Oregon State University
Institute for Water and Watersheds
College of Science
and
The Universities Partnership for Transboundary Waters
Related Links and Downloads Article about the 2007 capstone course in the Grande Ronde Basin Photos from the 2007 capstone course Feature on Aaron Wolf in OSU's Terra Magazine, Winter 2007
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From the Klamath basin in the Pacific Northwest to the Jordan River in the arid and hostile Middle East, water conflicts are inherent and increasingly disruptive. Water which crosses boundaries – be they economic sectors, legal or political jurisdictions, cultural divides, or international borders – sets the stage for disputes between users trying to safeguard access to a vital resource, while protecting the natural environment. Without strategies to anticipate, address, and mediate between competing users, intractable water conflicts are likely to become more frequent, more intense, and more disruptive in the American West, the United States, and around the world.
To address water resource challenges and reduce conflict in Oregon, the U.S. and abroad, decision-makers and water professionals require specialized resources and skills that go beyond the traditional physical systems approach to water resources management. Current approaches to water resources education and research do not adequately address the subtle but inherent challenges to water resources management involved in dispute prevention and resolution.
OSU’s Program for Water Conflict Management and Transformation (PWCMT) is being designed to fill this niche as a broader, more integrative approach that explicitly integrates human and policy dimensions of water resources within the framework of technological approaches, and focuses training and research on all facets of water conflict transformation. The PWCMT serves as a training, resource and information hub for students, citizens, officials, and business leaders in Oregon, across the United States and internationally, facilitating dialogue on critical water issues across diverse values and perspectives through three integrated programs:
The Graduate Certificate in Water Conflict Management and Transformation invites instructors, students, and professionals from across the state, the country and internationally to participate in case-based, interactive course and field work in a multicultural and multidisciplinary learning environment. The program provides in-depth skills-building training to enhance personal and institutional capacity in water governance issues and strategies across distinct and overlapping contexts: dispute tranformation, water & society, and economic, institutional, and ecosystems analysis.
The Transboundary Freshwater Dispute Database is a computer science/geography/public policy education and research lab developed around a state-of-the-art Geographic Information System of the world’s international river basins and the major basins of the western U.S.. The database includes the largest compendium of international and national water events, compacts, and treaties available.
The Universities Partnership for Transboundary Waters, established in 2001 with OSU as its administrative hub, is an international consortium of water expertise representing thirteen institutes on five continents, which seeks to promote a global water governance culture that incorporates peaceful cooperation, environmental protection, and human security. Its programmatic areas include: Education & Training; Outreach & Information Resources; and Coordinated Applied Research. The Program helps fulfill OSU goals to build a prominent international role for OSU in water resource issues, and increases international student and faculty participation in OSU water resources education and research.
Facilitation, Mediation, and Grad & Professional Training Courses Program affiliated faculty have designed and implemented a broad spectrum of applied activities in the Western U.S. and throughout the world, including: facilitations and mediations between stakeholders at both the transnational and international levels; skills-building workshops and training courses for graduate students and professionals from mid-career through the ministerial level; and collaborative learning processes in which stakeholders develop conflict management skills while enhancing dialog on current issues of dispute.
Dr. Aaron Wolf;
Oregon State University;
104 Wilkinson Hall;
Corvallis, OR 97331-5506, USA
Tel: +1-541-737-2722;
Fax: +1-541-737-1200;
Email: wolfa@geo.oregonstate.edu
http://www.transboundarywaters.orst.edu