Integrated Water and Soil Management

Course goals

Please note: the information in the course manual is binding.

 

• Students can explain the interrelationships between the anthropogenic use of water and soil systems and their physical, chemical and biological characteristics;
• Students develop practical skills in measurements and monitoring of water and soil characteristics for environmental management;
• Students can apply  concepts for water and soil management and evaluate their necessity;
• Students are able to apply system analysis to identify causes, actors and sustainable solutions for a water or soil management issue;
• Students can explain the interrelationship between legal and technical aspects of water and soil management.

Content

The natural characteristics of the environmental compartments water and soil have undergone radical, often negative, changes during the past centuries under the influence of human activities. The course outlines how in the 1980s gradually the notion won ground that effective reduction of the negative effects had to take place through an integrated approach. For this fundamental and applied knowledge on water and soil is required, but also additional insight in disciplines like ecology, public administration, law and economics.
 
In this course the aforementioned knowledge areas come together for the benefit of policy development, planning and management of the environmental compartments water and soil. The course focuses on acquiring knowledge about the interrelationships between human activities and their effects on water and soil (e.g. the water-energy-food nexus), and the subsequent need and options for integrated water and soil management. It describes the analysis of water and soil systems and their mutual relations, as well as the history, concepts, and developments related to natural sciences in policy and legislation regarding water and soil management. Acquaintance with practice takes place through guest lecturers from the professional field, practicals, excursions and student’s own work.