Environmental change, population growth and urbanisation are putting increasing pressure on the scarce water resources in the Cuvelai-Etosha basin in central northern Namibia. Fresh water is provided by a water pipeline which originates from the Kunene River which marks the border to Angola. Within the integrated water resources management concept (IWRM), the CuveWaters project investigates demand-responsive (DR) and adapted water supply, sanitation and waste water treatment technologies. The central goal is to strengthen the potential of the region's resources by combining new and adapted technologies in a multi-resource mix for water supply and sanitation (Kluge et al. 2008a and b). Technical sections of the project are framed by societal and scientific components. Furthermore, IWRM is embedded in existing processes and adapted to the specific political, social and economic conditions.