"In Search of Sustainable Catchments and Basin-wide Solidarities; Transboundary Water Management of the Blue Nile River Basin"
Announcement
PhD positions available at UNESCO-IHE in collaboration with Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia, and Khartoum University, Sudan
Recently an integrated research project was approved by NWO-WOTRO, The Netherlands, which will be carried out by UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education (Delft, The Netherlands) , Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia, the University of Khartoum in Sudan, the International Water Management Institute IWMI office in Ethiopia, and by the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and Delft University of Technology in The Netherlands. The title of the project is "In Search of Sustainable Catchments and Basin-wide Solidarities; Transboundary Water Management of the Blue Nile River Basin".
With this project three PhD positions are available, two for PhD students from a
developing country (preferable Ethiopia or Sudan) and one position from the Netherlands/ Europe. The positions are linked to the projects 2, 3 and 4 (see project description below). If successful, the PhD degrees for these three projects will be awarded by Delft University Technology. Addis Ababa University has made available two additional PhD positions (linked to projects 5 and 6, as described below).
Project description
The water users in a river basin are linked through the water flow, yet this link is not often institutionalised. This may lead to sub-optimal river management, as certain interventions in upstream tributaries with positive impacts downstream may not be economically feasible if considered in isolation. A solution is to recognise and institutionalise upstream-downstream interdependencies, whereby for example those situated downstream compensate upstream farmers for their sustainable land use and soil conservation practices. The project will enhance the understanding of the hydrological and biophysical processes in order to quantify the relationship between land use management upstream and water availability and sediment loads downstream. This research therefore aims to quantify the externalities of sustainable practices in upstream catchments and to investigate how this knowledge can be used for integrated river basin management, taking the transboundary Abay/Blue Nile basin as a case.
Four research projects will be conducted:
Project 1 evaluates soil and water conservation technologies within the Choke Mountain range and will identify - in a participatory approach – improved farming options. The agronomic and hydrological implications will be quantified at the plot and micro-watershed scale. This project will be carried out by a post-doc and supervised by Dr Belay Simane (Addis Ababa University).
Project 2 focuses on the up-scaling of the hydrological impacts identified in Project 1 to the Blue Nile river basin. A distributed daily model will be developed that can predict the water and sediment fluxes. It will be parameterised and validated using available spatial data sets and time series. Different land management scenarios will be analysed with respect to local and regional impacts. Promoters will be Prof Dr Stefan Uhlenbrook (UNESCO-IHE) and Prof Dr Hubert Savenije (Delft University of Technology); additionally the work will be supervised by Dr Yasir Mohamed (IWMI and UNESCO-IHE) and Dr M. Feseha (Addis Ababa University).
Project 3 examines and tests the applicability of different valuation methodologies to quantify the direct and indirect upstream and downstream costs and benefits of improved land use practices, using outcomes from Projects 1 and 2. The various methods and outcomes will be evaluated with basin stakeholders and experts. Special attention will be paid to the valuation of environmental externalities of water use, their impact on the resilience of farming systems and the vulnerability of farming livelihoods. Promoter will be Prof Dr Pieter van der Zaag (UNESCO-IHE) ; the research will be co-supervised by Dr Workneh Negatu (Addis Ababa University) and Dr Roy Brouwer (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)
Project 4 analyses the institutional arrangements in the Blue Nile within Ethiopia as well as between Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt. Current perceptions of upstream-downstream interdependencies and hydro-solidarity will be chronicled. Outcomes of the quantifications achieved in the first three projects will inform alternative designs for institutionalising compensation flows, which could form the foundation for improved river basin management. Design options will be evaluated with stakeholder groups at various spatial scales. Promoter will be Prof Dr Pieter van der Zaag (UNESCO-IHE) , the research being co-supervised by Dr Atta El-Battahani (Khartoum University), Dr Yacob Arsano and Dr T. Tafesse (Addis Ababa University).
In addition to the positions funded by NWO-WOTRO, Addis Ababa University has pledged to fund two other PhD projects. The positions will be matched with funds from UNESCO-IHE. It is not yet decided whether these two additional PhD positions will graduate from Addis Ababa University or from Delft University of Technology. The two additional PhD research topics will address the following projects:
Project 5 will analyse the gendered nature of land and water management in the Choke Mountains. The research will focus on critical factors that determine gender and environmental relationships such as, the gendered division of labour and responsibility; gendered positioning in households, communities, and other institutions; gendered property rights, the influence on gender relationships and gender-environment relations of the wider political economy; and ecological characteristics that determine the processes of gender and environmental change and Sustainable development. Promoters and supervisors will be announced shortly but include Dr Rhodante Ahlers (UNESCO-IHE) , Dr Belay Simane and Dr Mulumebet Zenebe (Addis Ababa University).
Project 6 will study the long-term changes of the Choke Mountains focusing on land use/land cover changes and historical analysis of the climate using GIS and remote sensing tools. The research aims to understand the dynamics in land resources use and the driving forces and explores the changes in livelihood strategies. It also analyses the socio-economic and policy factors influencing the land use changes and overall sustainability of the natural resource-based livelihoods in the area. Promoters will be Prof Dr Stefan Uhlenbrook and Dr Belay Simane (Addis Ababa University). Dr W. Bewket, Dr A. Amsalu (Addis Ababa University) and Dr Geert Sterk (Wageningen University) will co-supervise the study.
The following applies to all positions:
• All topics will be carried out in a so-called sandwich construction with different phases at UNESCO-IHE in the Netherlands and field research in Ethiopia and Sudan (with regular contacts with the local and Dutch supervisors) .
• Starting date: July 1, 2008 for 4 years.
• Qualifications: Masters degree in a discipline relevant to the topic; e.g.: water resources and environmental management; hydrology and water resources; hydroinformatics, environmental science; development studies; agricultural sciences; geography; natural resource economics; public administration and management; sociology, political sciences and international relations.
• The applicants must demonstrate a strong interest and experience in conducting research.
• The applicants should be willing to co-supervise MSc research projects.
• The applicants must be fluent in English.
• Age: 40 years and below (for Ethiopian nationals)
• Work experience in relevant fields of studies is desirable. The project it is jointly led by Dr Belay Simane of the Institute of Development Research, Addis Ababa University (belaysimane@ ethionet. et, simaneb@yahoo. com), and Professor Pieter van der Zaag of UNESCO-IHE (p.vanderzaag@ unesco-ihe. org).
Applications, including curriculum vitae, the names and contact details of three contactable referees, and a motivation letter, should be sent by email to Dr Belay Simane, with copy to Prof. Van der Zaag, before 15 April 2008. Please mention the subject heading "PhD application Blue Nile project x", where x refers to the projects mentioned above. We intend to contact short-listed candidates on or before 20 May 2008.
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