The Water Research Futures Survey 2011/2012 completed by the University of Cape Town’s Aquad’UCT organisation on behalf of the South African Water Industry gathered information from scores of representatives in the field including academics, consultants and officials from the Department of Water Affairs and the Water Research Commission.

One of the questions respondents were asked was who they believed had contributed most effectively to water research in South Africa – and Schulze was No 1! Other UKZN researchers who featured in the Top 25 list were Graham Jewitt (8), Simon Lorentz (15), Jeffrey Smithers (21) and Mark Dent (23).

Sixty-nine-year-old Schulze, an emeritus professor of Hydrology and senior research associate at the School of Agricultural, Earth and Environmental Science, said modestly he was very 'chuffed ' when he saw the results of the survey.

'It’s a reflection of a lifetime achievement – I have been in water research for more than 40 years with all that time spent at UKZN.'

His research into climate change and global warming-related issues has earned him world-wide recognition as an authority in the field with much of his time now taken up addressing gatherings on the subject in all corners of the globe.

Schulze has a long list of accolades including being a member of the National Water Advisory Committee, a Fellow of the Royal Society of South Africa, a member of the Academy of Science of South Africa and is currently leading several multi-institutional research projects.

'I am trying to retire officially but am finding it very difficult,' said Schulze, who was introduced recently before a presentation to the National Business Initiative as "not retired but re-fired".

'More and more I am being asked to assist government in water and climate related projects. I guess my experience is being sought and my philosophy is that while I can I want to share the knowledge I have gained over the years.'

His latest book A 2011 Perspective of Climate Change and the SA Water Sector is due out this month, while his previous work: An Atlas of Climate Change and the South African Agricultural Sector : a 2010 Perspective, was well received.

He said there had been a significantly increased acceptance of climate change as a reality in recent years while ‘we as scientists realise there are still many uncertainties and the challenge is to make decisions under those uncertainties’.

Schulze paid special tribute to his wife, Waltraut, who had supported him totally during his long career. 'Our six grandchildren, aged from five downwards, keep us fully on the go but we enjoy it thoroughly.'

Schulze - who describes himself as a fifth-generation South African - says his first memories are of Harburg in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands. His forefathers had emigrated from Germany in the 1800s with one side of the family settling in the little village which today still has a strong German influence.

He matriculated at the nearby German school at Hermannsburg and did a BSc in geography and chemistry at the then University of Natal, going on to do his honours and masters as well as a teaching diploma.

In 1969 he got a lectureship in the Geography Department at the Pietermaritzburg campus of the University, so beginning an association which has lasted more than 40 years and continues to prosper!

While in the geography department he started working on his doctorate which was in the field of hydrology.

A major turning point in Schulze's career was sparked by the Water Act of 1970. 'During this time, the Water Research Commission was founded and funded research in the then Department of Agricultural Engineering. Having completed my doctorate in the field of hydrological computer modelling, I was offered a research post at the University funded by the Commission.

''We grew from a two-person show to what became - and still is – arguably Southern Africa's largest academic and research hydrology department.'

In the early 1980s, Schulze was able to convince the University to start the discipline of hydrology as a degree course in the Faculty of Science, a first for South Africa. 'The discipline grew to the extent that many hundreds of hydrologists have graduated through UKZN since the early 1980s.'

Included among Schulze's many research highlights is the development of a hydrological model which estimates peak floods for engineering design still used today as an industry standard in South Africa. Another is the development of an integrated hydrological model called ACRU being used extensively in South Africa and overseas in decision-making for water resources, including estimates ranging from irrigation requirements to land use impacts.

'A third highlight was the development of detailed mapping systems for climatology and hydrology in South Africa. Coming out of that has been the publication of a series of detailed atlases used nationally and internationally.'

Climate change became much more than a blip on Schulze's radar in the late 1980s. It has grown dramatically over the years with major funding for his team's research from the Water Research Commission (WRC) and from other national and international sources.

Turning specifically to climate change he said: 'I believe we haven't looked after the world the way we should have. We've been going about things in an unsustainable manner which has caused a massive backlash. That's why sustainability, a greener world and trying to reduce carbon emissions into the atmosphere are so vital today.

'One of the problems of climate change is that the damage has been done. It can be fixed by very drastic measures but it will be a long term fix - there is no short term solution.'

He said the South African Government, as well as the private sector, were putting effective strategies and action plans in place to adapt to climate change and mitigate its effects. 'It is encouraging that the private sector, as an affected party, is playing a more and more important role in this sphere.'