Water Research Node established at Monash South Africa

8 October 2008

At the launch of the Water Research Node: from the Left: Dr Dirk Roux, Director, Water Research Node; Professor Dina Burger Pro Vice-Chancellor: Research; MSA; Mr Mark Pascoe, Chief Executive, International WaterCentre; and Prof Tyrone Pretorius, Pro Vice-Chancellor, MSA.

The Research Directorate at Monash South Africa has officially launched its International Water Centre: Africa Water Research Node headed up by Dr Dirk Roux.  The Water Research Node enjoys direct support from Monash University in Australia and the International WaterCentre

The WaterCentre is a private sector organisation with head office in Brisbane, Australia which includes an international network of partners and projects.  It focuses on education, research and consultancy to build capacity in integrated water management.
Prof Dina Burger Pro Vice-Chancellor: Research says: “Monash South Africa has positioned itself to do innovative research on issues of concern in contemporary Africa. As part of its expansion strategy, several research nodes are being created to address critically important themes such as water, energy, climate and global movements. These research nodes will straddle between delivering high quality research, higher degrees by research, short courses and community engagement projects."
During his opening address, ‘Water for sustained human wellbeing: The capacity of the environment and our capacity to use it wisely’, Dr Roux reflected on the challenge of moving towards a more sustainable relationship between people and fresh water and on associated trends in research.

He said that: “We live in an era in which value systems, misdirected ingenuity and modern technologies have brought about a planetary emergency.  Earth’s biophysical support system shows indisputable signs of extensive deterioration.  Progressive erosion of the environmental resource base has widespread consequences because human health, economies, social justice and national security intimately depend on the structure, function, and resilience of ecological systems.

“Fresh water is arguably the most fundamental of all natural resources.  It affects every form of life on earth.  The supporting, provisioning, regulating and cultural services that we get from freshwater ecosystems are also integrally linked to sustained human wellbeing (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005).  Yet this valuable resource is in particular crisis as its rate of exploitation exceeds the capacity of nature to regenerate it.  

The State-of-River reports for many South African rivers over the past 10 years provide harsh evidence (see www.csir.co.za/rhp).  South Africa’s first National Spatial Biodiversity Assessment conducted in 2004 also confirmed that freshwater ecosystems are far more threatened than our marine or terrestrial ecosystems.

It is the view of many leading scholars that the most pressing issue of our time is the fragile relationship between societal existence, human well-being and ecological systems.
 
“I believe that scientists have an obligation to produce new knowledge and communicate new understanding to the public and policy makers.  They must help society move towards a more sustainable biosphere,” said Roux.

“While fundamental research remains eminently important, new approaches are necessary for solving interdisciplinary problems at multiple, spatial and temporal scales.  Ingredients of the desired response include inter-agency and international research cooperation, as well as the establishment of more effective bridges between research, policy and practice, and between science and society.  All of these depend on effective communication of scientific findings to multiple audiences.

“This has prompted Monash South Africa to establish the Water Research Node to contribute research capacity to the critical area of sustainable development, wise governance and effective management of fresh water.”  

The Water Research Node will strive to contribute research-based solutions to some of the key water resource management challenges of contemporary Africa through: Research - by promoting and facilitating novel, interdisciplinary and use-inspired research; through Education -  by inspiring post-graduate students to become thought and action leaders in the water sector; and through Community engagement -  by co-learning and co-creating solutions with appropriate segments of society that promote adoption of new knowledge and influence change towards more sustainable pathways in water resource management.

Dr Roux said that: “Establishing and maintaining a network of relationships with both research and implementation partners will be critical to achieving these objectives.”