Director: Delana Louw
Delana Louw has a B Sc majoring in Zoology, Botany, Geology and Nature Conservation and a BSc Honours (Nature Conservation). Delana started working as a nature conservation scientist in Lebowa and then went on to the Department of Water Affairs. During her 10 years at the Department she specialised in Environmental Flow Requirements and the development of Environmental Impact Assessment methods linked to water resource use. She then started her own consulting firm which is now called Rivers for Africa eFlows Consulting (Pty Ltd).
Delana has a background in managing and coordinating Environmental Flow Requirements (EFR) Study. She has been involved in most of these studies undertaken in South Africa and other Southern African countries during the past 25 years.
She has been closely involved in the design of most of the state of the art methods in use presently and in their applications on a large number of the rivers of southern Africa. Her specific interests lie in applying these methods in an integrated way with water resource planning to ensure the implementation of the National Water Act (1998) and the success of the concept of the Reserve (South African version of Environmental Flow or Ecological Water Requirements. Her aim is to aid in the implementation and monitoring of the EFR which should lead to the design of practical Integrated EFR Strategies as part of Catchment Management Strategies. She has also managed apecialist aquatic impact studies as part of the large EISA studies.
During the last six years the National Water Resources Classification studies have been initiated as required by the National Water Act as well as studies linked to monitoring specifications, implementation and monitorin plans. Rivers for Africa has managed most of these studies to date and has also been instrumental in designing integrated methods and approaches.
As an indication of her dedication to her work, Delana was awared the Woman in Water for the category: Management & Policy. In order to recognise the role that women have played and continue to play in water management in South Africa, the Department of then Water Affairs and Forestry, the Water Research commission and the Water Institute of South Africa have jointly developed the Women in Water Awards. The awards are presented to women of stature, women who have excelled in their field and who have made a significant contibution to the management of water in South Africa. In particular, the women who have been chosen have used their knowledge, their skills and their considerable capacity to ensure that water management in South Africa contributes to a better life for all.
The Award was provided to Delana indicating the following: Delana Louw has tirelessly worked to ensure that South Africa's water resources are sustainable and compliant with environmental standards. Working on all fronts, she has been instrumental in ensuring that scientists and water managers achieve common goals. Her main focus has been managing and developing ecological Reserve determination processes, contributing huge amounts of effort and expertise to this project. A committed team player, Delana's leadership skills have seen her achieve very impressive results across a wide variety of projects.
ADDRESS
P.O. Box 1684, Derdepark. 0035
South Africa
CONTACTS
Email: iwre@icon.co.za
Phone: +27(0)824611289
Fax: +27 (0) 86 656 6799
