ZEF signs Memorandum of Understanding with cooperation partners in West Africa and India

ZEF signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Volta Basin Authority in Burkina Faso in April. The newly established Volta Basin Authority was set up by the six riparian states of the Volta river and serves the six governments concerned. ZEF has built a close working relationship with the Volta Basin Authority during the last year in the framework of its GLOWA Volta project on "Sustainable Water Use under Changing Land Use, Rainfall Reliability, and Water Demands in the Volta Basin" in Ghana and Burkina Faso. The Volta Basin Authoriy is also a scientific endeavor to strengthen international efforts that are ongoing in the Volta basin such as by Green Cross International, the Global Environmental Facility (GEF), UNEP, the EU, and the IUCN. In the end, it seeks the avoidance of conflict and the equitable access to water and water related resources throughout the Volta basin.

ZEF and the GLOWA Volta project agreed to transfer its offices from Dano to Ouagadougou to create the research department of the Volta Basin Authority there. Dr. Konrad Vielhauer, formerly employed by the Dreyer Foundation and project coordinator in the Dano center in Burkina Faso, will be the officer in charge of this collaboration.

Also, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed with the Haryana Agricultural University in Hisar, India, in April. ZEF Director Prof. Paul Vlek discussed further possible collaboration options with the Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof. Dr. J.C. Katyal. In particular, involvement of the Haryana University in the ZEF-led project on "Economic and Ecological Restructuring in Khorezm, Uzbekistan" was explored in detail.