Water Resource Research Centre of Arba Minch University has invited research proposals from the prospective scholars on the below mentioned thematic areas for the academic year 2006 EC (2013-14).
The first round of proposal submission date is November 15, 2013; whereas the second round will start at the beginning of the second semester. Note that Abaya-Chamo Lakes basin is the priority research site and group research is highly encouraged. The proposal format can be had from the office.
‘‘Significantly, AMU has allocated research for staff to apply for money. However, we are also seeking money from other international sources that would depend upon the call, said Water Resources Research Centre Director,’’ Dr Mekonen Ayana,
Informing further, he said, ‘‘AMU that leads other seven universities has developed a project on small-scale irrigation and submitted to Netherlands Initiative for Capacity Building in Higher Education (NICHE).
The proposal is already accepted and bidding process to select appropriate universities from New Zealand is underway; it has the colossal funding worth of 2 million Euros. The fund will be utilized to build the capacity of AMU & partnering universities for PhD, MSc training and also for managerial and leadership capacity of the institution, Dr Mekonen added.
The proposals should align with the below mentioned broad thematic areas with associated possible focus or specific areas that can be addressed. People can formulate the proposal title based on these key areas, he summed up.
The AMU-specific thematic areas are as follow:
Thematic area (1): Innovation and Adaptation of Appropriate Technologies
Technological innovations, technology adoption/adaptations and transfer in the areas of water resources management and utilization
Thematic area (2): Water Resources Assessment Management
Efficient water management to improve water productivity in agriculture
Precision farming, drainage, irrigation, rain water harvesting, rain-fed agriculture, soil moisture conservation, deficit irrigation etc
Institutional aspect of water management
Water resource assessment for livelihood improvement in drought-prone areas
Surface water balance analysis, ground water assessment, surface and ground water quality assessment for various uses as well as improving water supply and sanitation
Thematic area (3): Improvement of Agricultural Productivity and Management of Agricultural Products
Efficient utilization of irrigation water, crop water demand assessment
Soil and water management and conservation in rain-fed and irrigated agriculture
Thematic area (7): Sustainable Natural Resource Management
Watershed studies for integrated natural resource management
Integrated watershed management (IWSM) studies
Hydrological modeling, soil erosion modeling, watershed prioritization based on hydrologic soil erosion responses
Thematic area (11): Computational Modeling and Database Management
Development and Management of database for uses in time series and spatial data management
Applications of GIS and remote sensing on natural resource management
Thematic area (14): Climate Change and Environmental Integrity
Climate change impact assessments on projects related to water resource, availability of water, food security etc
Climate change impact analysis related to Abaya-Chamo and Omo-Gibbe River basins
By Philips Joseph