Wednesday, 20 December 2006 was a remarkable day in the history of UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education in Delft. A new record was set with three PhD students successfully presenting and defending their PhD-theses on one day. The three students are all from East Africa and worked on research projects related to Lake Victoria, the second-largest freshwater lake in the world and of tremendous importance, both ecologically and socio-economically, for millions of people in the lake basin. All three were supervised by Prof. Patrick Denny (Emeritus Professor of Wetland and Aquatic Ecology, Department of Environmental Resources, UNESCO-IHE).
The first to defend her thesis at 10:30 was Ms. Rose Kaggwa from Uganda. The title of her thesis was "Fingerponds: managing nutrients and primary productivity for enhanced fish production in Lake Victoria's wetlands, Uganda". Co-promotors were Prof. Frank Kansiime (Makerere University, Uganda) and Dr. Anne van Dam (UNESCO-IHE, The Netherlands). At 13:30, the second defense followed. Mr. Julius Kipkemboi from Kenya answered questions about his study entitled "Fingerponds: seasonal integrated aquaculture in East African fieshwater wetlands: exploring their potential for wise use strategies". Co-promotor was Dr. Anne van Dam (UNESCO-IHE, The Netherlands). The last candidate was Mr. Nicholas Azza from Uganda at 16:30. The title of his thesis was "The dynamics of coastal wetlands and sediments of northern Lake Victoria". Co-promotor was Dr. Johan van de Koppel (Netherlands Institute of Ecology).
All ceremonies took place in the Auditorium of the UNESCO-IHE building in Delft. The session was presided over jointly by the rectors of Wageningen University and UNESCO-IHE, Prof. Rudy Rabbinge and Prof. Richard Meganck. Several distinguished scientists had travelled to Delft to take part in the graduation ceremony and grill the candidates with some tough questions. Among the examiners were Dr. Md. Abdul Wahab of Bangladesh Agricultural University, Prof. Brian Moss of the University of Liverpool, Prof. Jos Verhoeven of Utrecht University, and several professors of Wageningen University and UNESCO-IHE. While all candidates did very well in defending their work, Nicholas Azza was awarded a distinction because of the outstanding quality of his work. UNESCO-IHE is proud of these graduates and hopes to continue its close professional links with these talented young scientists who are all working in East Africa.
International Training of Trainers on Wetland Management, March 2007 - Indonesia
A course focusing on the facilitation of multi-stakeholder processes and curriculum development
The ICWM-TOT aims to provide participants with the knowledge and skills necessary for curriculum development in the field of wetland management in their own region. The course will focus on the multi-stakeholder processes that play an important role in wetland management and the need for transboundary and cross-sectoral co-operation to manage the natural resources of a river basin and its wetlands. The course will be held in Bogor, Indonesia, from 5 - 23 March, 2007
East African Water Association meets in Mombasa, December 2006
The East African Water Association (EAWA) was launched in December 2003 with support of the Austrian Development Cooperation. The main aim of EAWA is to intensify regional and international collaboration in water sciences and technology in order to tackle the scientific and social challenges in the region. EAWA is presently interlinking more than 130 East African experts in aquatic ecology, aquatic ecosystems and resource management, biodiversity and conservation ecology, and water and sanitation.
From 4-8 December 2006, EAWA organizes a workshop entitled "Bridging research, technology and development: sustainable water resource management in East Africa". The workshop will take place in Mombasa, Kenya.
For more information, contact the EAWA office at the Dept. of Biological Sciences at Egerton University, P.O.Box 536 Njoro, Kenya.
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Seed Funding Facility for developing proposals
Wetlands International launched the Seed Funding Facility of the Wetlands and Poverty Reduction Project of Wetlands International. The facility is an opportunity to provide funds to support the process of project proposal development and local partnerships strengthening for on-the-ground activities that deepen the understanding of how well-managed wetlands can help sustain the livelihoods and security of wetland-related communities.
Results of survey on River basin Restoration training
Results of survey on River Basin Restoration now available
Many wetland and other water professionals participated in the online survey on the potential for a training course on River Basin Restoration. The survey was organized by UNESCO-IHE and Wageningen International (part of the WetCap group). For those of you who are interested in the results, you can download the file with the report. Go to the Library (see Main Menu on the left) and click on the folder "WetCap documents", and then "Survey on training needs on river full".
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