Understanding Water Security at Local Government Level in South Africa

Richard Meissner is a Senior Researcher at the Natural Resources and Environment Unit, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), South Africa. He holds a D.Phil. in International Politics and specialises in a number of areas ranging from water security at the local government level to the analysis of transboundary river basins.

Karen Nortje is a Senior Researcher at the CSIR. Her key competencies lie in researching and understanding socio-economic and socio-cultural issues, and conducting research at the local and individual level of society. Her expertise includes understanding community organisation, working with communities at the local and regional level, and gauging social, cultural, and socio-economic impacts.

Maronel Steyn holds an M.Tech. in Environmental Health. She has considerable experience in water and health-related research projects examining e.g. chemical and microbiological human health risk, environmental epidemiology, drinking water treatment, wastewater reuse, health economics, burden of disease, and health-related guideline development.

Nikki Funke is a Senior Researcher at the Integrated Water Solutions Research Group, CSIR. Her particular strength lies in the critical analysis of the governance, institutional and policy dynamics of the South African water and environmental sectors. She also has experience in scenario and strategy development, and has a strong interest in the development of a theory-based understanding of evidence-informed decision-making in South Africa.