Eric Lawer (PhD) is a human geographer whose research and teaching lie at the intersection of human geography and development studies, with broad interests in the political economy of mining, extractive sector governance, sustainable governance, political geographies of decarbonisation and energy transition, and climate change governance. His work is grounded in the political ecology of natural resources, examining how power, policy, and spatial transformations shape livelihoods and environments in Africa and beyond. Lawer is currently a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana, where he leads research on how offshore petroleum extraction transforms access to marine resources and generates new forms of dispossession, conflict, and adaptation among small-scale fishers in Ghana. His ongoing projects also examine political geographies of decarbonisation and energy transition in the Global North and South, sustainable governance challenges surrounding Africa’s man-made lakes, and the interface dynamics between large-scale mining (LSM) and artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM). He is the author of several peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters published in leading international outlets. Lawer regularly serves as a reviewer for top journals, including The Extractive Industries and Society, African Geographical Review, Environmental Politics, Coastal Studies and Society, GeoJournal, Ocean and Coastal Management, and the Journal of Asian and African Studies, among others. At the University of Ghana, he teaches graduate and undergraduate courses, including Research Methods, Water Resources, Livelihoods, and Development and Appropriate Technologies for Development in Africa, among others, while mentoring the next generation of African scholars and practitioners. Dr. Lawer has received several prestigious awards and fellowships, including a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the African Studies Centre Leiden (2025), an appointment as Guest Lecturer at Taipei National University of the Arts (2023), the CIM-GIZ Workplace Equipment Grant for German-Trained Returning Experts (2022), the Humanities Across Borders Research Grant (2021), the DAAD Doctoral Research Fellow Award (2015–2020), and the Norwegian Government Quota Scheme Scholarship Award for his MPhil studies.
Ph.D. in Human Geography, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany (2015-2020)
MPhil in Development Studies, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway (2010-2012)
BA Geography with Political Science, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra (2004-2008)
Research Interests
- Extractive sector governance
- Political economy of mining
- Infrastructure politics
- Policy mobilities and travelling models
- Political geographies of decarbonisation and energy transition in Africa
- Sustainable governance of man-made lakes
- Blue economy
- Green ports
- Environmental, climate, and spatial Justice
Current Research Projects
- Southeast Asia-Africa academic platform’ (SEA-A) Project, 2025 to date
- Man-made lakes and sustainable governance in Africa, 2025 to date
- Political geographies of decarbonising ports and maritime infrastructure, 2024-date
- Humanities across borders project (HaB 2), 2021-date
- Decolonising climate change governance in Africa (2024-date)
- Underwater timber ‘salvage’ and infrastructural contestations on Ghana's Volta Lake (2021-date)
- The economy and livelihood dimensions of oil and gas on Sekondi-Takoradi and the Atuabo enclave (2021-2023)
Undergraduate:
- UGRC 220: Appropriate Technology for Development in Africa
Postgraduate:
- AFST601: Research Methods
- AFST602: Advanced Research Methods
- AFST712, Water Resources, Livelihoods, and Development
- Lawer, E. T., Ntewusu, S. A., Addo, I. A., Aidoo, K. O., & Mba, C. C. (2025). Beadmaking as a pedagogical site: transcending the traditional walls between the academy and the community. Cultural Studies of Science Education. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11422-025-10250-w.
- Lawer, E. T., Siakwah, P., Mba, C. C., & Asante, K. T. (2024). The political economy of natural resource conflicts in Ghana: The case of the Songor. World Development Perspectives, 36, 100641. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wdp.2024.100641.
- Siakwah, P. & Lawer, E.T. (2024). Global Pressures in Policymaking: Insights from the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative and Ghana’s Petroleum Industry. In M. Kpessa-Whyte, & J. Dzisah (Eds.), Public Policy in Ghana: Conceptual and Practical Insights (pp.181-199). Cham Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-33005-6_11.
- Lawer, E.T. & Ablo, A. D. (2023). Accumulation by dispossession: The timber ‘salvage’ project on Ghana's Volta Lake. The Extractive Industries and Society, 13, 101205. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.exis.2022.101205.
- Owusu, V., Lawer, E. T., Adjei, M., & Ogbe, M. (2023). Impact of offshore petroleum extraction and “ocean grabbing” on small-scale fisheries and coastal livelihoods in Ghana. Maritime Studies, 22(2), 17, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40152-023-00307-3.
- Lawer, E. T. (2021). Transnational networks for the ‘greening’ of ports: Learning from best practice? GeoJournal, 86(2), 743-763, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-019-10096-0.
- Lawer, E. T., Herbeck, J. & Flitner, M. (2019). Selective Adoption: How Port Authorities in Europe and West Africa Engage with the Globalizing ‘Green Port’ Idea. Sustainability, 11(18), 5119, doi:10.3390/su11185119.
- Lawer, E. T. (2019). Examining stakeholder participation and conflicts associated with large scale infrastructure projects: the case of Tema port expansion project, Ghana. Maritime Policy & Management, 46(6), 735-756, doi:10.1080/03088839.2019.1627013.
- Lawer, E. T., Lukas M.C. & Jørgensen, S. H. (2017). The neglected role of local institutions in the ‘resource curse’ debate. Limestone mining in the Krobo region of Ghana. Resources Policy, 54, 43-52, doi: 10.1016/j.resourpol.2017.08.005.
