Jul 21, 2025
Building bridges: South African partnerships for temporary stream research
As climate change alters water availability worldwide, temporary streams - those that only flow for part of the year - are becoming increasingly significant even in traditionally temperate regions such as Germany. Their complexity requires not only ecological expertise, but also interdisciplinary cooperation between hydrology, chemistry and nature conservation sciences.
In this context, a recent research trip to South Africa provided valuable opportunities to establish contacts with institutions and experts working intensively on the challenges of water resources in arid and semi-arid landscapes.
At the Khoisan Karoo Conservancy, the researchers observed how private conservation efforts intersect with biodiversity monitoring and land restoration - offering rich field experience applicable to ecological condition assessments of temporary streams.
Meetings with Dr Jan Makhetha of the South African Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) opened the doors to hydrological and groundwater expertise essential to understanding the physical and chemical dynamics of intermittent watercourses.
At Sol Plaatje University in Kimberley, discussions with Prof. Ahmed Mohamed and Dr Manjoro presented ongoing work in the field of water research in arid-region water research, showcasing valuable methodologies for integrated ecological-hydrological assessments
These new partnerships present promising opportunities for the co-development of criteria for the evaluation and sustainable management of temporary streams in Germany—drawing from experience in regions where such water bodies are already a major environmental concern. They are a now an established basis for collaboration and application of research proposals. Hence, Dr Börnick and Dr Jungmann (TUD), together with Dr Armin Lorenz (University of Duisburg-Essen), shared their experiences with Dr Marinda Avenant, an expert from South Africa, representing the Centre for Environmental Management at the University of the Free State. All programme elements were excellently prepared in terms of content, exceptionally well organized, and generously supported by the CEM.