Water and sanitation are necessary for human dignity and economic growth; water also connects public health, food security, liveable cities, energy, and environmental wellbeing into a water–energy–food nexus.
Pressure on water is rising due to growing populations, water-intensive patterns of growth, increased rainfall variability and pollution – thus water is a risk to sustainable development.
The consequences of such a risk are local, transboundary and global, culminating in huge social and economic costs.
The strategy 2028 of the Water Research Commission (WRC) takes such developments into account and provides an opportunity to strategically reimagine the position of the WRC in its response.
The strategy 2028 of the WRC is premised on its desire to contribute towards improved water security through research, development and innovation.
The WRC thus intends to advance its wider contribution in the strategic use of water to foster economic development in advancement of national aspirations to reduce poverty, unemployment, and inequalities.
The outcomes of the research process always take time to occur, although when they occur, they are always novel and unpredictable.
The Commission will therefore continue to enable research in alignment with priorities reflected primarily in the National Development Plan: Vision 2030, the Medium-Term Development Plan (MTDP) 2024–2029, and in several policies, white papers and strategies.
