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Water management expertise for Africa

22 October 2008

Director Water Research Node Dr Dirk Roux, Chief Executive International WaterCentre Mark Pascoe, MSA Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research) Professor Dina Burger, MSA Pro Vice-Chancellor Tyrone Pretorius.

A new initiative that aims to help turnaround degraded freshwater river systems in Africa has been launched at the Monash South Africa campus.

The International WaterCentre (IWC) Africa Water Research Node aims to help African policy makers better manage the continent's freshwater resources.

The IWC is a joint venture between Monash University, Griffith University, the University of Queensland and the University of Western Australia.

The South African node will be led by MSA's Dr Dirk Roux who has more than 15 years' experience in the assessment and management of freshwater ecosystems.

State-of-River reports for many South African rivers over the past 10 years have provided harsh evidence that freshwater ecosystems are far more threatened than marine or terrestrial ecosystems.

Dr Roux said we lived in an era where value systems, misdirected ingenuity and modern technologies had brought about a planetary emergency.

"Fresh water is arguably the most fundamental of all natural resources affecting every form of life on earth," Dr Roux said.

"This valuable resource is in particular crisis as its rate of exploitation exceeds the capacity of nature to regenerate it."

Dr Roux said he believed scientists had an obligation to produce new knowledge and effectively communicate their findings to the community and policy makers.

"The IWC Africa Water Research Node will contribute by promoting and facilitating novel, interdisciplinary research, encouraging post-graduate students to become leaders in the water sector, and by working with the community to develop workable solutions."

MSA Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research) Professor Dina Burger said Monash South Africa had positioned itself to undertake innovative research on issues of concern in contemporary Africa.

"Several research nodes are being created to address critically important themes such as water, energy, climate and global movements as part of our expansion strategy," Professor Burger said.

"These research nodes will include high quality research, higher degrees by research, short courses and community engagement projects."