Dr. Kelebogile Mfundisi

Country of current residence

Botswana

Current position

Research Scholar

Current institute employer

University of Botswana-Okavango Research Institute

Since

2014

Website current institute

www.ub.bw

Office address

Harry Oppenheimer Okavango Research CenterP/Bag 285, Maun
Botswana

Office phone

+267 6861833

Previous positions

2012-2014: Senior Lecturer, Polytechnic of Namibia 2011 Independent Researcher 2006-2010: Research Fellow University of Botswana 2001-2005: Junior Researcher, ZEF. 2002-2003: Junior Researcher, World Agroforestry Centre

Awards

2009: START Grant for Global Environmental Change in Africa for Studying Methane Emissions in the Okavango Delta; 2007-2009: Membership SCB; 2007: Membership SWS; 2006: Research Fund, Office of Research and Development (University of Botswana); 2001: DAAD Doctoral Research Scholarship; 1999: Professional Certificate in Geographic Information Systems, University of New Haven, U.S.A.; 1997: Masters Degree Scholarship, Government of Botswana.

Current donors

Government of Botswana

Professional memberships

2015- Present:African Association of Remote Sensing of the Environment

2008-Present: Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials

2005: Present INTECOL, BioEnergy Association of Botswana, Society of Wetland Scientists.

Skills

GIS Network Administration Remote Sensing Modelling Research Ethics Teaching and Learning

Profession

Environmental Scientist

Specialisation

1. Environmental Systems and Climate Change 2. Geospatial Analysis and Modeling 3. Water Resources Science 4. Biogeochemistry: Carbon Sequestration and Cycling, Soil Nutrients Dynamics 5. Energy Systems Management and Cleaner Production 6. Geospatial Information Systems 7. Remote Sensing of the Environment

Degrees / expertise

PhD Physical Geography-Bonn University, Germany. MS Environmental Sciences -University of New Haven, U.S.A., Professional Certificate GIS-UNH, U.S.A. BSc Physics, Computer Science, Chemistry, Pure Mathematics, Biological Sciences and Environmental Sciences -University of Botswana, Botswana

Professional experience

2012: Senior Lecturer, Master of Integrated Land Management, Polytechnic of Namibia. 2008- Research Fellow-Wetland Ecology and Inland Waters 2006-2008 Research Fellow-Wetland Ecology 2005-2006 Consultant on EIA, Natural Resources Management Plan Development, and GIS. Botswana. 2001-2005 Junior Researcher, ZEF. Germany. 2002-2003 Junior Researcher, World Agroforestry Centre. Kenya. 2000-2001 Network Administrator. Botswana. 1994-2001Natural Resources Officer. Ministry of Environment, Lands and Housing. Botswana.

2019

Mfundisi, KB. 2019. Spatiotemporal Analysis of Sitatunga (Tragelaphus Spekei) Population’s Response to Flood Variability in Northern Botswana Wetlands: Implications for Climate Change Mitigation. In: Wade, S (eds.): Earth Observations and Geospatial Science in Service of Sustainable Development Goals Southern Space Studies. . Springer, Cham. 103-115. Further Information

Mfundisi, KB & Commeh, MK. 2019. Clean Cookstove Technology Use for Energy Efficiency in the School System. Journal of Natural Resources and Development, Volume 9 : 34-41 . (Open Access) Further Information

2018

Mfundisi KB, Mudabeti AM, Makati A. 2018. Integrating Geoinformatics and Remote Sensing Data to Assess Impacts of Flooding on Land Productivity in the Zambezi River Floodplains, Namibia. In: Maphanyane JG et al. (eds.): Handbook of Research on Geospatial Science and Technologies. 201-212. Further Information

Mfundisi, KB & Mundia LC. 2018. Addressing drought challenges in Southern Africa: review of drought mitigation policies, strategies and management plans. UNESCO. France. Further Information

2015

Mfundisi, K.B. and Petros. O. 2015. A Comparative Assessment of Soil Fertility on Flood Recession (Molapo) and Dryland Farms: The Case of Xhobe Settlement in the Okavango Delta World Heritage Site. Botswana Notes and Records, 47 : 148-157 . (Open Access) Download [PDF | 1.22MB]
Further Information

Middleton, S.K., Mfundisi, K.B., Kurugundla, N. 2015. Soil Factors that Influence the Abundance and Distribution of Threatened and Endangered Species in the Okavango Delta; with particular emphasis on Eulophia angolensis. Natural Resources, 6(5) : 363-370 . (Open Access) Download [PDF | 769.57KB]

2013

Mudabeti, A.M. and K.B. Mfundisi. 2013. Development of a hydraulic model for the Kavango River for improved disaster risk management in Namibia. Download [PDF]
Further Information

2012

Kgathi, DL., KB. Mfundisi, G. Mmopelwa and K. Mosepele. 2012. Potential impacts of biofuel development on food security in Botswana: A contribution to energy policy. Energy Policy-Elsevier, 43 : 70-79 .

Mfundisi, KB. 2012. Assessing the Availability of Land and Water Resources for Production of Energy Crops in Southern Africa. Journal of Sustainable Bioenergy Systems, September 2012 : 37-42 .

