IWRM South Africa


Project website: www.iwrm-southafrica.de



Project title: IWRM Pilot Project "Middle Olifants" in South Africa with Technology Transfer through a Franchise Concept
Project leader: Prof. Dr. Dr. Karl-Ulrich Rudolph
Co-operation partner: Center for Development Research (ZEF), University of Bonn;
WRC Pretoria; University of Limpopo
Sponsor: BMBF - PTJ
Reference number: 03307034A
Project term: August 2006 - Dec. 2010


Short summary of the project

With funding from the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) the Institute for Environmental Engineering and Management (IEEM) and the Center for Development Research (ZEF) jointly develop methods and tools for an IWRM concept, which - if realised - can make a contribution to the improvement of today's water supply situation in the project region. The Olifants river is a transboundary river and it flows into Mozambique. Both partners will be supported by Biwater IBO GmbH, a private company experienced in the water and sanitation sector.

Local scientific and professional support will be provided by South African partner organisations: the Centre for Environmental Economic Policy in Africa (CEEPA) at the University of Pretoria, the University of Kwazulu-Natal, the Water Research Commission (WRC) and the Department for Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF) will provide academic support, WRC will offer institutional/organisational. Additionally, the South African private water providers Randwater and Biwater SA (Pty) Ltd. will play a role by sharing their experiences and know-how.

The project consists of four parts: a simulation of the river catchment area, an economic model which will be dealing with the economic analysis of water use, a model that will take into account the legal, institutional and political framework, as well as a pilotproject of a franchise concept for the water supply sector for private consumers, which shall generate a technology transfer from an experienced water provider to local service providers.

In this context, IEEM is responsible for the simulation of the river catchment area "Middle Olifants". This software based model will take into account all in- and effluents and will be able to compute, how exogenous effects influence the quantity of water that is available to the people at different points of use. The economic model will be developed by ZEF. There will be surveys conducted locally on household and sector levels (agricultural users, private households, industry etc.). The major aim is to obtain a tool for quantifying the economic impacts of policy alternatives for improving the efficiency of water use. Both partners will cooperate in researching the institutional frameworks and implementing them in the IWRM model. Furthermore, IEEM and Biwater are responsible for the franchise-pilotproject and its implementation.

The project partners expect to develop a very powerful IWRM model through the interdisciplinary combination of economics, engineering and ecology.

Comprehensive informationen about the IWRM project can be obtained from the project website:  www.iwrm-southafrica.de.
The project is presented within the web presence of BMBF's IWRM Funding Priority at following page:  www.wasserressourcen-management.de