Dr. Charles Niwagaba Buregeya, PhD

Charles.niwagaba@mak.ac.ug
+256772335477
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Office Number: 1008 New Building of CEDAT

Dr. Charles Niwagaba Buregeya, PhD

Associate Professor

Areas of Research Interest: Sanitation technology, Resource recovery and safe use, faecal sludge management, solid waste management 

Biography

Dr. Charles B. NIWAGABA is an Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Makerere University. He holds BSc. Civil Engineering and MSc. from Makerere University; a Licentiate of Philosophy and PhD in Environmental Technology from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Uppsala, Sweden. He has 24 years of experience in research, teaching and consultancy in Civil and Environmental Engineering. Dr. Charles B. Niwagaba has been involved in various research and consultancies funded locally by Government of Uganda and by various multi-lateral agencies. Dr. Niwagaba has experience environmental impact assessments of projects in the water and sanitation sector, hydropower dams, port infrastructure, roads and faecal sludge management. Dr. Niwagaba has extensive knowledge in development of innovative practices in sanitation improvement (from Engineering, social marketing to financing); solid waste management with emphasis on recycling and re-use e.g. composting, biogas, grey water treatment and use, application of faecal sludge in industrial kilns and boilers, design of faecal sludge treatment plants etc.

Courses Taught

  • CIV3205 Public Health Engineering I
  • CIV4104 Public Health Engineering II
  • CIV7100 Research Methods and Scientific Writing I
  • CIV7200 Research Methods and Scientific Writing II
  • CIV7289 Solid Waste Management and Recycling

Education

  • BSc. Civil Eng. (Mak), MSc. Civil Eng. (Mak), Ph. Lic. (SLU, Sweden), PhD. (SLU, Sweden).

Other key skills training (Certification)

  1. 2021: Environmental and Social Framework – ESF Fundamentals, Open Learning Campus; World Bank Group.
  2. 2020: Certificate in the Training Course for ISO 30500 and ISO 24521: International Non-sewered Sanitation Standards offered by Cap-Net/ANSI/GWPO.
  3. 2018-2019: 192 Hours OSHA Construction Safety and Health Professional; 162 Hours OSHA Construction Safety and Health Manager; 145 Hours OSHA Construction Site Safety Supervisor; 130 Hours OSHA Construction Safety and Health Specialist; 47 Hours OSHA Construction Safety and Health Train-the-Trainer; and 002 Hours OSHA Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19.
  4. 2018: 10-Hour OSHA Hazard Recognition Training for the Construction Industry Course, offered by the American OSHA Academy.
  5. 2018: Certificate in Basic safety orientation, online, offered by 360 Training.
  6. NIH Web-based training certificate in “Protecting Human Research Participants” offered by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Extramural Research.
  7. Planning & Design of Sanitation Systems and Technologies, offered by the Swiss Federal Institute for Aquatic Science and Technology (EAWAG).
  8. Municipal Solid Waste Management in Developing Countries, offered by the Swiss Federal Institute for Aquatic Science and Technology (EAWAG).
  9. 2001: Certificate in Environmental Impact Assessment from the Water, Engineering and Development Center, Institute of Development Engineering, Loughborough University, UK.

