UNU Institute for Water, Environment and Health

The United Nations University Institute on Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH) is a United Nations agency responsible for acting as the organization's "Think Tank on Water".[1] The organization is a research and training institute of the United Nations University with a mandate to address water scarcity and access issues internationally. The UNU-INWEH is based in Hamilton, Ontario and operates out of the McMaster Innovation Park.[2]

United Nations University Institute on Water, Environment and Health
AbbreviationUNU-INWEH
Formation1996
Legal statusActive
HeadquartersHamilton, Ontario
Head
Vladimir Smakhtin
Parent organization
United Nations University
Websitehttps://inweh.unu.edu/

Structure

UNU-INWEH is hosted under the parent organization of the United Nations University which is based out of Tokyo.[3] It is led by its Director and Assistant Director who are responsible for managing the research institute and its projects focused on addressing the global water crisis. The guidelines for the management of the institute are set by an advisory committee of international environmental scientists and policy experts.[2][3] It operations and funding are supported through agreements with the Government of Canada and its facilities are supported by a partnership with McMaster University.[4]

Mission
McMaster Innovation Park (MIP) which is the current site for the UNU-INWEH

The UNU-INWEH's mission is to address international water scarcity and management issues that affect the United Nations directly through its member states. The primary function of the institute is to help resolve international water challenges through research and education on issues such as management of water resources, promotion of ecosystem health and improving human wellbeing through safe water access.[4]

Capacity Development

The organization has a significant focus on promoting capacity development as both a research and an educational institute.

Water Without Borders Program

The Water Without Borders Program is a graduate certificate program administered as a collaboration between the UNU-INWEH and McMaster University.[5] It was initially developed in 2010 with the aim of promoting academic and professional development at the graduate level for students with an interest in global water issues. The course runs over a full academic year and includes course components such as course-based learning, a final paper on a water-related topic relevant to the UNU-INWEH as well as an international field trip to learn about global water challenges within a real-world context.[4][6]

Internship Programs

The UNU-INWEH also runs an in-house internship program for graduate students that have completed or are close to completing their formal degree program. Internships typically range from 3–6 months and have a focus on producing either a research paper, tool or dataset that contributes to the organization's broader role and mission. In 2018, five interns from three different countries were hosted through this program.[4]

Online Learning

The Water Learning Centre (WLC) is an online program that offers three courses: Integrated Water Resources Management, Mangroves Management and Global Water Security. The aim the WLC is to engage international trainees from with water management issues at a cohesive interface.[4] The average time commitment is 3 hours/week. The course is structured on UN-Water's framework for global water issues and runs across 25 total hours of instructional time.[7]

See also

References
  1. "Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH) - UNU Migration Network". migration.unu.edu. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  2. "Who We Are". UNU-INWEH. 20 August 2018. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  3. "Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH) - United Nations University". unu.edu. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  4. "Annual Report 2018" (PDF). UNU-INWEH. 2018. ISBN 978-92-808-6094-8.
  5. "Water Without Borders". McMaster Faculty of Social Sciences. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  6. "Water Without Borders - United Nations University". unu.edu. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  7. "Global Water Security". wlc.unu.edu. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.