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The Freshwater Science Landscape in South Africa, 1900-2010

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The Freshwater Science Landscape in South Africa, 1900-2010 TT 530/12 The freshwater science landscape in South Africa, 1900-2010 Africa, South in landscape science freshwater The TT 530/12 THE FRESHWATER SCIENCE LANDSCAPE IN SOUTH AfRICA, 1900–2010 Overview of Research Topics, Key Individuals, Institutional Change and Operating Culture Peter J Ashton, Dirk J Roux, Charles M TT 530/12 Breen, Jenny A Day, Steven A Mitchell, Maitland T Seaman & Michael J Silberbauer THE FRESHWATER SCIENCE LANDSCAPE IN SOUTH AFRICA, 1900-2010 OVERVIEW OF RESEARCH TOPICS, KEY INDIVIDUALS, INSTITUTIONAL CHANGE AND OPERATING CULTURE Report to the Water Research Commission, Compiled by Peter J. Ashton1, Dirk J. Roux2, Charles M. Breen3, Jenny A. Day4, Steven A. Mitchell5, Maitland T. Seaman6 & Michael J. Silberbauer7 1CSIR Natural Resources and the Environment 2South African National Parks 3Charles Breen and Associates 4University of Cape Town, Freshwater Research Unit 5Water Research Commission 6University of the Free State, Centre for Environmental Studies 7Department of Water Affairs, Directorate Resource Quality Services WRC Report No. TT 530/12 August 2012 Obtainable from: Water Research Commission Private Bag X03 Gezina, 0031 [email protected] or download form www.wrc.org.za The publication of this report emanates from WRC project entitled A Chronology of Aquatic Science in South Africa (WRC Project No 8/852). DISCLAIMER This report has been reviewed by the Water Research Commission (WRC) and approved for publication. Approval does not signify that the contents necessarily reflect the views and policies of the WRC, nor does mention of trade names or commercial products constitute endorsement or recommendation for use. ISBN 978-1-4312-0280-5 Printed in the Republic of South Africa © WATER RESEARCH COMMISSION The compilers of this report dedicate the reports to Professor Brian Allanson as a mark of our sincere recognition for the exceptional contribution he has made over several decades, to aquatic sciences in South Africa and to the careers of so many South African aquatic scientists The frontispiece is a copy of a portrait of Emeritus Professor Brian Robert Allanson that was painted by Karen van der Merwe from a photograph taken at his Knysna Laboratory in 2010. The Freshwater Science Landscape in South Africa, 1900-2010 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors and compilers of this report thank their institutions for agreeing to their attendance at the planning meetings that were held during the early stages of preparing this document (Appendix A). These institutions include the University of the Free State, North- West University, the Department of Water Affairs, the University of Johannesburg, the Water Research Commission, the National Research Foundation, the University of Limpopo, the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Rhodes University, The South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity, the South African Environmental Observation Network, the University of KwaZulu-Natal, the University of Cape Town, Cape Nature, KZN Wildlife, the Limpopo Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism, Aurecon and the CSIR. We are grateful to the regional co-ordinators (listed in Appendix A) for successfully organizing the five regional meetings where the compilation team met with local aquatic scientists. These meetings yielded a wealth of information for this report. In compiling this report, we acknowledge with thanks those individuals who contributed text, stories, diagrams, photographs and reference materials. We sincerely hope that this report has dealt with these materials sensitively and in a balanced way. The individuals who contributed materials are listed on the front cover as ‘Contributors’. Others read through sections of text relevant to their efforts and provided feedback to the team – their contributions are acknowledged with sincere thanks. We are also grateful to the auxiliary staff, all those librarians, secretaries, technicians, data typists and hired hands whose dedicated and often unrecognized toil has contributed so much to the advancement of aquatic science in South Africa. Particular thanks are due to the following individuals: • Professor C.G. Palmer, previously of the National Research Foundation (NRF), now Director of the Unilever Centre for Environmental Water Quality at Rhodes University, for facilitating the formal release by the NRF of the confidential report on the state of limnology in South Africa, produced by Professor Bill Williams in 1989, for this study. • Dr Chris Dickens of the Institute for Natural resources, University of KwaZulu-Natal in Pietermaritzburg, for facilitating contact with Emeritus Professor Brian Moss at the Institute for Sustainable Water, Integrated