Research in Action: Public - University of Calgary

More documents

Recommendations

Info

$LATEX for Philosophers - University of Calgary$

Water, water everywhere... and now, a drop to drink. Helping communities in Central America better manage, protect and conserve their water supplies has been a 13-year focus for the University of Calgary’s David Bethune, a research associate with the Department of Geology and Geophysics. “We are working in some of Central America’s most marginalized and impoverished areas,” says Bethune. The impact of his applied research projects can be as basic as helping communities properly drill wells and manage their drainage, pollution and sanitation. “For example, we find out where in a watershed the water is coming from for a community — water, well or spring — and assist the community to manage that land area to sustain water quantity and quality,” he says. Bethune is the project manager and Canadian coordinator of the Central American Water Resource Management Network (CARA), funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) through the University Partnerships and Cooperation Program. It is an international collaboration between the U of C, the University of Waterloo and the national universities of Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, El Salvador and Honduras. Central America’s watersheds are slowly being polluted and over-exploited in highly-populated areas. Water supplies throughout the region are contaminated and depleted due to the use of agrochemicals, poor industrial standards, deforestation and urban development. There is little control, protection or government legislation in place to protect valuable groundwater sources. The flow of insight and relief CARA Master of Science programs in water resource management have been established at the five Central American universities with a focus in hydrogeology (the study of groundwater). Under the direction of local team leaders, the U of C and Central American graduate students work together in a municipality or small community for their hands-on thesis projects. Over the years, more than 100 graduate students from Canada and Central America have been involved in CARA projects and almost 80 Central American professionals have completed one of the CARA MSc programs; short courses offered through the Central American universities have trained an additional 1,760 local water sector professionals. CARA’s work extends beyond Central America. Water management projects have also been implemented in Panama, Colombia and Mexico. In the late 1990s, for example, villagers of Tlamacazapa in central Mexico (pop. 10,000) were suffering ill health and children were frequently born with birth defects. In 1999, graduate students detected arsenic and lead in the groundwater supply. CARA work is ongoing in the region to locate alternate water sources and help the community build awareness and the skills necessary to provide a healthy water supply. Dr. Cathryn Ryan, a hydrogeologist from U of C’s Department of Geology and Geophysics, and Dr. Laurence Bentley, assistant dean, Faculty of Science, work with Bethune. An upcoming CARA master program is now being planned for Bolivia. www.caragua.org University of Calgary Research in Action 12
Research in Action: Environment Improving water supply management, protection and conservation in Central America: U of C research associate David Bethune leads a collaborative international initiative to enhance Central American water resources. 13
Page 1 and 2: Issue 2: Fall 2006 Education Enviro
Page 3 and 4: health + wellness pg 18 public poli
Page 5 and 6: Research in Action: Education Explo
Page 7 and 8: Research in Action: Education Reint
Page 9 and 10: Research in Action: Education Ancie
Page 11 and 12: Research in Action: Education Empow
Page 13: Research in Action: Environment Exp
Page 17 and 18: Research in Action: Environment Inc
Page 19 and 20: Research in Action: Environment Con
Page 21 and 22: Research in Action: Health + Wellne
Page 29 and 30: Research in Action: Public Policy E
Page 31 and 32: Research in Action: Public Policy I
Page 33 and 34: Research in Action: Public Policy E
Page 35 and 36: Research in Action: Public Policy D

Research in Action: Public - University of Calgary

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?