Water management and climate change in the focus of international master programs in Latin America and the Carribian

Abstract

Water is regional priority around the world but synthesis of water resource management aspects from local-to-global scales is currently not included in not currently included higher education curriculua of Latin American and the Caribbean (LAC) universities. This leaves local populations vulnerable to future shifts in climate at global scales and changes in land usage at regional scales. To close this gap, the project “WATERMAS—Water Management and Climate Change in the Focus of International Master Programs”, is financed by the European Union. The project will develop and establish a new standard of higher educational and scientific knowledge exchange between Europe and Latin America as well as the Caribbean. This will be done leveraging existing Master’s courses/programs of Water Management at the various partner universities in Latin America (LA), respectively in Cuba and in Ecuador. The scope of the project is to enable the development of strategies for the adaptation of local water management facilities and the biodiversity with regard to future challenges in the partner countries targeting a Society-Education-Research Nexus. The project addresses sustainability under the Teaching-Research-Practice Nexus, particularly the UN Sustainability Development Goals (SDG) 4 (Quality Education), 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), and 13 (Climate Action). Besides the water management aspects the biodiversity guaranties the functionality of eco system services, which plays an important role by considering the value of the nature for the mankind.