The International Water History Association (IWHA) aims to develop historical perspectives on our understanding of the role played by hydrology, aquatic sciences, and management in the evolution of civilisation. The objective of the IWHA 2011 conference is to create an environment conducive for water historians to talk about the work they doing in their respective fields of specialisation. The fact that the conference will be held in one of Africa’s premier nature reserves (the Kruger National Park) should provide the type of setting conducive to the contemplation of the manner in which humans have interacted with water and the environment since earliest times. The title of the conference ‘Talking water history on the African veld’ conveys the idea underlying that objective.