Research project history

  • Aug 2022 – Dec 2026: Water, Behaviour Change and Environmental Sanitation (WABES): Sustainable Solutions to Research, Knowledge and Professionalization – Integrated Water, Sanitation and Solid Waste Services (INTEGRATE). The project is worth CHF 3,237,730 from the Swiss Development and Cooperation (SDC), of which US$ 192,722 is for coordination of research activities at Makerere University.
  • Oct 2017 – Dec 2020: SPANS (Sanitation Planning for Alternative Nutrient-recovery Systems), a research project implemented by the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Uppsala, Sweden; RISE (Research Institutes of Sweden); Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden; and Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda; SEK 5.2 million.
  • 3. Aug 2011 – Dec 2014: Worked with EAWAG in the first phase of the Re-inventing The Toilet Challenge (RTTC) project. Participated in the workshop and field visits and testing in Kampala City and led the Kampala part of the work. This project won the Special Recognition Award by the Bill and Melinda Gates (BMG) Foundation at the toilet fair in Seattle (USA), on 15 August 2012.
  • 4. Apr 2011 – Jun 2014: Project Partner on the Project FaME (Faecal Management Enterprises): providing sanitation solutions through value chain management of faecal sludge. Project amount was CHF340,780 (Equivalent to €262,280).
  • Apr 2011 – Jun 2014: Project Partner on the Project UACT ~ Economic Constraints and Demand-Led Solutions for Sustainable Sanitation Services in Poor Urban Settlements. Project amount was CHF399,682 (Equivalent to €307,61).
  • Apr 2009 – Dec 2012: Coordinator of the research User Driven sanitation at Makerere University, funded by the Swiss Government. This research involved a PhD student from Uganda working with two other associated PhD students from ETHNADEL, Switzerland.
  • Sept. 2006 – April 2010: Team leader of the EU funded research project, Resource Oriented Sanitation Concepts for peri-urban Areas in Africa (ROSA). A project that was done in collaboration with three European Universities and 2 research based European NGOs; as well as four East African Universities and four Cities/Municipalities in East Africa. This project was worth €2.9 million.

Conferences/workshops papers presented

  1. Kasirye Mathias, Niwagaba B. Charles, Lubuulwa Andrew, Katukiza Y. Alex, Semiyaga Swaib, Manga Musa, Simha Prithvi, 2023. Stabilization And Drying Kinetics To Produce A Urine-based Solid Fertilizer. Presented at the International Water Association (IWA) Water Development Congress and Exhibition, Kigali, Rwanda, 10-14 December 2023.
  2. Billger, M., Kain, J-H, Niwagaba, C.B., McConville, J.R., 2021. Co-designing a serious game for collaborative sanitation planning for resource recovery. IWA Digital World Water Congress, 24 May- 4 June 2021. (poster presentation). Awarded best scientific poster.
  3. McConville, J.R., Billger, M., Kain, J-H., Niwagaba, C.B., 2021. Learning from a resource recovery game for collaborative urban sanitation planning. IWA Nordic Wastewater Digital Conference 2021, 28 September – 1 October 2021. (oral presentation).
  4. Niwagaba, C.B., Billger, M., Kain, J-H., McConville, J.R. 2020. A collaborative resource-recovery game to enhance urban sanitation planning. Uganda Water and Environment Week (Digital), 13-18 September 2020. (oral presentation).
  5. Ahabwe, G. Z., Niwagaba, B. C., 2020. The governance conundrum in pursuit of the human right to water and sanitation: tracking the progress of leave-no-one-behind principle in Uganda, pp189-196. Proceedings of the WaSo 2020 final (online) conference (www.waso2 020.net) 15-16 December 2020. International Conference on Water, Society and Climate Change (WaSo), 2020. Proceedings – Part I, Concluding event of the 7-year NORAD-NORHED Project. www.wasoproject.org, www.waso2020.net.
  6. Billger, M., Kain J.-H., Niwagaba C.B. & J.R. McConville, 2020. Lessons from co-designing a resource-recovery game for collaborative urban sanitation planning. BEYOND 2020 – World Sustainable Built Environment conference. IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science 588 (2020) 042041, IOP Publishing. doi:10.1088/1755-1315/588/4/042041 (Oral Presentation).

