2720-2736. View this article in WRRO
- Science-policy interfaces. African Journal of Ecology, 55(3), 257-258. View this article in WRRO
- Analysis of rainfall variability in the Logone catchment, Lake Chad basin. International Journal of Climatology, 37(9), 3553-3564. View this article in WRRO
- Evaluating global reanalysis datasets as input for hydrological modelling in the Sudano-Sahel region. Hydrology, 4(1). View this article in WRRO
- Evaluating global reanalysis precipitation datasets with rain gauge measurements in the Sudano-Sahel region: case study of the Logone catchment, Lake Chad Basin. Meteorological Applications, 24(1), 9-18. View this article in WRRO
- Use of continuous simulation model (COSIMAT) as a complementary tool to model sewer systems: a case study on the Paruck collector, Brussels, Belgium. Water and Environment Journal, 30(3-4), 310-320. View this article in WRRO
- Using self-organizing maps to infill missing data in hydro-meteorological time series from the Logone catchment, Lake Chad basin. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 188(7). View this article in WRRO
Other
Preprints
- A quantitative understanding of the state and determinants of water-energy-food security in Africa. Environmental Science & Policy, 140, 250-260.
- Teaching interests
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I have a diverse range of teaching experience spanning GIS and Remote Sensing, Hydrology, Climate Services and International Development.
- Teaching activities
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I currently contribute to the module GEO412.