The FSE recently participated in a sustainable resource management project to ensure water security in the Limpopo River Basin, an initiative for a transboundary hydro-economic model (SusTraL project). The SusTraL project is bringing together research institutions in South Africa (University of Cape Town, Federation for Sustainable Environment), Germany (Kiel University; Kiel Institute for the World Economy), Botswana (Okavango Research Institute), Mozambique (Eduardo Mondlane University).
The project leader is Prof Djiby Thiam.
Interactive and productive meetings were held on the 27th to the 29th of April, 2022 in Pretoria with key partners, including key officials of the Department of Water and Sanitation, that work on water resource management in the Limpopo River Basin.
The objective of the meetings was to learn from policymakers who have been working in the basin for several years and gather their insights for the development of the full proposal.. This interaction is expected to assist the team to identify new, relevant, and context-based avenues that could help the riparian countries to better coordinate and manage water resources in the LRB for the benefit of the people and the environment. This pro-active engagement between researchers and policymakers is also expected to trigger the demand for research that directly responds to precise and urgent needs that correspond to the national development plan and the national water and sanitation master plan.
The FSE’s powerpoint presentation, titled “Identification of Critical Water Related Challenges to address in the Limpopo River Basin, which was delivered on the 28th of April, 2022, is attached hereto.