IHE Delft alumna Afua Owusu wins Falkenmark award for best PhD thesis
Afua Owusu has won the inaugural Falkenmark award for best PhD thesis for her work on the protection and restoration of naturally flowing rivers through the provision of environmental flows (e-flows). The prize, awarded by the International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS), recognizes outstanding contributions to hydrological understanding of water scarcity and water supply.
Afua earned her PhD from IHE Delft and Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) in 2022. Her research looked at e-flow implementation cases worldwide, specifically, where dam operations have been changed to reduce harm to the environment – cases that remain limited. She then focused on the case of the Akosombo and Kpong dams in the Lower Volta River in Ghana.
“In addition to the in-depth case study of past efforts and the opportunity for e-flows in the Lower Volta River, my PhD looked at cases worldwide where attempts have been made to improve river flows to benefit the environment. I looked at what compromises were made and how that affected water that is used for other purposes, like hydropower or irrigation. These findings can be used to inform efforts in other areas,” she said.
Afua will receive the prize in an award ceremony on 15 July, hosted by the IAHS and held as part of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG) 28th General Assembly in Berlin.
It’s important to tell the story of water in African rivers. There’s a lot of indigenous knowledge about the rivers, but less published knowledge as compared to other continents
She said she was honoured by the recognition, in particular because it is named after Malin Falkenmark, a Professor of Applied and International Hydrology known for developing the concepts of blue and green water, comparative hydrology, as well as the Falkenmark Water Stress Indicator.
“It’s nice to know that people recognize the work I did and find it important, and to be associated with Falkenmark in any way is great,” Afua said.
That the inaugural prize recognizes an African researcher’s work in Africa is important, said Afua: “It’s important to tell the story of water in African rivers. There’s a lot of indigenous knowledge about the rivers, but less published knowledge as compared to other continents.”
With her PhD work, which included time in canoes speaking to fisherfolk as well as interviews with other local experts on the Lower Volta, Afua included indigenous knowledge in the academic discourse. After concluding her PhD, Afua joined the International Water Management Institute’s Ghana office, where she is working with the Water Accounting team contributing to the Digital Innovations for a Water Secure Africa (DIWASA) initiative which was developed in partnership with Digital Earth Africa program.
She highlighted the role of her promotors, IHE Delft Professor Pieter van der Zaag and TU Delft Professor Jill Slinger, as well as her co-promotor, IHE Delft Associate Professor Marloes Mul, in her PhD success.
Van der Zaag said Afua’s research was a truly interdisciplinary exercise with a clear scaling perspective.
“She studied the challenges people face when trying to re-operate dams to also include environmental demands. Importantly, she included cases where such reoperation failed. This allowed her to draw lessons which can assist people to implement environmental flows for other large dams,” he said.
Van der Zaag also served as promotor for Jonatan Godinez Madrigal, who recently won a thesis prize for interdisciplinary research from the Royal Holland Society of Sciences and Humanities.