Summerschool in South Africa

At March 25th-29th, 2019 a summerschool on "monitoring of surface water quality: General framework, methods, tools and strategies" will take place at the Center for Environmental Management, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa. Further reading is possible on the linked page.

Water is a basic resource upon which communities rely for their health, well-being and economic development and growth. Many countries struggle with the negative consequences of poor surface water quality, which may threaten their food security and livelihoods. But how to improve water quality? A two-pronged approach is often used: first, ecosystem-based biomonitoring, and second specialised water quality and toxicity assessment methods applied at specific sites in order to identify problems. And what about the catchment area, land use and agriculture? The Summer School will focus on an integrated approach, including catchment processes, hydrology, geomorphology and land use, as well as chemical and biological monitoring. lt will include perspectives from both Germany and southern African countries (South Africa, Lesotho, Namibia and Zambia). A field trip for practical demonstration of water quality monitoring will also be part of the programme. Stakeholders from academia, government authorities and the private sector from southern Africa are invited to participate.

The summerschool is jointly organized by University of the Free State, South Africa and Technische Universität Dresden, Germany.