Practicing water professionals who complete the 10-course, 250-hour program on Integrated Water Resources Management will earn an unprecedented diploma bearing the United Nations / UNU insignia. The program will be offered through affiliated institutions in Africa, Asia and the South Pacific, eventually expanding worldwide.
The heart of this capacity-building program: the fundamentals of Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM), involving such diverse water topics as: science, management, regulatory processes, quantity and quality assessment, treatment, institutional governance and socio-economics.
The curriculum is designed as an undergraduate course for adult professionals, usually with undergraduate degrees but with little or no training in IWRM. It will be of greatest immediate benefit to engineers, district managers, government administrators and others responsible for water management at the national and regional level who wish to upgrade their knowledge of modern water management concepts and principles. Other individuals may take the course as part of a self-directed learning experience.
It will also be customized to meet regional training needs and interests such as desalination, diminishing glaciers, and the water management problems of small island states. Planning is underway for delivery to additional centers in South America and the Middle East.
"Spin-off" courses will be created both for non-water professionals (political decision makers and others who need to understand the basics of water management) and for advanced water specialists.
2003 International Year of Fresh
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Contact: Terry Collins
collins1@sympatico.ca
416-538-8712
United Nations University
30-Nov-2003