Joint action towards knowledge management Dr. Inga Jacobs Executive Manager: Business Development, Marketing & Communication Water Research Commission 18 March 2013 Second NEPAD SANWATCE e-Conference on Knowledge Management in the Southern African water sector 18th-22nd March

Key water challenges Increasing water scarcity and water stress Growing population and accelerating demand Inefficiencies in water allocation Spatial and temporal availability We use renewal resources at a much higher rate than what is sustainable Lack safe water and adequate waste water management Pollution Climate change Hum Res Capacity Shortfall Technological Knowledge Technical Management

And we still live in a world where: 2.6 billion people lack adequate sanitation Roughly 800 million people lack safe drinking water One billion people go to bed hungry 3 billion people are undernourished 60% of ecosystem services are deteriorating One billion people are obese Between 30 – 50% food produced is wasted

In order to address our current challenges we need to both do different things as well as do the things we currently do differently. R Mershalkar, former DG CSIR India In order to address our current challenges we need to both do different things as well as do the things we currently do differently. R Mershalkar, former DG CSIR India

Key questions we have to ask ourselves What is the impact of our research? How do others perceive the impact? How do we go about measuring impact?

SA’s water research is ranked 19 th in the world

Researchers not being heard Economy and Society not Being served The Knowledge Chasm

Building transdisciplinary capacity (what and why) Multiplicity of actors, perceptions, interests and power disparities (who) Multiplicity of scale (how) The nature of collaboration

Traditionally, the technical and scientific communities have been called on to respond to the concerns of the water sector. Emerging challenges and complexities are demanding more integrated levels of ingenuity and expertise from a diverse set of backgrounds. Building Transdiscplinary Capacity

Multiplicity of actors, perceptions, interests and power disparities Recommended conceptualization of the main actors in the policy-making process

Tendency to prioritise the hydrological basin as the primary unit of analysis but this notion is broadening in scope to include the unique socio-political and socio-economic communities they have formed: from the watershed-to the problemshed-to the virtual basin-to the social basin. Changing definition of international river basins – encompassing “lived in” social spaces i.e. The sum of social practices and discourses that exist within the biophysical space. The multiplicity of scale

Basins are part of an increasingly complex landscape of policies, trading relations and sectoral demands. This institutional complexity presents challenges but also opportunities for the water sector to increasingly integrate with other sectors in terms of decision-making in agriculture, energy, industry and urban development in particular. Bringing Water onto the Regional Integration Agenda

Summary There is a need to address important resource questions in an integrated manner. Challenge is to move from policy to action. One size does not fit all. Need to interrogate both institutional hardware and software. Pressures on the resource will be huge, but this will also present an opportunity to harness water effectively in support of economic growth and development.