Research Projects for 2008/2009

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Programme 1: Ecological Reserve

Within this programme research will be conducted to develop and refine methods for determining and operationalising the Ecological Reserve as required by the NWA. The programme will address the more strategic issues such as the development of new and improved methods as well as the shorter term issues such as implementation of the reserve. This programme is managed in close association with DWAF.

Programme 2: Estuary management

Within this programme, research will be conducted to develop an understanding of the ecological processes within estuaries, and the effect of anthropogenic disturbance on these. This understanding is then conveyed to stakeholders (tiers of government, communities) as management guidelines to inform them on how to manage the sustainability of estuaries. This programme is managed in close association with Marine and Coastal Management, DEAT.

Programme 3: Ecosystem health

The River Health Programme (RHP: custodians are DWAF, WRC and DEAT) aims to implement nationally (at the level of provincial government and industry) a coherent bio-monitoring programme with well-defined indices. Much of the R&D is done within this programme. Additional issues on the management of river health, although they may not directly be part of the RHP, link closely with it and so are kept in the same programme. This programme links with the cross-cutting domain Water and Health and includes resource management actions which may affect human health.

Programme 4: Environmental water quality

Within this programme research will be conducted to develop bio-assays (both in the laboratory and the field) which will be employed to protect people and the environment from the effects of poor water quality. It will develop methods and competence to enable the use of toxicology in effluent discharge licences as well as its use in environmental water quality as required in the Ecological Reserve. This programme addresses the longer-term development and refinement of methods and the competence to use them, as well as the shorter term competence required to implement policy in terms of the NWA. This programme links to the endocrine disrupter programme within the crosscutting domain Water and Health.

Programme 5: Endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) in water sources

The overall objective is to characterise EDCs, and acquire information needed for assessing the EDC effects of various chemicals and compounds in water (singly or in combination), both those occurring naturally and those resulting from pollution, which have the potential to cause detrimental health effects in humans, animals and the aquatic environment, as a guide to developing and implementing cost-effective treatment and control strategies. Further emphasis is on the development of simple, rapid and cost-effective detection techniques. This programme is being implemented in three phases, the first of which has already been completed.

Programme 6: Socio-economic considerations

The overall objective of this programme is to develop and integrate knowledge on the sociological and economic aspects of water-linked ecosystems with ecological knowledge, in order to develop the understanding and competence necessary to sustainably manage the aquatic environment.

Programme 7: Ecosystem governance

The overall objective of this programme is to develop understanding of what is required for the successful governance of aquatic ecosystems and how to build the necessary capacity to implement this.