Contact

Project Lead

Prof. Dr. Lars Ribbe

Prof. Dr. Lars Ribbe

Raumentwicklung und Infrastruktursysteme
Institute for Technology and Resources Management in the Tropics and Subtropics (ITT)

Dr. Alexandra Nauditt

Dr. Alexandra Nauditt

Raumentwicklung und Infrastruktursysteme
Institute for Technology and Resources Management in the Tropics and Subtropics (ITT)

Justyna Sycz

Raumentwicklung und Infrastruktursysteme
Institute for Technology and Resources Management in the Tropics and Subtropics (ITT)

Dr. Webster Gumindoga

University of Zimbabwe

Dr. Mabel Mphahlele-Makgwane

University of Limpopo

COWASA

COWASA Mountain View (Image: ITT/TH Köln)

Coordinated by the ITT and in cooperation with the Universities of Zimbabwe and Limpopo, COWASA aims at developping MSc education & research to improve water security in Southern Africa & Germany. Topics are water scarcity, droughts, urban floods, landslides, and water quality deterioration, aiming to create linkages between education and research in water security and climate change adaptation.

General Project Description

The partner universities offer a state-of-the-art IWRM Master's curriculum which addresses regional water challenges, socially relevant topics and the targets of the SDG 6

  • Curriculum transfer: selected courses developed in the COWASA project are transferable; they are co-designed and co-taught with partners from the wider networks WaterNet (regional) and b) IWRMnet (international network established by the ITT)
  • Create effective linkages between the MSc IWRM and research activities in the field of water security and climate change adaptation measures (case studies, living labs in the three countries)
  • A research and knowledge hub on water security (with linkages to food and energy security) is established at UZ in combination with a knowledge network linking UZ with partners in the region as well as internationally

At a Glance

Category Description
Research project Co-developing MSc Education and Research to improve Water Security in Southern Africa and Germany (COWASA)   More
Administration Project Lead: Prof. Dr. Lars Ribbe  Personal Profile
Faculty Faculty for Spatial Development and Infrastructure Systems  More
Institute Institute for Technology and Resources Management in the Tropics and Subtropics (ITT)  More
Persons involved - TH Köln/ITT: Prof. Dr. Alexandra Nauditt, Justyna Sycz
- University of Zimbabwe: Dr. Webster Gumindoga
- University of Limpopo: Dr. Mabel Mphahlele-Makgwane 
Partners - University of Zimbabwe, Department of Construction and Civil Engineering, IWRM Master
- University of Limpopo, South Africa, School of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences (SAES); Department Water and Sanitation (DWS) 
Sponsors Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) Funding programme SDG Partnerships 2024-2027
German Academic Exchange Service - DAAD 
More
Duration March 2024-December 2027 

Activities

  • Workshops of core team in Germany (07/2024), Zimbabwe and South Africa
  • Field visits to study regions, Save (BuPuSa), Limpopo, Waterberg and Germany
  • MSc IWRM – joint Master and PhD thesis supervision
  • Research on Drought Risk, Water Security evaluation, (WEF Nexus)-Adaptation to hydro-climatic extremes
  • Open Science: Evaluation and selection of of suitable open access data products on hydro-climatic and socioeconomic variables, data collection of observed hydro-meteorological variables, geospatial information on existing measures
  • Catalogue of adaptation measures such as irrigation concepts, nature-based solutions or green-grey infrastructure and their implementation in two pilot regions

Funding References

Logo DAAD

Logo DAAD (Image: DAAD)

Funded by the DAAD with funds from the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)

Logo BMZ en

Logo BMZ (Image: BMZ)

Contact

Project Lead

Prof. Dr. Lars Ribbe

Prof. Dr. Lars Ribbe

Raumentwicklung und Infrastruktursysteme
Institute for Technology and Resources Management in the Tropics and Subtropics (ITT)

Dr. Alexandra Nauditt

Dr. Alexandra Nauditt

Raumentwicklung und Infrastruktursysteme
Institute for Technology and Resources Management in the Tropics and Subtropics (ITT)

Justyna Sycz

Raumentwicklung und Infrastruktursysteme
Institute for Technology and Resources Management in the Tropics and Subtropics (ITT)

Dr. Webster Gumindoga

University of Zimbabwe

Dr. Mabel Mphahlele-Makgwane

University of Limpopo


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