The International Centre for Water Resources and Global Change (ICWRGC) hosted the SASSCAL Graduate Studies Programme workshop in Integrated Water Resources Management (SGSP-IWRM) at the Federal Institute of Hydrology (BfG) from 27-28 June 2024.
The aim of the workshop was to give students an opportunity to present their work in a larger forum, and to facilitate and promote discussions among African and German researchers on current and future research themes in Southern Africa.
The PhD students enrolled at the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST) and spending three months in Germany came from Namibia, Botswana, Angola, South Africa, and Zambia. The students started their day at the International Commission for the Protection of the Rhine (ICPR), where the Head of the ICPR Secretariat informed them about transboundary river and flood risk management of the Rhine River.
No visit would be complete without practical experience! The students were invited to tour a sophisticated monitoring station with innovative online procedures for water monitoring. They also visited the control room for environmental radioactivity and the radiological warning point, including a water quality measuring station. They were then shown around the work of a PhD student as part of a bigger project of monitoring microplastics in the Rhine.
In the afternoon, the students took part in a tour around Koblenz city, learning about its history and development.
Group picture of workshop participants at the Rhine.
The second day started with welcome speeches from the deputy director and members of ICWRGC, who introduced the data centres GRDC, GEMS/Water Data Centre and ISMN hosted by BfG and ICWRGC. The presentation was followed by speeches from Prof. Gabin Ananou from DLR Projektträger, Dr. Jane Olwoch, the executive director of SASSCAL and PD Dr. Luna Bharati, the ICWRGC head of research and education division.
Each student had the chance to individually present his/her Ph.D. research. Discussions and feedback from fellow students, supervisors, and other researchers provided a vibrant and enriching atmosphere.
The late afternoon schedule focused on integrated water resource management in the 21st century in Southern Africa. Dr. Vuyisile Dlamini, the post-Doctoral Researcher of SGSP-IWRM demonstrated how NUST promotes innovation, technology transfer and entrepreneurship. She asserted the importance of Deep Tech: W.A.T.E.R approach, which promotes cutting-edge and disruptive technologies in addressing pressing water challenges. Prof. Ditiro Benson Moalafhi, the SGSP research chair gave an overview of the evident efforts of IWRM implementation in Southern Africa. He further emphasized that the work towards the realisation of IWRM in the region is mainly challenged by a lack of documentation, reporting, and information sharing. Prof. Jean-Marie Kileshye Onema, the Secretary General of the International Association of Hydrological Science, discussed the future of hydrology in Southern Africa given the ongoing challenges facing water, food and energy, and the future possibilities given AI application.
SGSP student Ofentse Moseki presents her work.
The participants were then divided into groups based on the SGSP’s current key research themes (water and wastewater systems and technology, hydrology and geohydrology, water security under climate and environmental changes, and sustainable water, energy, and food security), to discuss and document current and future research themes and challenges in Southern Africa. In general, challenges to future climate and global changes discussed included food insecurity, water scarcity, and floods. Challenges further arise, as the scale of analysis for climate and global change studies are not up to finer scales due to a lack of necessary data. Furthermore, there is a need for large experiments requiring resources that might not be available.
Some of the many new research themes in IWRM discussed included nature-based solutions, circular economy, artificial intelligence in agricultural water management, drought and flood forecasting.
To ensure that the research conducted by the participants is translated into policy, the following was recommended:
- Sharing policy briefs and engaging the community in our research
- Collaborating with government institutions that influence policymakers in events and research should address societal problems that are important to policymakers and give priority to development
- Collaborating with UN agencies and subsidiaries and providing recommendations to influence policymakers
- Conducting stakeholder mapping
- Aligning research with government priorities; researchers should familiarise themselves with government documents e.g. development plans and national adaptation plans
- Communicating in non-technical ways that are suitable for all stakeholders
The last presentation was given by Dr. Layla Hashweh, the ICWRGC-coordinator of SGSP about the joint collaboration and experiences from SGSP-IWRM. Dr. Hashweh focused on the importance of collaborating (working together to produce a joint outcome and achieve shared goals) in the success of the current cohort of SGSP-IWRM.
