Q To date your work experience has had a focus around South Africa’s scarcest and most vital resource – water. Among a long list of research projects, you have undertaken a comparative assessment of the quantity and sources of water used by alien invasive Prosopis spp and indigenous Acacia karroo in the Northern Cape Province. Please give our readers a concise overview of this research. Did this project spark your interest in the arid lands? 

This project definitely sparked my interest in Arid Lands. We worked in Nieuwoudtville, a town that depends on groundwater and was heavily invaded by Prosopis, nowadays called “mesquite”. This plant used more water than the indigenous Acacia karroo, nowadays called Vachellia karroo. Another interesting finding was that this plant has a very long tap root that tapped into groundwater, thereby threatening the sustainability of this precious water resource that the residents of Nieuwoudtville depend on. This was research that had a tremendous impact on society, and our findings assisted the planning of clearing programmes.

Q Prior to joining SAEON you were a senior researcher at the CSIR’s Smart Places Water Research Centre in Stellenbosch. What did this entail? What lessons did you learn in this position and at this organisation that could be of value in your new position at the Arid Lands Node? 

As a senior researcher at the CSIR, I managed multi-disciplinary projects that addressed environmental issues faced by South Africa and the world at large. These projects had environmental, ecological, hydrological, forestry and agricultural aspects. I learnt the importance of time management and the positive impact that a project leader can have on their team by encouraging members to perform at their level best. I also learnt the importance of knowing the strengths of your team members and delegating accordingly; the importance of always leading by example, having a people-centred approach, being a person of integrity and encouraging collaborations.

Everything I have mentioned here is of value in my new position as manager of the Arid Lands Node. I have passion for research, I lead by example, I have taken time to understand the strengths of my team and I delegate accordingly. As a Node we strive for excellence, we value and promote environmental education, we manage the data we collect and collaborate with institutions that have the same interests as us.

Q The arid lands face significant challenges such as debilitating drought and the poaching of animal and plant species for the illegal trade, many of these endangered. For the present, what do you regard as the most vital research focus area in the region?  

I acknowledge the devastating poaching of animals and plant species for illegal trade in arid regions. It is horrible and causes serious threats to the biodiversity of our beautiful country. I am also happy that organisations like the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) have joined forces to battle the illegal harvesting of succulent plants across arid regions of the country. A paper recently published by one of our research associates (Sue Milton-Dean) and arid ecosystems ecologist (Helga van der Merwe) had a focus on the plight of succulent species in the face of climate change and poaching.

Water research is another vital research focus area in arid regions. These regions are prone to deteriorating quality of their water resources, that is, if they have any. Research must be conducted to ensure sustainability of water resources in arid regions; without water, there is no life, and therefore, even to protect the biodiversity of our country, we first need to ensure we have just enough water with fit-for-purpose quality standard. The Arid Lands Node conducts research on biodiversity as well as hydrological processes in the arid regions of South Africa.

Q How do you envisage applying your experience with research on rivers in developing new programmes at the Arid Lands Node? 

The Arid Lands Node has a strong ecological biodiversity focus, and the team is very experienced in that sphere, I have no concerns at all. But with the Node focusing on Arid Lands, these are ecosystems that do not have water in abundance and in most cases, you will find that even with the little water that is there, there are so many water issues, which is where I will make positive contributions with my hydrology background.

We are venturing into research where we will look at the impacts of plants on stream flows. We have programmes that will look at river water health and citizen science. We will explore the options of using groundwater as an alternative water source when the municipal water that comes from local rivers is shut down, which is the case in the small town of Kimberley where our offices are based.

Q In the ever-evolving natural ecosystem in which you are active, how do you make sure that the Node’s highly sensitive and sophisticated instruments and equipment are maintained? 

The Node has trained technical staff who handle our instruments with care. They regularly service our equipment to ensure good quality data outputs. Sophisticated instruments are always handled by authorised persons – this ensures that expensive repairs and loss of productivity are avoided. Even our trained staff require skills upgrade whenever new accessories and software versions are introduced, which is frequent in this evolving technical space.

