February 18, 2004
UNM EDUCATES CENTRAL AMERICAN WATER MANAGERS
The University of New Mexico is partnering with Escuela Agrícola Panamericana (known as “Zamorano”), a private college in Honduras, to design and implement a “Diplomado de Recursos Hídricos” (diploma of water resources) program to educate Central American water managers and administrators, many of whom have little formal training in the study of water resources.
The diplomado will be officially recognized by the Honduran Ministry of Education. The diplomado program, funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and administered by the Association Liaison Office for University Cooperation in Development (ALO), consists of 12 modules of approximately two days each, taught over six months.
The modules cover such topics as: basic hydrology; planning and management; ground water; water quality; economics; watershed management; measurement techniques; modeling; and social, legal and cultural aspects.
Tim J. Ward, chair and professor of Civil Engineering and Michael E. Campana, Albert and Mary Jane Black Professor of Hydrogeology in the Earth and Planetary Sciences department and director of the Water Resources Program, attended the first two modules at Zamorano in January and taught in the basic hydrology module. Bruce M. Thomson, Regents’ Professor of Civil Engineering; Michele Minnis, professor, Water Resources Program; José Rivera, professor, Community and Regional Planning, School of Public Administration; and Bill Fleming, associate professor of Community and Regional Planning, will also participate.
“Although we won’t make experts of the participants, we will give them a grounding in water resources so that they can make better-informed decisions,” Campana said. He also mentioned that he knows of no other program like this in Central America, which accounts for its popularity – 26 people signed up for the
first cycle when 15-18 were expected.
Although the USAID grant funds only one cycle of the diplomado, plans are underway to seek funds from other organizations to continue the program. “We’ve already had inquiries from groups and countries to teach a special course just for their people,” Campana said, adding that the diplomado program has created quite a “buzz” in the region.
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