Denis W. Aheto is a Professor of Coastal ecology and Director of the Centre for Coastal Manegment - The Africa Centre of Excellence in Coastal Resilience (ACECoR) at the University of Cape Coast. He is a distinguished German trained academic (DAAD Scholar) and expert in coastal management, with over 10 years of project management experience. He is the authorized representative of institutional donor funded projects in coastal and fisheries management at the University of Cape Coast funded by the World Bank, USAID and DANIDA among others worth over US$ 15 million. He was instrumental in the establishment of the Centre for Coastal Management (CCM) at the University of Cape Coast in 2013.

Prof. Denis Worlanyo Aheto is a visionary leader with a strong passion for grants success and resources mobilization. He has proven leadership qualities, teamwork spirit, and is business-minded with an interest for scientific collaborations and the development of international academic partnerships in his area of professional work. He has outstanding intellectual publication record in international indexed journals to understand and manage cross-cutting issues in the field of natural and agricultural sciences.

He has published several scientific articles in internationally reputable peer reviewed journals including Nature Scientific Reports, Ocean and Coastal Management, Journal of Coastal Conservation, Wetlands, PLOS One, Sustainability, Aquaculture International, Regional Studies in Marine Science, Environmental Sciences Europe, West African Journal of Applied Ecology, African journal of marine science, and the Journal of Environment and Ecology among others. He has also authored several consultancy and commissioned project reports.

His academic and professional awards include the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) Prize in 2007 for outstanding academic achievement at the University of Bremen. In 2015, he was awarded the University of Cape Coast’s Award of Honour as Distinguished Lecturer for his dexterity and outstanding contributions to the University.

At the international level, he is a member of the United Nations Pool of Experts for Global Assessments on the state of the marine environment. He is also a member of the World Bank interim Technical Advisory Committee (iTAC) of the West Africa Coastal Area (WACA) Program and a member of the Advisory Board for the US Government’s Feed the Future program of USAID.

At the national level, he is a member of the UNESCO Man and Biosphere (MAB) National Committee under the auspices of the Environmental Protection Agency of Ghana, where he also chairs the funding sub-committee. He is member of the National Board for Professional and Technical Examinations (NABPTEX) responsible for overseeing vocational and technical education programmes and qualifications of Technical Universities in Ghana. He also serves as a member of the National Implementation Committee of Anomabo Fisheries College under auspices of the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development (MOFAD).

He serves as external examiner for postgraduate theses (PhD and Masters) from sister academic Departments from University of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, and the University of Energy and Natural Resources. Over the years, he has also reviewed promotion applications of colleague faculty members from these universities as well.

He served as Chair and member of the National Accrediattion Board (NAB) team to provide expert review of the postgraduate fisheries and aquaculture curricula of the University of Energy and Natural Resources and CSIR College of Science and Technology respectively.

He has participated in research, professional meetings and conferences in Ghana, Sweden, Thailand, Namibia, Zambia, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Djibouti, Senegal, Japan, Switzerland, Norway and Germany and has attended professional training courses in Australia, and the United States of America.

Along his line of duty as lecturer at the University of Cape Coast, Prof. Denis Worlanyo Aheto contributes to the work of university wide Boards and Committees. In 2015/2016, he served as a member of the search Committee for the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast. He was Examinations Officer at the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (2010-2012), Head of the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (2012-2016), He was chair of the University's Library Board for two terms from 2013.

Other Committees he worked include Income Generation Committee of the University of Cape Coast (2012-2013), Adhoc Committee to Develop Research Agenda for UCC (2012-2013), Hall Tutor, Casely Hayford Hall (2010-2014), Science Technology & Mathematics Education Committee (2011-2012), Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Board (2010-2012) among others.

Prof. Denis Worlanyo Aheto supervises several doctoral, masters and undergraduate students in coastal management, marine conflicts, fisheries governance, climate change adaptation, fisheries and aquaculture socioeconomics, ecology and management of coastal water bodies (estuaries and lagoons) and mangrove wetlands and topics related to anthropogenic impacts on the hydrology, coastal urban planning, blue economy, and social resilience in coastal economies.