Published books

Published Book Chapters

Published Journal Articles

  1. Kanyesigye, C., Twesigyea, I., Marks, S., Niwagaba, C., Kulabako, R., Ferrero, G., Kansiime, F., 2023. Assessment of risks to the quality of water supplied in Bushenyi-Uganda using the water safety plan approach. Water Practice and Technology. 10.2166/wpt.2023.193.
  2. McConville, J.R; Billger, M., Niwagaba, B. C., Kain, J-H., 2023. Assessing the potential to use serious gaming in planning processes for sanitation designed for resource recovery. Environmental Science and Policy, 145, 262-274.
  3. Andriessen, N., Appiah-Effah, E., Browne, S. J. L., al Jahjah, R., Kabika, J., Kinobe, J. R., Korir, N., Nishimwe, P., Niwagaba, B. C., Pradeep, R., Prasad, P., Tembo, J. M., William, A., Ambuehl, B., Strande, L., 2023. Quantities and qualities of faecal sludge: Experiences from field implementation with a Volaser in 7 countries during a pandemic. Frontiers in Water (Water and Human Systems). DOI: 10.3389/frwa.2023.1130081.
  4. Tokwaro, R., Semiyaga, S., Niwagaba, C. B., Nakagiri, A., Sempewo, J.I., Muoghalu, C.C., Manga, M., 2023. Application of black soldier fly larvae in decentralized treatment of faecal sludge from pit latrines in informal settlements in Kampala city. Frontiers in Environmental Science, 11, 1118635; p1-11. doi: 10.3389/fenvs.2023.1118635.
  5. Ward, B.J., Nguyen, M.T., Sam, S.B., Korir, N., Niwagaba, C.B., Morgenroth, E., Strande, L., 2023. Particle size as a driver of dewatering performance and its relationship to stabilization in fecal sludge. Journal of Environmental Management, 326, 116801, Pp 1-12.
  6. Niwagaba B. C., Lukas, B., Regula, M., Ouma, H., Wanyama, K., 2022. Gravity-driven Membrane Filtration for the Supply of Safely Managed Water in Rural Areas of Uganda. The Engineer 1(2), 41-44. ISSN: 2790-5047.
  7. McConville, J.R., Kvarnström, E., Ahlström, M., Niwagaba, B. C., 2022. Possibilities for changing to resource recovery in Kampala’s on-site sanitation regime. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 181, Article 106275.
  8. Ahabwe G. Z., Batega D.W, Ssewaya, A., Niwagaba, B. C., 2022. Governance conundrum in pursuit of the human right to water and sanitation: tracking the progress of the leave-no-one-behind principle in Uganda. Journal of Water and Climate Change 13(1), 83-95.
  9. Bartona, M. A., Simha, P., Magri, M. E., Dutta, S., Kabir, H., Selvakumar, A., Zhou, X., Lv, Y., Martin, T., Kizos, T., Triantafyllou, E., Kataki, R., Gerchman, Y., Ronit Herscu-Kluska, R., Alrousan, D., Dalahmeh, S., Goh, E. G., Elenciuc, D., Głowacka, A., Korculanin, L., Tzeng, R. T., Ray, S.S., Ganesapillai, M., Niwagaba, C., Prouty, C., Mihelcic, J. R., Vinnerås, B., 2021. Data Article Attitudes of food consumers at universities towards recycling human urine as crop fertiliser: A multinational survey dataset, Data in Brief, 35, 106794, 1-12.
  10. Simha, P., Barton, M. A., Perez-Mercado, L.F., McConville, J.R., Lalander, C., Magri, M.E., Dutta, S., Kabir, H., Selvakumar, A., Zhou, X., Martin, T., Kizos, T., Kataki, R., Gerchman, Y., Herscu-Kluska, R., Alrousan, D., Goh, E.G., Elenciuc, D., Głowacka, A., Korculanin, L., Tzeng, R.V., Ray, S.S., Niwagaba, C., Prouty, C., Mihelcic, J.R., Vinnerås, B., 2021. Willingness among food consumers to recycle human urine as crop fertiliser: Evidence from a multinational survey. Science of the Total Environment 765 (144438), 1-10.
  11. Butte, G. Niwagaba, C., Nordin, A., 2020. Assessing the microbial risk of faecal sludge use in Ugandan agriculture by comparing field and theoretical model output. Water Research, 197, 117068, 1-14.