- Partelow, S., Lukas, M.C., Rohe, J., Nelson, K., Borges, R., Minarro, S., Lawer, E.T. (2016). Ocean and Society: Integrating Research in the Environmental Social Sciences. In Bode, M., Jessen, C., & Golz, V. (Eds.), YOUMARES 7 - People and the 7 Seas – Interaction and Inspiration (pp. 146-156). Proceedings of the 2016 conference for Young Marine Researchers in Hamburg. Germany: German Society for Marine Research.
- Lawer, E. T., Norum, E., Ekanayaka, A., Erketo T.L., & Joseph, L. (2011). Creative Business Activities in Røros. Acta Geographica, 37(D), 84-107.
Session Chair – Natural Resources, Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability. College of Humanities Research Conference, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, 13-15 August 2025
Panellist – Humanities Across Borders: Indigo Dialogues Roundtable. Africa-Asia, A New Axis of Knowledge Conference-Festival. Dakar, Senegal 11–14 June 2025.
Presenter – Port Infrastructure Development and Stakeholder Issues. Presented at the LDE Sea-ing Africa: Tracing Legacies and Engaging Future Promises of 'Big' Infrastructure Projects in Port City Regions in Ghana and Morocco Workshop, Netherlands Institute in Morocco, Rabat, Morocco, 19–25 January 2025.
Panellist – Africa-Asia, A New Axis of Knowledge Roundtable. The 13th International Convention of Asian Scholars (ICAS 13), Surabaya, Indonesia, 28 July–1 August 2024.
Presenter – Field Schools as Catalysts for Knowledge Creation and Community Engagement. Presented at the 13th International Convention of Asian Scholars (ICAS 13), Surabaya, Indonesia, 28 July–1 August 2024.
Organiser – Indigo as Pedagogy International Field School. Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana, Accra, 1–5 February 2024.
Presenter – Coastal Infrastructures: Stakeholder Mapping and Value Dimensions for Inclusive Development. Presented at the LDE Sea-ing Africa: Tracing Legacies and Engaging Future Promises of 'Big' Infrastructure Projects in Port City Regions in Ghana and Morocco Workshop, School of Railways and Infrastructure Development, UmaT Essikado Campus, Takoradi, 22–27 January 2024.
Guest Lecturer – Craft Practices in an Era of Climate Change and Neoliberal Globalisation. Lecture delivered at Taipei National University of the Arts (TNUA), 13 December 2023, via Webex.
Co-Principal Investigator (Co-PI) – Craft as Method Workshop. Saint Louis, Senegal, 3–8 November 2022.
Presenter – Political Economy of the Handicraft Sector in Ghana. Craft as Method Workshop. Saint Louis, Senegal, 3–8 November 2022.
Discussant – Domination of Transnational Oil Companies Through Science and Technology: Questioning the Relevance of Africa’s Scientific Renaissance Without Visible African Players. Institute of African Studies (IAS) Seminar Series, University of Ghana, 24th June 2022.
Presenter – The Impacts of Oil and Gas on Sekondi-Takoradi and Atuabo Enclave: Economy and Livelihood Dimension. Institute of African Studies (IAS) Seminar Series, University of Ghana, 18 November 2021.
Discussant – Sustainable Development Through Effective Knowledge Sharing: Concepts, Methods, and Processes. A 3-day workshop organized by CIM/GIZ Program Migration and Diaspora, Takoradi, 16–18 September 2021.
Participant – Partnering for Sustainability Challenges: Climate, Oceans, Cities, and Communities. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Webinar Series organized by the University of Sydney (USYD) in collaboration with The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), 18 August 2021.
Participant – Reconfiguring Future Urban Infrastructures: Cities and Green Infrastructure. Webinar organized by the Manchester Urban Institute, University of Manchester, UK, 27 May 2021.
Participant – Stakeholder Engagement on Key Sustainable Development Issues for Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) in African Nations Bordering the Atlantic. Virtual Workshop organized by the University of Cape Coast and the University of Liverpool in collaboration with the Abidjan Convention Secretariat, 26 May 2021.
Participant – Africa's Readiness for Climate Change Conference. Webinar organized by The UCLA African Studies Center and the Earth Rights Institute, 19–23 April 2021.
Presenter – Network(ing) for Environmental Governance Among West African Port Authorities: Challenges and Prospects. Paper presented at the Centre for Maritime Research (MARE) Conference on Maritime Mobilities, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 5–7 July 2017.
Presenter – Sustainability Networks for the Greening of Ports: Learning from Best Practice? Paper presented at the Sustainability Research Center (artec) colloquium, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany, 7 June 2017.
Co-Chair – Social Science Session on Ocean and Society: Integrating Research in the Environmental Social Sciences. YOUMARES 7 Conference, Hamburg, Germany, 5–7 July 2016.
Presenter – Transnational Collaborations of Port Cities with Initiatives Around ‘Green Ports’, Climate Change Mitigation, and Green Logistics. Paper presented at the Bremen International Graduate School of Marine Science Workshop No. 61, University of Bremen, Germany, 5 February 2016.
Participant – Transnational Networks in Climate Policy Workshop. Organised by Zentra Center for Transnational Studies, Delmenhorst, Germany, 19 November 2015.