Management and Ecosystem Research at the University of Liverpool, for permission to use his 1999 report on the state of eutrophication research in South Africa for this study. • Tony Dold of the Selmar Schonland Herbarium at Rhodes University for providing published material and photographs of Mary Agard Pocock. • Ms Desiree Lamoral, The Information Centre Manager at the Institute for Commercial Forestry Research, at the Pietermaritzburg campus of the University of KwaZulu-Natal for kindly providing a copy of the article by Balarin, Brink and Glen on the botanical collections made by Mary Agard Pocock. We thank the Water Research Commission for providing funds to start this study. In a project of this magnitude it is almost inevitable that we have inadvertently overlooked or omitted or failed to acknowledge the contributions that were made by a few individuals or organizations. We apologize unreservedly if this has happened. v The Freshwater Science Landscape in South Africa, 1900-2010 vi The Freshwater Science Landscape in South Africa, 1900-2010 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Objectives of this study This study originated as a consultancy contract issued by the Water research Commission. The effective management of South Africa’s water resources requires an informed and reliable scientific foundation to provide appropriate evidence-based information to guide decision-making. Aquatic sciences, together with engineering, provide this foundation and help to ensure that the country’s water resources are managed sustainably. This study set out to record the evolution of aquatic sciences in South Africa since 1900, identify the external driving forces that helped to direct research, pinpoint the individuals and institutions responsible for shaping the ways in which aquatic sciences developed, and determine the extent to which aquatic sciences have contributed to effective management of South Africa’s water resources. This study focussed on inland surface waters, while recognizing the clear and inextricable links between surface waters and atmospheric water, groundwater, estuaries and open oceans – the other parts of a single, indivisible hydrological cycle. Approach followed This study started with the compilation of a list of names of aquatic scientists, which was subsequently expanded by inputs received from the first few rounds of e-mail exchanges with colleagues locally and abroad. This was followed by five meetings in regional centres (Pietermaritzburg, Pretoria, Bloemfontein, Grahamstown and Cape Town) where members of the project team met with aquatic scientists who were able to participate in these meetings. These meetings provided opportunities for individuals to share stories of their experiences – especially in relation to their main research themes, key individuals who had influenced their careers and specific events or situations that affected them. Everyone on the mailing list was encouraged to contribute written material and the project team sorted through the contributions and collectively arranged these into a chronological order. In some instances, there were obvious gaps in the sequence of events and specific individuals were asked to contribute sections on, for example, their particular institutions. Finally, the report has been through a total of nineteen revisions where the compilers read through the document and contributed new materials of suggested ways to improve and strengthen the document. The final document represents the collective efforts of a large number of committed aquatic scientists who share a common passion for their work. Primary conclusions All aquatic scientists share a common aspiration that our lives and careers should be interesting, fulfilling and rewarding. We all aspire to the feeling that our careers contribute to the well-being of society and that our efforts are not in vain. Unfortunately, the current reality reveals that there are too few career opportunities available for the number of aquatic scientists who are interested in research, while there is a simultaneous, diminished capacity within water resource management institutions to take up and apply research findings. vii The Freshwater Science Landscape in South Africa, 1900-2010 The situation we face in South Africa is mirrored elsewhere in the world. Robert Wetzel’s eloquent preface to the third edition of his textbook on limnology (Wetzel, 2003) places the root cause of this situation on those efforts to provide society and decision-makers with rapid answers, without ensuring that these answers are supported by a solid scientific foundation. This, in turn, is linked inextricably to the general failure of societies to properly educate students at all levels and the general public. As Wetzel notes, it is essential for everyone to recognize, and accept, that “intellectual creativity is essential to excellence
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