Call for proposals – Conflict and Cooperation over Natural Resources in Developing Countries [Deadline 03 Nov 2009]

WOTRO Science for Global Development has recently launched the first call of the research programme Conflict and Cooperation over Natural Resources in Developing Countries (CoCooN) – integrated projects.

One of the three themes is: Water resources, conflict and cooperation.

CoCooN is a knowledge, research and innovation programme funded by the Directorate General of Development Cooperation (DGIS) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands and the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO). Its aim is to contribute to sustainable development, poverty reduction and the realisation of the Millennium Development Goals (positive change). The objective is to contribute to evidence based policy development and practice in the field of conflict and cooperation over natural resources, and to adequately manage, resolve and learn from conflicts over natural resources.

An Integrated Project (IP) should make clear how it will constitute and operationalise activities and projects for three facilities:

• Knowledge sharing
• Trans-disciplinary research
• Capacity development and training

An IP has to be directed by a consortium and thus the application for an IP has to be submitted by the consortium. A consortium consists of representatives of at least four different partner institutes. These partners include

1. a Southern-based research institute;
2. a Northern-based research institute;
3. a Southern-based non-research institute and
4. a Northern-based non-research institute.

At least one of the institutes should be based in a partner country of Dutch bilateral development cooperation. The consortium nominates a coordinator, who will act as the main applicant.

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Deadline: 03 November 2009

Networking Event in the Field of Water Management and Sanitation for Europe – Africa – EECA, Vienna, Austria, 16–17 September 2009

The aim of the two-day event is to initiate competitive research project proposals in the field of water management, sanitation and sludge treatment for the upcoming calls of the EU Framework Programme for Research (FP7) in the field of Environment. Following the joint Africa-EU strategy (2007) the European Union launches a cross thematic ‘Africa call’ with 63 million Euros available for funding.

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Uganda: Water is Life Programme to start PhD research in 2010

‘Water is Life: Amazzi Bulamu’ (2007-2011) is a large multi-disciplinary project comprising a partnership of Irish Higher Education Institutions, Makerere University in Uganda and various NGOs.

The Irish Institutes involved are Dundalk Institute of Technology, NUI Maynooth, Dublin City University, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin Institute of Technology Bolton St., The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, University College Dublin and Queens University Belfast.

The goal of the partnership, in support of the Government of Ireland’s development goals, is: to build research capacity in Ireland and Africa and to conduct research that supports sustainable water resource management as a catalyst for sustainable economic and social development in rural Uganda.

The project is funded under the Programme for Strategic Cooperation between Irish Aid and Higher-Education and Research Institutes (2007-2011) and is led by Dundalk Institute of Technology.

On 1st January 2010, in collaboration with Makerere University, PhD research will start on the following eight projects:

The eight research projects are:

• Sourcing and distribution of sustainable groundwater supplies for rural water supply;
• Sustainable pump technologies;
• Rainwater harvesting and other appropriate safe water storage mechanisms;
• Solar disinfection of drinking water;
• Water and water management needs: social and health impacts on women and their children;
• Adaptation of water management to climate change;
• The social impact of gendering water resource management;
• Understanding cooperation and conflict in local water governance or Participation and governance in water management systems.

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PRoACC: UNESCO-IHE Post-Doctoral Research Programme on Adaptation to Climate Change

The overarching objective of this 18 month project (15 October 2009 – 15 April 2011) is to investigate in an integrated way the many challenges of adapting to climate change from different ‘water perspectives’, and to develop sustainable solutions for a better future water management.

The post-doctoral fellowship programme is part of the UNESCO-IHE Partnership Research Fund (UPaRF) that was established in April 2008, which aims to strengthen research output of the institute in collaboration with its partner institutes.

PRoACC has identified a number of interrelated research topics and intends to provide 7 post-doctoral research fellowships.

The following positions are planned, the project leader of UNESCO-IHE are given in brackets:

On river basin and coastal management issues in the Incomati-Maputo Basin in Southern Africa, four positions related to the following five fields:

• Hydrology: How can a river basin that is vulnerable to climate change adapt to minimize the impacts on hydrology? (Prof. S. Uhlenbrook)
• River morphology: The impact of climate change and adaptation measures on river morphology (Prof. N. Wright)
• Freshwater ecology: The ecological impacts of climate change in the river and the formulation of environmental flow requirements (Prof. J. O’Keeffe)
• Coastal engineering: The processes and physical changes of large and small scale morphodynamics of flood tide deltas and tidal inlets (Prof. D. Roelvink)
• Hydroinformatics: Downscaling of climate change scenarios and risk management modelling of vulnerabilities to climate change (Prof. D. Solomatine)

On urban water management issues in yet to be decided locations, two positions related to the following three fields:

• Waste water management: Design of wastewater systems which are more flexible to varying demands in terms of quality and quantity, both between years and between seasons of the year, taking into account the notion – from wastewater discharge to agricultural fields (Prof. P. Lens)
• Urban drainage: Design and modelling techniques that can make urban drainage systems more resilient and flexible over a larger range of future weather/climatic events. (Prof. D. Brdjanovic)
• Water supply engineering: Robust, natural water treatment approaches to deal with climate variability: bank filtration, aquifer recharge and recovery, and soil aquifer treatment (Prof. G. Amy)

On institutional issues (location to be decided) one position related to:

• Institutions for adaptation: How to assess the adaptive capacity of institutions, and how can the ability of social actors to deal with climate change be enhanced (Prof. J. Gupta)

The concept project descriptions and further information about PROACC are available at www.unesco-ihe.org/PRoACC.

Contact: Dr. Rosh Ranasinghe, programme coordinator, r.ranasinghe@unesco-ihe.org

Tropical Warming Tied to Flooding Rains

Scientists studying variations in tropical heat and rainfall since the mid-1980s have found a strong link between warm periods and a rise in the frequency of the most extreme downpours. The observed rise in the heaviest tropical rains is about twice that produced by computer simulations used to assess how human-caused global warming could change rainfall, said the researchers, whose article was published in Science [1].

[...] In developing countries, cities with poor drainage routinely grind to a halt and see outbreaks of waterborne disease after extreme rainstorms. Such downpours have been estimated in some such countries to blunt economic growth by several percent, according to World Bank experts on disasters.

[...] Many experts in disaster management have increasingly warned that global warming is likely to pose an outsized threat to poor countries around the tropics, which cannot handle weather extremes now, let alone what may be coming later in the century.

[1] Allan, R.P and Soden, B.J. (2008). Atmospheric warming and the amplification of precipitation extremes. Science ; vol. 321, no. 5895 : p. 1481 – 1484. doi: 10.1126/science.1160787

Source: Andrew C. Revkin, New York Times, 08 Aug 2008

India – Planning Research Grants: Multiple-Use Water Services

The John D. Rockefeller 3RD Scholars Program at Winrock International, with support from UNICEF India, seeks planning grant concepts for a two-year applied research initiative. The goal is to assist key decision makers to design and plan for water services that meet the domestic and productive water needs of the rural poor, and are resilient to changes in water availability and access caused by climate change.

The two-phase grant competition is open to researchers interested in forming a multi-disciplinary team to conduct research in two or more states in India. Eligible candidates will be mid-career scholars who are citizens of and reside in India. Applicants must have at least an M.S./M.A. in a relevant field.

In Phase I, the top three planning grant concepts will receive $1,500 each, which they will use to recruit a multi-disciplinary team and jointly develop a two-year research proposal. In Phase II, one proposal will win the two-year research grant. Please see the Planning Grant Application Instructions for how to apply.

Application deadline: 18 November 2008

Related web site: Multiple Use water Services Group

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