Work Packages

WP 1: Integrated hydrological model development

Lead, Partners: FSU Jena, SYDRO, ARC

WP 1 will combine hydrological modelling with regional climate projections (WP 2) and explorative LUMCC scenarios (WP 3) to develop i) drought-focused models for the Integrated Vaal River System including water transfers between dams and considering management decisions, and ii) flood-focused models for the flood-prone rivers in the Durban region. Three hydrological modelling platforms will be utilised for process-based simulation at river basin scales, namely JAMS/J2000, TALSIM and PITMAN.
WP 2: Generating climate change projections at cloud permitting scale

Lead, Partners: Hereon-GERICS, Wits-GCI

WP 2 will generate a new set of climate change projections with a very high temporal and spatial resolution at the km-scale for the case study region. Two Regional Climate Models (RCMs), namely CCAM (Wits-GCI) and REMO-NH (Hereon-GERICS), will be used to generate climate projections at a spatial resolution as fine as 3 km. The novel RCM data will serve as input for the hydrological model system.
WP 3: Development of explorative LUMCC scenarios

Lead, Partners: MLU-Hal, Wits-GCI

WP 3 will model land use / management and cover changes (LUMCC) within the context of impacts on hydrological and local climate parameters through changes in evapotranspiration, percolation and runoff, soil-moisture, and subsequently streamflow. Detailed scenarios of future LUMCC in the Integrated Vaal and KwaZulu-Natal River Systems will be developed by implementing different model types relevant for different scales (local to regional).
WP 4: Assessment of future hydro-climate hazards

Lead, Partners: FSU Jena, SYDRO, Wits-GCI, Hereon-GERICS, ARC, MLU-Hal

WP 4 will project changes in the frequency, duration and intensity of hydro-climate hazards, such as extreme floods and multi-year droughts, for different periods in the future, different levels of global warming and as a function of LUMCC. WP 4 will provide tangible outputs related to flood and drought risks that will be the basis for the disaster risk assessment across various sectors.
WP 5: Co-design and co-development of DRR and adaptation strategies

Lead, Partners: MA, FSU Jena, Hereon-GERICS, SYDRO, Wits-GCI, ARC, MLU-Hal, Implementation partners

The research team will engage with key stakeholders towards the co-design of the research outputs for maximum uptake in DRR plans and long-term adaptation strategies, in both the Gauteng Province and Durban region. Moreover, we will co-develop a user-friendly web-based information system, named “Safe-Water”, and a transfer concept to ensure the transferability of this project to other hotspots of interest.
WP 6: Capacity development

Lead, Partners: Wits-GCI, FSU Jena, Hereon-GERICS, SYDRO, MLU-Hal

An important aspect of this project is the accompanying capacity building for young researchers, policy-makers and implementation partners throughout the duration of the project The German and African partners will jointly support bi-national supervised masters and doctoral degrees through bilateral sandwich programs offered by DAAD. In addition, the project will provide tailor-made capacity building for policy makers and implementation partners to understand the complexity of hydro-climatic extremes.