Newcastle University

Integrated River Basin Management

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As populations grow and the demand for water increases across the world, the need for a sustainable integrated approach to river basin management has become ever more pressing. Climate change has become an additional overarching concern, and there is a major emphasis on the integration of technical and socio-economic knowledge. The course aims are therefore to:

• to demonstrate how sustainable river basin management can be undertaken in an integrated manner such that the competing needs of the multiple stakeholders in a basin (eg water supply, flood control, waste water disposal) can be rationalised;
• to show how an appropriate balance can be achieved between the conflicting objectives of economic efficiency, social equity and environmental sustainability defined by the internationally accepted Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) approach;
• to provide an opportunity for delegates to assess problems in major international river basins throughout the world, and to propose agendas for sustainable river basin management.

Course Objectives

Upon completion of the course delegates will have:

• a comprehensive understanding of integrated river basin management
• the capacity to formulate integrated river basin management objectives and understand how to balance conflicting objectives
• the capacity to integrate technical and socio-economic information to support decision making
• an understanding of how sustainability can be incorporated into integrated river basin management
• the capacity to quantify the state of a river basin, and to prepare an agenda for sustainable integrated river basin management;
• knowledge of the impacts of human activities on the environmental state of a river basin;
• knowledge of the economic and social principles underlying IRBM;
• knowledge of how to assess alternative river basin management plans.

Course Outline

Lectures cover the full spectrum of climate change, water resource, water quality and flood risk management issues that must be addressed, as well as the basic socio-economic principles. External lecturers from the UK Environment Agency and the water industry provide valuable inputs on regulation and water service provision. Modelling and decision support tools (eg multi criteria analysis) are accessed through a computer practical session based on a real world master planning case study. The highlight of the course is a major groupwork exercise undertaken by six teams of delegates and students throughout the week who are required to assess the current state of six major international river basins across the world, and to prepare and present to the class, and academic assessors, agendas for how sustainable river basin management might be achieved in these cases. This involves a major information gathering and synthesis exercise using the Internet.

• Day 1
  • Introduction to Integrated River Basin Management;
  • Institutional Frameworks and the EU Water Framework Directive;
  • Creating Frameworks for IRBM;
  • Water for All;
  • Water Industry Regulation;
  • Organisation of Groups for Coursework;
  • Group Coursework Session.
• Day 2
  • Sustainable Cities;
  • Climate Change and Water Resources;
  • Sustainability and Sustainable Development;
  • Introduction to Cost-benefit Analysis;
  • Economic Evaluation of Environmental Goods;
  • Environmental and Social Cost-benefit Analysis;
  • Group Coursework Session.
• Day 3
  • Multi-Criteria Analysis of Water Resources Plans;
  • Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM);
  • Water Master Planning: Case Study and Computer Practical;
  • Group Coursework Session.
• Day 4
  • Environment Agency and Environmental Regulation;
  • iffuse Agricultural Pollution: the Demonstration Test Catchments;
  • Groundwater ProtectionVUtility Asset Management Planning;
  • Water Conservation and Demand Management;
  • Catchment Flood Management Plans;
  • Group Coursework Session.
• Day 5
  • Creating an Agenda for IRBM: Reporting by Groups;
  • Feedback Session and Closure.

Who is the course aimed at?

A course for scientists, engineers and managers who influence land and water issues within river basins, for whom a deeper understanding of integrated river basin management would enhance their own specialist stakeholder roles.

Presenters

School of Civil Engineering and Geosciences

• Prof Enda O'Connell (Course Leader)
• Dr Jaime Amezaga
• Dr Richard Dawson
• Prof Chris Kilsby
• Dr Greg O'Donnell

Academic Professionals

• Prof Gerald Noone
• Dr Ivan Weir
  • Newcastle University
    Business School

Fees

• Integrated River Basin Management
  • £975.00 (duration 5 days)

Formal assessment may be available for this Course. Assessment attracts an additional fee of £260.00, and delegates will be issued with a transcript and Certificate of Credit Achieved.

Owing to visa restrictions the assessment option is not available to international students.

Academic Module Outline

This course is also delivered as a Module on at least one of the School's Masters programmes; delegates will attend with full and part time registered students. The Academic Module Outline is available via the University's Module Catalogue.

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Accredited by:

Integrated River Basin Management accredited by Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management

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