Water and Marine Systems

Approximately 3 billion people, or half of the world’s population, live within 200 kilometers of a coastline, and that figure is projected to increase dramatically by 2025. Coastal areas represent complex socioecological systems that provide valuable ecosystem services to people and the planet. Coastal management is concerned with protecting, conserving, and managing coasts and coastal resources, and requires an interdisciplinary approach to understanding and negotiating oftencompeting interests.

Water is the lifeblood of cities. Freshwater, wastewater, and environmental water systems each provide vital services, and each can cause profound problems. Citizens and industry require freshwater to live and function. Without adequate wastewater management cities quickly become unhealthy, fetid places. Imbalances in environmental water can cause degradation, drought, and fire or, conversely, catastrophic flooding. This course examines urban water systems as an integrated management challenge. Case studies drawn from cities in North American and global regions experiencing rapid urbanization are used to identify emerging problems and prescribe best practices.

Water is a vital resource to Earth’s 7 billion humans. Only 3% of the Earth’s water is potable, and it is not evenly distributed. Some countries have easy access, while others have too little or too much. In this course, we’ll study the management of water resources in the U.S., Bangladesh and Kiribati, the Tigris-Euphrates Basin, and Brazil. Students will be introduced to the basic issues surrounding water management, and then case studies will be used to investigate examples of water management and conflict around the world.

Water and marine policy spans a wide range of management applications. In this context, “policy” begins with setting goals and objectives that connect to the laws and regulations established to support these aims. There are commonalities across the globe despite differences based on geography, scale, climate, economics, politics, and other factors. The tension between data-driven science and the compromises inherent in policymaking is also a critical dynamic for all environmental professionals to understand, especially as the Earth’s changing climate is increasingly front and center in virtually all environmental policymaking conversations. This course will use case studies to explore specific aspects of water and marine policy, allowing opportunities for comparing and contrasting policies, laws, and regulations, the factors influencing them, and the outcomes.

This course was developed with an interdisciplinary focus covering: watershed identification and mapping; watershed characteristics and evaluation; stormwater engineering; stream corridor restoration; water quality monitoring; native plants and animals; exotic and invasive species; public education; volunteer coordination and training; roles and activities for teachers and students; and advocacy training.