Freshwater Ecosystems - Sustainable Water Management in a Warmer and Water Limited World

The global climate is warming and intensifying, with more extreme rainfall occurring in shorter periods, alternated by longer and warmer dry periods. This is leading to more floods and droughts. Adaptation and mitigation measures responding to these threats often emphasize engineering solutions to protect against flooding and increase water storage for times of drought. Thus, both the threats (more floods and droughts) and the solutions (greater engineering of freshwater systems) put freshwater ecosystems under increasing pressure. Nature-based solutions, holistic water management, and green infrastructure provide alternative and more ecosystem-friendly options to address the threats. There are, however, many challenges. 

In this one-week summer school you will get insight into these challenges. You will explore the intrinsic links between freshwater ecosystems and services for societies and discuss how to ensure the sustainable and equitable management of freshwater resources. Furthermore, you will gain insight into different global paradigms of sustainable ecosystem management, explore actions and policies to support aquatic resources, and compare examples of management outcomes through lectures, debates, and group discussions.

This course has been developed through a special collaboration between the University of California at Davis in the USA and IHE Delft.