WATER RESEARCH AND CONFERENCE IN INDIA
Term
Subject Area
Course Number
ENVS 634 660
Course Code
ENVS634660
Course Key
64993
Instructor
Primary Program
Secondary Program
Course Note
MES Concentration inSustainability/MSAG Elective All Concentrations. Trip to India required.
Course Description
Students will attend the Global Water Alliance 13th annual Conference on January 6-7, 2020 in Kolkata, India and conduct research in the Kolkata area in advance of the Conference; students will arrive in Kolkata on December 29, 2019 and leave Kolkata to return to Philadelphia on January 7 or 8, 2020. Additional fees apply.
In 2015 the United Nations established the Sustainable Development Goals [SDG], including SDG 6 which calls for everyone in the world to have access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation by the year 2030. In recent years there has been significant progress made in many parts of the world on finding access to drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene [WASH] services. However, attaining the new SDG for WASH will be very challenging in some developing countries Progress on access to water and sanitation has been made by India. However, at present, many in India do not have these basic necessities. The Government of India (GOI) started a vigorous program of Swacch Bharat (Clean India) with the objective to provide access to water and sanitation to all people in a short period of time. The GWA 13th annual Conference and research experience will provide participants with first-hand knowledge of issues involved in successful implementation and sustainability of such projects. The focus of the conference will be on the progress of developing countries on these implementations including social, economic, policies and innovations in achieving goals of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for water, sanitation, and hygiene, for all (2015-2030). Sustainability will be the key focus of discussions in the conference. Participants from various countries will share the progress of implementations of SDGs in their respective countries. Participants at the conference are expected to include experts from multinational institutions such as the World Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB), UNICEF, Water For People, BRAC and other local NGOs, academia, governments, USAID and business. Delegates from several Asian countries will also actively participate. This experience will include student research in India in advance of the conference, student presentations of their research findings, and field trips to nearby villages to view projects currently underway. Students will select from one of two research projects in the Kolkata/West Bengal area: [1] arsenic in drinking water in villages, and [2] sustainability of WASH projects in schools. Students will identify various stakeholders, and learn about social, institutional and financial issues for sustainability. Students may be asked to develop Performance Indicators (PIs) for sustainability and identify parameters to measure the PIs. Students may also be asked to develop questionnaires to collect data to measure parameters for sustainability and develop recommendations for sustainability. With the global population now over 7.7 billion people, and increasing demands for food, other goods, and energy, there is competition for scarce water resources. WASH solutions must consider a variety of disciplines in order to be sustainable. Therefore, multiple viewpoints will be presented during the Conference, including inter-disciplinary solutions involving science, education, advocacy/communications, engineering, public health, economics, governance, business, finance, and community development.
In 2015 the United Nations established the Sustainable Development Goals [SDG], including SDG 6 which calls for everyone in the world to have access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation by the year 2030. In recent years there has been significant progress made in many parts of the world on finding access to drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene [WASH] services. However, attaining the new SDG for WASH will be very challenging in some developing countries Progress on access to water and sanitation has been made by India. However, at present, many in India do not have these basic necessities. The Government of India (GOI) started a vigorous program of Swacch Bharat (Clean India) with the objective to provide access to water and sanitation to all people in a short period of time. The GWA 13th annual Conference and research experience will provide participants with first-hand knowledge of issues involved in successful implementation and sustainability of such projects. The focus of the conference will be on the progress of developing countries on these implementations including social, economic, policies and innovations in achieving goals of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for water, sanitation, and hygiene, for all (2015-2030). Sustainability will be the key focus of discussions in the conference. Participants from various countries will share the progress of implementations of SDGs in their respective countries. Participants at the conference are expected to include experts from multinational institutions such as the World Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB), UNICEF, Water For People, BRAC and other local NGOs, academia, governments, USAID and business. Delegates from several Asian countries will also actively participate. This experience will include student research in India in advance of the conference, student presentations of their research findings, and field trips to nearby villages to view projects currently underway. Students will select from one of two research projects in the Kolkata/West Bengal area: [1] arsenic in drinking water in villages, and [2] sustainability of WASH projects in schools. Students will identify various stakeholders, and learn about social, institutional and financial issues for sustainability. Students may be asked to develop Performance Indicators (PIs) for sustainability and identify parameters to measure the PIs. Students may also be asked to develop questionnaires to collect data to measure parameters for sustainability and develop recommendations for sustainability. With the global population now over 7.7 billion people, and increasing demands for food, other goods, and energy, there is competition for scarce water resources. WASH solutions must consider a variety of disciplines in order to be sustainable. Therefore, multiple viewpoints will be presented during the Conference, including inter-disciplinary solutions involving science, education, advocacy/communications, engineering, public health, economics, governance, business, finance, and community development.
Subject Area Vocab
