The European Union allocates 1,25 million euros to the chairgroup Irrigation and Water Engineering (IWE) of Wageningen University, part of Wageningen UR' to set up a postgraduate research training network for the Andean countries (ALFA III: 2012-2015). Edwin Rap, Jeroen Vos, and Rutgerd Boelens (IWE) developed this winning project together with their Andean partners. The EU project shows the strong regional relations, expertise and recognition that IWE-WUR enjoys in the field of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM). It provides a further step in the regional collaboration after developing research network projects such as WALIR (2001-2007), Concertación (2006-2012), and several large Andean NWO-WOTRO Integrated Programs that were recently acquired, and further reinforces the international research alliance 'Justicia Hídrica/Water Justice', all coordinated by IWE.
The network is called the 'Red Andina de Postgrados en GIRH' (Andean Network of Postgraduate Education in IWRM; RAP-GIRH). The project proposes to strengthen postgraduate research and education in IWRM in the Andean region with participation from Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia and Colombia. It will allow the participating academic institutions to benefit from the joint expertise and experience of acknowledged institutions in the field of water management, such as the catholic University of Peru (Lima), Centro AGUA of the Universidad de San Simon (Cochabamba, Bolivia), Central University (Quito, Ecuador) and CINARA of the Universidad del Valle (Colombia) and link them with relevant NGOs and water platforms, such as CAMAREN in Ecuador and IPROGA in Peru.
The project will address issues such as:
- collaboration of universities with public, private and civil society actors, among others with water user organizations and peasant and indigenous communities
- regional integration in water education, research, and networking strategies
- participation of economically less privileged students and women in higher education
- an integrated, interdisciplinary and critical perspective on water management, including issues of social justice and democratic governance
The members of the Consortium, coordinated by IWE:
- Bolivia: Centro AGUA - Universidad Mayor de San Simón, Cochabamba
- Colombia: Instituto de Investigación y Desarrollo en Abastecimiento de Agua, Saneamiento Ambiental y Conservación del Recurso Hídrico - CINARA, Universidad del Valle, Cali;
- Ecuador: Universidad Central del Ecuador - UCE, Quito;
- Perú: Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú - PUCP, Lima;
- Perú: Universidad Nacional Pedro Luis Gallo - UNPRG, Lambayeque;
- Spain: Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya - UPC, Barcelona
- The Netherlands: Irrigation and Water Engineering Group (IWE) - Centre for Water and Climate - Wageningen University (WUR)
The 5 Andean universities will improve their postgraduate program in IWRM by means of institutional development, exchange of experiences, set up of water research and educational programs, and capacity building courses.