The Research Programme

Water Security in Africa (WASA) contributes to increased water security in Africa by developing innovative water technologies and improved water management practices. The research aims to improve water supply and wastewater management for the benefit of people and environment in the face of climate change. The programme was jointly developed by African and German experts from science and practice, including the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW) and ministries from Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and South Africa. The guiding principles behind the WASA programme are to enable joint action by African and German partners from the very start, to adopt a synergistic and integrated approach involving different ministries and political representatives as well as the pursuit of a long-term implementation strategy. This is also reflected in the funding structure of the programme: The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) provides a large part of the funding. South African researchers receive top-up funding by the Water Research Commission (WRC). In addition, the WASA programme receives numerous in-kind contributions from African and German research partners and stakeholders. WASA is part of the German Governments research initiative “Research for Sustainability (FONA)” and contributes to the Federal Government’s “Future Research and Innovation Strategy”. The programme also supports the BMBF’s Africa Strategy to strengthen cooperation with African partners in tackling global challenges, establishing long-term and high-quality research infrastructures, strengthening regional and continental collaboration, developing innovation potential and new markets and enhancing Germany’s profile as a key partner for Africa in the fields of education and research. The expected impact of the research programme WASA is to provide solutions for the water sector which are easy to implement in practice, transferable to other regions or users, and inclusive for all water user communities in order to support decision making at the operational and regulatory level. 

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Thematic field 1: Sustainable water resources management

Thematic field 2: Water infrastructure and water technology

Thematic field 3: Hydrological forecasts and management of hydrological extremes

Networking and transfer project

WASANet

The Networking and Transfer Project for the WASA Programme