Oceania Water Research Consortium

The objective of the Oceania Water Research Consortium (OWRC) is to establish a network of experts and key stakeholders in Oceania to identify the most critical water security, equity, and sustainability issues facing New Zealand and the rest of Oceania, as well as developing solutions to tackle these challenges. This network is based at the University of Auckland.

Motivation

We aim to enhance Oceania's resilience to ever-increasing water stress issues related to climate change and limited water resources due to increasing population and rapid urbanisation. 

Approach

Almost total reliance on rain-fed water across the South Pacific means economies and livelihoods are at increased risk in this region due to climate change, increasing population, and urbanisation. Almost 10 percent of deaths of children under five in the region are attributable to water-related causes; 90 percent of these deaths can be traced to poor sanitation treatment systems. There is a need to establish a network of experts, policymakers, and key stakeholders around these issues to find solutions to these complex challenges over the long term. This is what the proposed consortium has set out to achieve.

To initiate this process, a project team based at the University of Auckland, with the help of collaborators, is engaged with some of the key personnel in New Zealand and the South Pacific, including a number of academic partners in the South Pacific. Most of the research and projects will be undertaken in these countries, with help from the University of Auckland and potential academic and industry partners in New Zealand. If required, initial research training for these researchers will be undertaken in New Zealand to advance their research capacity. A formal process will be established so that South Pacific researchers can visit research laboratories in New Zealand for research training.

• Associate Professor Lokesh Padhye, (Principal Lead)
  
• Professor Saeid Baroutian, Chemical and Materials Engineering
• Professor David Williams, Chemical Sciences
• Professor Jadranka Travas-Sejdic, Chemical Sciences
• Asssociate Professor Melanie Kah, Environmental Sciences
• Dr Filicia Wicaksana, Chemical and Materials Engineering
• Associate Professor Erin Leitao, Chemical Sciences

Collaborators in the South Pacific

• Professor Surendra Prasad, USP Fiji
• Dr Francis Mani, USP Fiji
• Dr Krishna Kumar Kotra, USP Vanuatu
• Dr Sunil Singh, USP Samoa
• Dr Luke Mani, USP Solomon Islands