Managing the assets of the natural world
Research leading to innovation by a team or individual through an SMME
In a time when start-ups and small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) are the talk of the town, and the social entrepreneur is given much deserving praise, Umvoto Africa is both a role model and stalwart.
Established in 1991 by Rowena Hay, Umvoto Africa has spent the past 25 years building up a presence. Today, the organisation continues to research and craft sustainable geoscientific and technological solutions that address resource, environmental, social and economic concerns. At the same time it is a successful business that engages with a wide range of clients.
“I named the company after the respectful word some Xhosa brides use for water,” says Rowena Hay, hydrologist and disaster risk reduction consultant. “Our goal is to consult in integrated water resource management, contamination and remediation studies, education and training and process facilitation. We also look to ecological risk management studies that evaluate the human, environmental and business risks associated with natural disasters.”
Umvoto Africa has consulted with numerous organisations in Africa, from Benin to Zambia, and has worked with international organisations such as the United Nations, the Commonwealth secretariat, the World Bank and the South African government.
“What we do we call ‘natural asset management’, working in water and the environment and finding ways of understanding these and the interdependencies between the different elements of our natural environment,” says Hay.
The work done by the minds at Umvoto Africa covers a wide range of earth sciences. From experts in hydroclimatology to geology to the development of young earth scientists, especially women, Umvoto works with people on ideas and solutions with significant long-term potential.
The organisation collaborates with universities in South Africa, France, the UK and Germany. Its internship programme gives students the opportunity to do applied research for post- graduate theses. Several of the theses have been nominated for, or won, awards both locally and in the UK.
In the research and development arena, the organisation relies on inventive application of aerial and satellite remote-sensing, geographic information systems and space-geodesy as earth observation technology for hydrogeological exploration and mapping.
In addition, Umvoto Africa works with commercial drilling contractors in the design and construction of groundwater monitoring and production wells. Other facets include the design and implementation of flow and test pumping trials, the application of computer-based software for three-dimensional numerical modelling of groundwater flow and the planning for operational monitoring of groundwater well-fields.
“Ultimately the work we do gives us a unique view of time,” says Hay. “It allows us to see the environment today and yesterday, with a glimpse of tomorrow. It is about managing the assets of the Earth. We want to take more from the environment, but resources are finite.
“Acknowledging the limits of nature is a very important part of growing up as a country. In a way, a well-adapted society recognises these limits and finds ingenious ways of working within these restraints.”
A recent project undertaken by Umvoto Africa used data from global navigation satellite systems alongside radar-satellite interferometry and ground-based microgravity measurements to detect ground-surface deformation and subsidence associated with groundwater extraction. This new science of hydrogeodesy has potentially massive implications for the management of water resources in dry and desert regions.