The 9th FRIEND-Water Global Conference was held in the capital city of Senegal, Dakar, from the 25th to the 30th of September, 2023. The conference theme was 'Addressing unsolved problems in hydrology for a water secure world in a changing environment'. FRIEND-Water (Flow Regimes From International Experimental and Network Data) is an international network of experts working on improving water science. The network was established and is a UNESCO flagship program. One hundred sixty-two countries participate in the network, and it has eight regional bodies (see https://en.unesco-montpellier.org/friend-water-program).
The conference was uniquely structured into presentations, training sessions and workshops. This means a good variety of activities kept the event exciting. Three training courses were provided on Ecohydrological analysis of a territory, Hydrometry and Early warning system. On Monday, the 25th, I attended the course ecohydrology, which included a presentation by Prof M Zalewski, dubbed "the father of ecohydrology". Pascal Breil of INRAE, France, performed an introduction and training on the use of the ecological model IRIP. The tool presents an exciting and useful method with potential application for developing early warning systems for preventing flooding in communities.
Tuesday and Wednesday were set aside for presentations, and on one second day, I presented two papers in a session on 'Advancing Interdisciplinarity and Science for Water Solutions'. I presented on co-managing scarce water in agricultural areas.
Fig 2. The front slide of Dr. Gwapedza's presentation showing the title, co-authors, and their institutions
I also presented a paper on behalf of Dr. Jane Tanner, who could not attend the conference. Dr. Tanner's paper assessed the impacts of climate on environmental water requirements. Both presentations were well received and stimulated insightful discussions. Delegates found our conjunctive use of approaches for stakeholder engagement particularly impactful.
Fig.3. A photo moment with delegates at the conference.
The fourth day of the conference included a joint workshop session to co-develop the Friend network's future trajectory led by UNESCO. I signed up for Rhodes-IWR to lead key areas, including improving data collection and making it open access, unpacking interdisciplinary coordination, and developing a report or review of interdisciplinary coordination worldwide. I also signed up to collaborate and contribute to other UNESCO focus areas. During the workshop, we learnt that IAHS had recently established an African committee led by Prof Hodson Makurira (Waternet, UZ) and with Dr Moctar Dembele (IWMI) as secretary. There are many exciting initiatives for hydrology on the continent, and Rhodes-IWR, as an ARUA_WaterCoE, has a significant role in shaping hydrology for Africa.