2020-2 BAGR3392 WATERSHED MANAGEMENT II: APPLICATIONS
The BAGR3392 (Watershed Management II Applications) course introduces students to the concept that the watershed is the ideal unit for Integrated Watershed/Water Resources Management. The watershed management guidebook to be used as part of the course material, presents a Toolkit based on the premise that success of interventions in the watershed can and should be defined by how it functions rather than how it looks. This approach acknowledges that watersheds are more than a collection of physical elements ─ they are dynamic living systems. The ultimate objective of interventions in the watershed is to strengthen resilience to all stressors by addressing: hydrologic processes and functions, Energy Capture, and Nutrient Cycling. The BAGR3392 course will cover hydrologic processes and land use; channel processes and water quality; watershed management and planning with input from the Guidebook Toolkit; special topics; and hydrologic methods and tools for watershed analysis and research. The course will enable students, working in groups, to develop an integrated watershed management plan for specific watersheds in Belize addressing environmental, social, economic and policy framework. Specifically the Plan will cover: hydrologic processes and practices, land use and land use change and threats, climate change, and implementing IWRM with a focus on: the enabling environment, role of government, water policy and legislation, cross-sectoral and upstream-downstream dialogue, financing, cross-boundary watershed cooperation, institutional role and capacity building, management instruments and technology.
Course Coordinator: Josue Ake