"Water scarcity is a pressing issue in South Africa, exacerbated by climate change and increasing competition for water resources. The Koue Bokkeveld (KBV) region exemplifies this challenge, with conflicts arising between water users in times of water shortages," says OMT alumni, David Gwapedza, lecturer in Hydrology and Climatology at the University of Namibia.

To address this complexity, a collaborative approach involving stakeholders in co-developing a water management plan was adopted. The research employed the Adaptive Planning Process (APP) and Actor, Resources, Dynamics, and Interactions (ARDI) framework to engage stakeholders in identifying shared concerns, envisioning a desired future, and mapping out the system's components. Agent-based modelling and hydrological models were developed to simulate different water management scenarios.