UCEWQ - Partnerships and contacts

Regional

Unilever

The Centre is a flagship Unilever project, and receives unencumbered financial support. The core activities supported by the funding are:

capacity building and education, with a focus on students, Centre staff, communities and stakeholders within the broader water sector
projects that include a focus on development and community issues and
interactions with water quality stakeholders in the public and private sectors.

The UCEWQ is a corporate member of The Aquatox Forum. The Forum serves as a platform for the advancement of aquatic toxicity testing in South Africa.

Institute for Water and Environmental Resource Management (IWERM), University of Technology Sydney, Australia.: Former director of the Centre, Tally Palmer, is current director of IWERM. The two organizations collaborate through the exchange of ecotoxicity data and research ideas.
UNILEVER UK - Safety & Environmental Assessment Centre, United Kingdom: In order to assess whether they are meeting their stringent environmental criteria, Unilever are currently sponsoring a project investigating the impact of the direct in-stream use of their detergent products on river organisms. The study is being undertaken in a small catchment in the Eastern Cape (Balfour River, near Fort Beaufort) and involves an assessment of the impact on the in-stream invertebrates and toxicological studies using local mayfly and limpet species.
The Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC): SETAC Africa has been launched and Dr Nikite Muller is on the SETAC Africa council.