With funding of 1.5 million Euros from Nuffic, a Netherlands initiative for capacity development in higher education, the institutions will work jointly on a water research and training project that will span over the next four years.
The announcement of the project, which took place at the Bellville Campus on 28 July 2010, was attended by delegates from government, Nuffic and the Netherlands Embassy in Pretoria.
Addressing delegates, Prof Lagardien, Director of the Centre of Water and Sanitation Research at CPUT and project leader said: “IWRM will become increasingly important in order to cope with the challenges of the water sector in South Africa.”
These challenges cover the entire water use cycle and range from inadequate planning for bulk water infrastructure to poor community participation in water planning and delivery.
Prof Lagardien, said: “This project will give practitioners a new set of IWRM skills required by the labour market and increase their career opportunities. In addition, it will help consolidate IWRM expertise focusing on equitable, efficient, effective and sustainable management of water resources, through CPUT and UWC.”
The project also supports the National Water Resources Strategy which calls for complimentary strategies in building capacity and expertise among practitioners in the water sector.
The project will identify niche areas and develop related IWRM training programmes at both institutions. It will also establish four IWRM related Niche
Areas with appropriate research and training agendas and infuse cross-cutting themes related to gender and institutional learning.
UWC Dean of Natural Sciences Prof Jan van Bever Donker said they are looking forward to working on the project with CPUT.
UWC has an established IWRM profile. Their experience, coupled with CPUT’S expertise in water engineering, will provide a foundation for both institutions to create IWRM capacity in South Africa.
Dr Chris Nhlapo, DVC Research, Technology and Innovation Partnerships said this project will add impetus to research activities at CPUT and assured Nuffic that the institutions will deliver on the key aspects of this initiative.
Rashid Khan, Chief Director of the Department of Water Affairs (Western Cape) gave the project his stamp of approval. Khan said it is vital that one of the outcomes of the project is skills development. Nokwanda Mpanza, Water Chamber coordinator of the ESETA noted the project’s potential to contribute to improved sector skills planning.
Dr Carin Vijfhuizen from Nuffic said they will monitor the project and are looking forward to positive results.
By Candes Keating
Photo: Delegates from CPUT, UWC and the Netherlands at the announcement of the project.
