Project Manager: Water Unit, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research – Environmentek
In matric, Mapule applied to the CSIR for a bursary to do a BSc in biochemistry. She went on to do honours in pharmacology and an MSc in water resources management.
‘My work is about water resources in our sub-region. One of my current projects is the Okavango Basin, which is shared by three countries: Botswana, Angola and Namibia. We’re working on a water management plan to benefit all three countries,” she says.
‘Water flows from upstream to the ocean. What happens if a country upstream pollutes the water? Or builds a dam? Water is a cross-cutting issue. We have to talk collectively about how this affects countries downstream.”
Mapule helps to facilitate agreements on managing water resources between these countries. Poverty eradication and industrial development require water.
‘Another area I’m involved in is science communication. Too much scientific research ends up on a shelf somewhere and a lot of the money that funds this comes from taxpayers, so science must be relevant to society, even to illiterate people.”