African Water Development Report 2006 - United Nations Economic ...

African Water Development Report 2006Box 16.7: Research and training Facilities in CameroonThe Centre for Hydrological Research is the only institution in the country whose sole mandate is the assessmentand monitoring of the country’s surface water resources. The responsibility for ground water has been conferredto a department in MINMEE. As concerns training, the Faculty of Agronomy and Agricultural Sciences (FASA) of theUniversity of Dschang, is the only one that offers a programme in water management. The two-year programmeconverts graduates from water-related disciplines into water managers in three options; agriculture, water supplyand environment. The Higher National Engineering School (ENSP) of the University of Yaounde I, has an optionin sanitation, and conducts research in urban water supply and management. Some NGOs like the CameroonEnvironmental Watch (CEW) conduct research on water-related issues and also offer short courses in the area.The Departments of Geography in the Universities of Dschang, Buea and Yaounde, also carry out some researchon water and sanitation.Source: AWDR National Report, 2003The dissemination and transfer of research resultsis one way in which the process of technologytransfer between various researchers andmost importantly from developed countries todeveloping ones effectively takes place, especiallyif accompanied by joint research efforts. Partner-ship in applied research facilitates the transfer ofmethodologies and techniques of proven validityin one environment to a new one through actualtesting and validation using physical and socio-economicdata of the receiving environmentBoxes 16.10 and 16.11).Box 16.8: The Water Research Commission (WRC) – South AfricaThe WRC was established in 1971 to generate new knowledge on water and to promote the country’s waterresearch purposefully. The mandate of the WRC is:(a) Promoting, coordination, cooperation and communication in the area of water research and development;(b) Establishing water research needs and priorities;© Stimulating and funding water research according to priority;(d) Promoting effective transfer of information and technology; and(e) Enhancing knowledge and capacity building within the water sector.The WRC is funded by a charge levied on all abstractions of raw water. In 2003/04 the WRC spent R51 million on395 current research projects and a further R5 million on technology transfer. This was diistributed as follows:KEY STRATEGIC THRUST% SHAREWater resources management 31Water-linked ecosystems 13Water use and waste water management 40Water utilization in agriculture 14Other 2318