Ms. Laurica Celeste Afrikaner
About me
Laurica Afrikaner is a groundwater specialist with expertise in water quality monitoring, pollution control, and groundwater resource management. She represents Namibia on the Water Resources Technical Committee of the Permanent Okavango River Basin Water Commission (OKACOM) and serves as the Namibian Coordinator for the Marine Pollution Working Group under the Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem (BCLME III) Project. Her research focuses on groundwater hydrochemistry, contamination dynamics in mining environments, and sustainable water management in arid regions. Laurica is currently pursuing a PhD in Hydrogeology at the Namibia University of Science and Technology under a full scholarship and has contributed to regional and international scientific forums through conference presentations and technical roles.
Ms. Afrikaner represents Namibia on the Water Resources Technical Committee of the Permanent Okavango River Basin Water Commission (OKACOM) as a Water Quality Specialist and also serves as the Namibian Coordinator for the Marine Pollution Working Group under the Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem (BCLME III) Project of the Benguela Current Convention.
Her research interests lie in groundwater hydrochemistry, contamination dynamics in mining environments, and sustainable water management in arid regions. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Hydrogeology at the Namibia University of Science and Technology under a full scholarship.
Laurica has actively contributed to regional and international scientific platforms she presented her Master’s thesis at the 18th SADC WaterNet Symposium (2017) and the 3rd SADC Groundwater Virtual Conference (2020). Recently, she presented her doctoral research titled “Groundwater Quality Variations Around Namibia’s Oldest Uranium Mine Tailings: A Spatio-Temporal Assessment” at the 26th WaterNet/WARFSA/GWP-SA Symposium (2025) in Lusaka, Zambia, where she also served as a Session Rapporteur.
She was further selected to participate in the 4th International Summer School on Integrated Catchment and Water Resources Management (2025) held at the University of Zambia, where she represented the student body during the gala dinner.