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UMI 3157 CNRS/ The UNIVERSITY of ARIZONA |
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WATER, ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC POLICY |
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Water, Environment and Public Policy A Center for International and Interdisciplinary Research
Understanding water in terms of sustainable development requires combining observations and data from physical and social processes at multiple temporal and spatial scales. This interdisciplinary approach can be particularly valuable in tackling questions about water in which natural phenomena and human societies have been so intricately connected throughout history. The environmental, human and social issues that affect water — such as climate change, scarcity, quality, pollution, urbanization, inequalities or poverty — are not one-dimensional or able to be addressed by a single discipline. Consequently, it is through interdisciplinary, multi-layered research that biophysical and social scientists, working together, can address these issues most effectively.
The UMI’s mission is to develop international, comparative and interdisciplinary knowledge on water, conceptualized as a complex system within the framework of regional and global processes. In particular, the Center’s focus is the interaction between water, society and environment in a contemporary context. The UMI promotes research between U.S. and French scientists and between social, natural and physical sciences, aiming to develop joint international partnerships.
Organization
UMI 3157 was founded by The Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) and the University of Arizona (UA) through an agreement starting January 2008 for 4 years. Its creation was proposed by three Institutes within the CNRS: Institut des Sciences Humaines et Sociales (INSHS), Institut Ecologie et Environnement (INEE) and Institut National des Sciences de l’Univers (INSU). It is currently funded by the first two. Under this agreement, a director and a deputy director are appointed by both parties. An international scientific committee (currently in development) and an advisory council help to manage the UMI. Both the CNRS and UA provide research and administrative personnel (see organization chart). The Center is physically located at the Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona, USA.
UMI 3157 was the first social and natural sciences UMI in the U.S. and the only one specializing in environmental issues. (See: What is a UMI?) The UA was chosen by CNRS as the site of the UMI because of its outstanding specializations in water and environmental science and management, and its standing as a land grant university. A scientific committee specially appointed by the UA, monitors the activity of the UMI and fosters the building of its networks within the UA and U.S. scientific communities.
The UMI’s overarching themes, inscribed in the official agreement, are “Water systems in arid and semi arid areas.” The research developed under this general theme deals with water scarcity which is widely considered central to a contemporary global water crisis. The UMI’s research program areas are detailed here. The UMI research programs focus on water scarcity, as a social and environmental issue, at global and local scales. Its projects comparatively examine interactions and strategies for coping with water scarcity through institutional, economic, geographic, sociopolitical, anthropological, technological and environmental approaches. Using newly gathered data, projects will address three key aspects of potential or actual global water crisis by (1) framing conceptual inquiries, (2) identifying and evaluating innovations in water governance, and (3) studying selected major issues identified through the research. Currently the Center is working on five main axes: · 1. Urban water · 2. Demand, uses and perception . 3. Water and Urban Development: US and EU models. The Arizona growth corridor . 4. Transboundary Ecosystem Services: Building a Regime Approach . 5. Tools and Methods for Sustainable Water Resources Management in Arid Regions : Building an International Comparative research. The Tarim Basin (Xinjiang, China) Case Study
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