2010

Kelebogile Mfundisi, Tobias Landmann, Andreas Dietz, Stefan Dech. 2010. A Case Study for the Okavango Delta Wetland: Using MODIS Time Series Observations to Ascertain Flooding Regime Dynamics for Improved Methane Emission Modeling Inputs. Download [PDF | 437.61KB]
Further Information

2009

Mfundisi, K., W. Khaneguba, K. Mosepele, and B. Sethebe. 2009. Inventorying riparian vegetation species for monitoring the Boro River, Okavango delta. The Boro River is one of the major channels in the Okavango Delta that experiences a lot of interaction from the society in Maun. In the beginning of the 1990s, it was targeted for dredging to increase outflow into the Thamalakane River in order to augment the water supply for Maun village. However, the process of dredging was met with opposition from the local and international communities. This would have had major impacts on the biodiversity along the river, especially the riparian vegetation. The riparian vegetation provides a lot of services to wildlife and to the society in Maun. However, there is no inventory and monitoring of this vegetation. The objective of this study was to inventory plants on the riparian vegetation along the Boro River in order to provide baseline data for the monitoring of biodiversity change in the area. Sites were selected randomly, then transects were placed across the riparian vegetation and quadrats randomly selected to inventory woody and herbaceous plants. A 30m x 30m quadrat was used for sampling woody species and a 50cm x 50cm for herbaceous species. A total of 18 woody species, 9 grasses, and 29 herbs were identified in the study area. The woody species provided a habitat for understory species, which were mainly herbs. Grasses were less dominant in the understory as compared to herbs or weeds. This might be because grasses prefer to grow in open areas where there is more sunlight as compared to weeds that prefer to grow under shades. This study provided a synopsis of the vegetation dynamics within the riparian areas in the Okavango Delta. Further studies are needed for in-depth knowledge of the dynamics in riparian vegetation along major channels in the Okavango Delta. Keywords: Riparian vegetation, Biodiversity, Ecoservices, Okavango Delta, Plants inventory

Mfundisi, KB., Z. Kemmonye and WRL. Masamba. 2009. Assessing the potability of water at Xhobe watering point in the Okavango Delta Ramsar Site using microbial and chemical indicators. Tropical Freshwater Biology, 18 (1) : 63-77 .

2008

Mfundisi, K.B. 2008. Soil fertility in wetland versus reclaimed land using plant parameters in relation to nitrogen content: The case of Yala Swamp, Western Kenya. Scientific Research and Essays, 3 (7) : 287-293 .

Mfundisi, K.B. 2008. Overview of an integrated management plan for the Okavango Delta Ramsar site, Botswana. Wetlands, 28 (2) : 538-543 .

Mfundisi, K.B. 2008. Overview of the feasibility study for production and use of Biofuels in Botswana. Further Information

Mfundisi, K.B.. 2008. Effects of flood duration and vegetation zonation on C and N dynamics of floodplain and riparian vegetation in the Okavango Delta..

Mfundisi, K.B., R. Thobosi, B. Mosepele. 2008. A Rapid Assessment of Macroinvertebrates Associated with Salvinia molesta In Moremi Game Reserve, Okavango Delta. Tropical Freshwater Biology, 17 (1) : 13-23 . Further Information

Middleton, S., K.B. Mfundisi and N. Kurugundla. 2008. Soil factors that influence the abundance and distribution of threatened and endangered species in the Okavango Delta; with particular emphasis on Eulophia angolensis. Further Information

2007

L. Ramberg, H. Bendsen, F.W. Oberthür and Dr. K. Mfundisi. 2007. Research and Monitoring Action Plan for the Okavango Delta Management Plan (ODMP), Research and Data Management Component. DEA and HOORC. Maun. Download [PDF]
Further Information

2006

Mfundisi, KB. and C. van der Schaaf. 2006. Management of International Groundwater: Hydrological, Legal and Political Challenges. The case of the Qa Disi aquifer and the Nubian sandstone aquifer. In: Kovar K, Hrkal Z and Bruthans J (eds) Proceedings of International Conference on Hydrology and Ecology: Groundwater/Ecology Connection, 11-14 September 2006. Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic.

2005

Mfundisi, K. 2005. Analysis of carbon pools and human impacts in the yala swamp (Western Kenya): A landscape approach. Doctoral thesis at Faculty of Math. & Nat. Science, University of Bonn.

1999

Mfundisi, KB. 1999. Sustainable Environmental Planning for the Okavango Delta, Botswana: A Landscape Approach. Masters of Environmental Science Thesis at University of New Haven.

Additionals, Curriculum Vitae
and Downloads

1fe6_Dr Kelebogile Mfundisi Bio_2016.pdf [PDF]

Research themes

Environmental and climate change

Research countries

Kenya

Research projects

2018-2021: GMES & Africa WeMAST project - https://www.sasscal.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/wemast_flyer_general_181114_a3.pdf .2015/16: Carbon sequestration, Clean cookstoves, and Climate benefits. 2014/15: Effects of flooding on land productivity in the Zambezi River floodplains, Namibia. 2012/13: Flood mapping and hydraulic modeling of the Kavango River, Namibia. 2009: Mapping wetland flooding regime for improved methane emissions estimates: Okavango Delta 2007: BioEnergy in Southern Africa 2007: Carbon and Nutrient Dynamics in Riparian Forests of the Okavango Delta, Botswana.

Working groups

Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana. Namibia University of Science and Technology, Namibia, GMES & Africa

Teaching

Water Resource Management, Energy Systems Management and Cleaner Production, Remote Sensing, GIS, Climate Mitigation, Climate Variability, Climate Change, Environmental Change, Carbon Sequestration and cycling, Flood Risk Analysis, Hydraulic Modelling, Land Management

Professional experience

Degrees

Funding institutions

NSF, U.S.A.

Office of Research and Development-University of Botswana.

GMES & Africa: EU/AU

Research affiliation

START: start.org/programs/africangec/kelebogile-mfundisi.html, COMPETE Project, Office of Research and Development, University of Botswana.

GMES & Africa- African Union

Former Division/Group:
Ecology and Natural Resources Management

Office E-Mail:
kelebo(at)edumela.com