  12. McConville, J.R., Kvarnström, E., Nordin, C. A., Jönsson, H., Niwagaba, B. C., 2020. Structured Approach for Comparison of Treatment Options for Nutrient-recovery from Fecal Sludge. Frontiers in Environmental Science, Vol. 8., Article 36, Page 1-12; doi: 10.3389/fenvs.2020.00036
  13. Dalahmeh, S., Björnberg, E., Elenström, A-K., Niwagaba, C. B., Komakech, A. J., 2020. Pharmaceutical pollution of wastewater and water resources in Nakivubo water system in Kampala, Uganda. Science of the Total Environment, 710, 25 March 2020, 136347.
  14. McConville, J. R., Kvarnström, E., Maiteki, J. M., Niwagaba, B. C., 2019. Infrastructure investments and operating costs for fecal sludge and sewage treatment systems in Kampala, Uganda. Urban water Journal 16(8), 584-593. https://doi.org/10.1080/1573062X.2019.1700290.
  15. Niwagaba B. Charles, Ajak E. Ayii, Kibuuka O. Ambrose, Pomi, Raffaella, 2019. Possibilities for the use of sludge from a drinking water treatment plant at Ggaba III in Kampala, Uganda. Detritus Multidisciplinary Journal of Waste Resources & Residues, 6, 59-67.
  16. Otaka G., Okullo, A., Niwagaba B.C., Kulabako, R.N., Katukiza, A.Y., 2019. Evaluation of the efficiency and benefits of a pilot scaled decentralized faecal sludge treatment system in Kampala. International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research, 10(3), 621-630.
  17. Gold, M., Cunningham, M., Bleuler, M., Arnheiter, R., Schönborn, A., Niwagaba, C., Strande, L., 2018. Operating parameters for three resource recovery options from slow-pyrolysis of faecal sludge. Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development, 8 (4), 707–717.
  18. Strande, L., Schoebitz, L., Bischoff, F., Ddiba, D., Okello, F., Englund, M., Ward, B. J., B. C., 2018. Methods to reliably estimate faecal sludge quantities and qualities for the design of treatment technologies and management solutions. Journal of Environmental Management, 223, 898–907.
  19. Dalahmeh, S., Tirgani, S., Komakech, A. J., Niwagaba, B. C., Ahrens, L., 2018. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in water, soil and plants in wetlands and agricultural areas in Kampala, Uganda. Science of The Total Environment, 631–632, 660–667.
  20. Semiyaga, S., Okure, M. A. E., Niwagaba, B. C., Nyenje, P.M., Kansiime, F., 2018. Enhancing faecal sludge dewaterability and end-use by conditioning with sawdust and charcoal dust. Environmental Technology, 39(3), 327-335.
  21. Semiyaga, S., Okure, M.A.E., Niwagaba, C., Nyenje, M.P., Kansiime, F., 2017. Optimisation of centrifuge operating conditions for dewatering physically conditioned faecal sludge from urban slums. Environmental Technology & Innovation 8, 28-39.
  22. Gold, M., Ddiba, D. I. W., Seck, A., Sekigongo, P., Diene, A., Diaw, S., Niang, S., Niwagaba, C., Strande, L., 2017. Faecal sludge as a solid industrial fuel: a pilot-scale study. Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development 7(2): 243–251.
  23. Schoebitz, L., Bischoff B., Lohri, C.R., Niwagaba, B.C., Siber, R., Strande, L., 2017. GIS Analysis and Optimisation of Faecal Sludge Logistics at City-Wide Scale in Kampala, Uganda. Sustainability 9(2), 194; 1-16; doi:10.3390/su9020194.
  24. Nakagiri, A., Niwagaba, B.C., Nyenje, M.P., Kulabako, N. R., Tumuhairwe, J. B., Kansiime, F., 2017. Assessing ambient and internal environmental conditions of pit latrines in urban slums of Kampala, Uganda: Effect on performance. Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development 7(1), 92-101

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