Q You are a member of the Golden Key International Honour Society (an Atlanta, Georgia-based non-profit organisation founded in 1977 to recognise academic achievement among college and university students). How important are networks like these in your new position at SAEON? 

The Golden Key International Honour Society membership is by invitation only. They only invite students in the top 15%, therefore, to be part of this society, you must be an individual who strives for excellence. This is important as in my new position I encourage students to give their best performance and strive for excellence.

Q You’ve been involved in a wide range of projects – from investigating the water use dynamics of young and mature apple trees planted in South African orchards to characterising the water use and hydraulic properties of riparian tree invasions and a comparison of two remote sensing models for estimating evapotranspiration. How did these contribute to your overall skills set? 

All the research I have been involved in has one thing in common – whether conducted in the forestry or agricultural sector, I am always advocating for sustainable use of our precious natural resources and biodiversity in a world where such precious resources are at the periphery of extinction. Such projects contributed immensely to my skills set in hydrological/environmental modelling, remote sensing and overall environmental observations.

Q As we are approaching critical environmental limits – nationally, Africa-wide and globally, what role do you see your work at SAEON playing in the mitigation of climate risks and climate change? Will you be engaging in cross-national cooperative programmes with countries such as Namibia and Botswana? 

SAEON takes pride in conducting long-term environmental observations, which are essential to understanding and finding ways to minimise the impacts of climate change. We also pride ourselves in the partnerships that we form and the impact our research has on society. The Arid Lands Node plans to engage in cross-national cooperative programmes with arid to semi-arid countries. Namibia is so close to us; it will likely be the first country we go into partnerships with.

Q As part of your portfolio, you are required to support and enable local environmental science education and public engagement programmes. What is your previous experience in public engagement and science education?  

In my previous position I was involved in numerous engagements with students where we encouraged them to take on careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). We engaged with school children, broadening their understanding of environmental problems and how they can be part of the solution to such problems.

We also had public engagements advocating for water conservation in the agricultural sector, developing tools that farmers can use to forecast their plant water needs and schedule irrigation effectively. We would take such tools to emerging farmers and educate them on how such tools can be used to enhance their crop production while also saving water. We were always striving for a positive societal impact in whatever research we did and taking the final products to the societies that needed them the most.  

Q You are also responsible for student training. Do you have any prior experience in the training of postgraduate students?  

Ever since I started studying for my undergraduate degree, I had junior students that I mentored. Whether it was students from my previous high school that needed career guidance and advice regarding the best universities for a particular course, I made it a priority to do research and guide them towards being well informed. I also tutored junior students while doing my undergraduate degree.

By the time I was a postgraduate student, I was already supervising students in the same field, and I therefore have a long track record of student and postgraduate student training. I am currently supervising two honours students from Sol Plaatje University and University of the Western Cape, two MSc students from the University of Zululand and University of the Western Cape and mentoring two PhD students from the University of KwaZulu-Natal and Stellenbosch University.  

Q Where did you grow up? What initially sparked your interest in environmental and water sciences? 

I grew up in the rural areas of the Eastern Cape, spent most of my time in nature and coming up with ways to conserve water as we never had enough and had to fetch our own water from rivers that were kilometres away from home. Returning with this river water, we also had to make sure it was in a good state for human consumption. Going through school and seeing a prospectus with a course such as “environmental and water science”, I was eager to learn more as I had a passion for environmental and water conservation. I knew if I studied this course that resonates so much with my background, I would most likely make a positive impact in society with such a degree.

Q Do you have any time for hobbies? What are they? 

Reading (I always find time for a good read), hiking (I grab any opportunity to be in nature), playing board games (fosters cooperation, strategic thinking and decision making), and photography (taking great pictures of my family and nature).  

Q Do you have a personal philosophy that you live by? 

“Strive for excellence and a positive societal impact in whatever you do, and you shall always be remembered.”

* The SAEON Arid Lands Node conducts observations on the ecological effects of global change and land-use changes across the hyper-arid to semi-arid western half of South Africa. The Node has been in operation since January 2011 and is hosted by the South African National Parks as a platform for environmental monitoring and research, information management and environmental science education.