Kick-Off Workshop CuveWaters

On 14th December 2006, the kick-off workshop for the CuveWaters project took place at the Institute for Social-Ecological Research in Frankfurt am Main. The participants represented three German institutions, the Institute for Social-Ecological Research (ISOE), the Technische Universität Darmstadt (Chair of Water Supply and Groundwater Protection (IWAR)), and the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology (IGB), all of which are involved in the CuveWaters project.

The objective of the constitutive meeting was to establish and consolidate the research team for the joint project as well as fine-tuning its design. The meeting focussed on the exchange of information between the institutions and the coordination of further activities. Collaboration between an experienced institution outside the university milieu (IGB), a technical university (IWAR) and an institute based on a social-ecological foundation (ISOE) was generally seen as a promising constellation by all participants. There was general consensus as to the division of fields of research: while IGB will work mainly on urban sanitation and waste water treatment technologies, IWAR will focus on water supply technologies in the rural parts of the region. ISOE, the institution responsible for leading and coordinating the overall project, will especially concentrate on concept development, social-ecological empirical work, and governance and institutionalisation. All partners will be involved in capacity building and participation activities.

During discussions, it became apparent that the transdisciplinary research approach advocated by ISOE will play a key role in the integration of natural, engineering, and social sciences into the general framework of the project. The importance of a problem-orientated research approach focussing on demand and driven by participation was further emphasised. The project poses many challenges that need to be addressed in the course of its implementation.

As other researchers and donors have left several initiatives semi-finished in Namibia, people in the region are cautious not to have things imposed upon them. To ensure the support of Namibian institutions and organisations, a kick-off workshop will take place in Windhoek on the 22nd of February 2007. In addition, presentations for the Regional Development Coordinating Committee of the Oshana Region and the Oshakati Town Council CuveWaters Committee are being worked out. Finally, CuveWaters will participate in a planning workshop of the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry on ‘Integrated Water Resources Management in the Cuvelai-Etosha Basin’ (Feb/March 2007).