ABOUT ME

Recently a book was published commemorating the World Water Week that has now become a global institution in the water sector. The author interviewed many of the recognized leaders in the water sector and I am honoured to have been included in that process. I have been closely involved with the Stockholm Water Prize (what is effectively the Nobel Prize in Water) for some time, having nominated two of the successful Laureates - Prof. Asit Biswas and Prof. Tony Allan. In the case of the former I was the sole nominator working on behalf of a group of recognized scientists, and in the case of the latter I was a member of a group of students, colleagues and friends that drafted the nomination. I have also had the privilegde of having worked with Prof. Kader Asmal, a Laureate in his own right and a South African citizen of impeccable integrity. Trying for a hatrick of successful nominations, I proposed Anglo Coal (under the leadership of Peter Gunther) for the Stockholm Industry Prize, in honour of their Acid Mine Drainage reclamation plant at eMalahleni, but sadly that nomination was not successful. To download the PDF click here.

I am a founding member of the Geothermal Energy Association of Southern Africa.

I was given the Habitat Council Award on 10 October 2009 in recognition of the work I have done on raising public awareness on water security. To download the citation click here. The text of my acceptance speech is availbale on My Scientific Papers page under the heading of Keynote Lectures.

I am a Director of TouchStone Resources (Pty) Ltd. This is a Cleantech company, based on a Social Entrepreneurship model, designed to enable development to take place in southern Africa in the face of water and energy constraints, by negotiating a new Social Contract. We are focusing on New Water and New Energy, consistent with my views on the Soft Path (to find out more click here).

I was elected Vice President of the International Water Resource Association (IWRA) to serve for the period 2010 - 2012, having served on the previous Board as an Executive Director.

I am a Professor in the Centre for Environmental Management at the University of Free State. This university continues to impress me with its commitment to research and higher education; and the Center amazes me because of the sheer number of quality post-graduate students it turns out each year from across the entire African continent. To know more about this please click here.

I am a Trustee in a project called Reclaim Camissa, which seeks to rehabilitate the very first river that was ever used to sustain European settlement in the 1650's. This small river defined the later existence of the city of Cape Town and it also generated the first water law in South Africa. The story of Camissa is one of modernity versus traditionalism and priviledge versus servitude, but it can also be one of reflexivity as we become aware of the unintended consequences of our actions and collectively do something to reverse these processes. How we decide to close the loop that this project gives us will tell us whether we collectively choose to use water to deepen our democracy and create a more just society, or whether we choose to continue abusing this resource, ultimately to our own peril as a species. For more information about this flagship project click here and here.

Full details of my professional network and some recommendations of my past work can be downloaded from LinkedIn, which I keep reasonably current. To access LinkedIn please click here:

Some of my concerns over the complex issue of managing Acid Mine Drainage are contained in this article from Creamers Mining Weekly. To access the article please click here.