Water Resources Planning and Management On‐Line

Bringing the Elephant into the Room: Integrating Risk into Interdisciplinary Water Programs

“…The importance of interdisciplinary water training is widely acknowledged, although the extent of the focus of interdisciplinarity varies, with some articles emphasizing both natural and social sciences (Kirshen et al 2004; Bourget 2006; Fort 2008; Viessman 2008; Campkin and Neto 2013; and Pinter et al 2013), and others addressing integration solely across natural sciences and engineering (Graney et al 2008; Lettenmaier 2008; Stakhiv 2008). Recognizing the interdisciplinary nature of water challenges, numerous articles tackled the debate between depth versus breadth in education for water professionals.…”

“…Another initiative to develop a water program to train graduate‐level students was led by the Army Corps of Engineers in recognition of a lack of trained interdisciplinary water professionals available for their own needs as well as the needs of other agencies (Bourget 2006, 2008; Viessman 2008). They identified the following themes as essential to an interdisciplinary water program: philosophy of planning, institutional considerations in water resources planning, social decision‐making, ecology for water resources planning, engineering for water resources planning, economics for water resources planning, hydrology/hydraulics/climatology, and quantitative methods for water resources planning (Bourget 2006; Viessman 2008). Based on the development of an interdisciplinary water program at Tufts University, Kirshen et al (2004) proposed that the fundamental elements of an interdisciplinary water program should include: systems analysis, science and technology of water, biological aspects of water, health and nutrition, and planning and policy of water.…”