Title: Transboundary Water Management Expert
Institution: Global Water Partnership Southern Africa & Africa Coordination Unit
Email: heynsp@mweb.com.na
A seasoned, well-known professional in the water sector, Mr. Heyns is an expert in national, regional and global water planning, water infrastructure construction, water scheme operations as well as water governance, development and management. He has more than 40 years of experience as a civil engineer in the water sector in Southern Africa – 33 years in the Government Service of both South Africa and Namibia. With ten years’ experience as a freelance water management consultant, specialising in transboundary water management issues, Mr. Heyns has provided expert support to various water management institutions among them GIZ and Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI).
Mr. Heyns has been instrumental in the development of the SADC Protocol on Shared Watercourse Systems as well as the establishment of the then SADC Water sector. He was the driving force behind the creation of the Permanent Okavango Basin Water Commission (OKACOM) and the Orange-Senqu River Commission (ORASECOM) and was commissioner for Namibia’s 5 water commissions for more than 15 years. A former member of the African Advisory Group of the World Bank and first Steering Committee of the GWPSA, Mr. Heyns also chaired the SADC water sector Technical committee. A renowned author with more than 20 published papers on water issues, more than 40 unpublished papers, Mr. Heyns has contributed to many articles books on water and environmental management.