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By Phil Williams
pwilliam@franklin.uga.edu
Future wars may be fought not over oil or territory but over a much more precious resource: water. While immediate problems such as droughts or floods may grab headlines, long-term  solutions to pollution, water use and biological diversity will require cutting-edge science and informed public policy.
UGA has taken a step toward becoming a leader in the field with the recent establishment of the River Basin Science and Policy Center. The new center, which involves more than 50 faculty members from 16 academic areas at UGA, affiliated units and governmental agencies, was approved by the University Council on Sept. 28. Final approval by the University System of Georgia Board of Regents is expected soon.
“We have tremendous strength in many academic units on campus dealing with water issues,” says Ron Carroll, director of UGA’s Institute of Ecology. “We are learning every day that water belongs to all the people, not just to certain groups. We need good science to direct effective public policy.”
The center will be operated out of the Institute of Ecology. Ecologist Judy Meyer will serve as the science director and James Kundell, senior public service associate with the Carl Vinson Institute of Government, will be policy director.
“The center offers the opportunity for the interdisciplinary collaboration that is needed to address the complex problems of water management,” says Meyer. “The university has extensive expertise in river basin science and policy, but that expertise is scattered among several departments and colleges. The center makes that expertise more visible and allows us to bring our scientific knowledge of hydrology, engineering and riverine ecosystems to bear on policies relating to freshwater resources in the state and region.”
Departments or units at UGA participating in the center are, from the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, the Institute of Ecology and the departments of political science, marine programs, anthropology, entomology, geography and the Museum of Natural History, and from the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, the departments of biological and agricultural engineering, agricultural and applied economics, environmental health science, and crop and soil science. Faculty from the Warnell School of Forest Resources, the Carl Vinson Institute of Government, the Fanning Institute of Leadership, the School of Law and the School of Environmental Design also are involved.
Affiliated groups include the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Forest Service, the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory and the Joseph Jones Ecological Research Center.
“One of the important parts of this new center is that it gives an identity to our campus-wide resources,” says Carroll. “The truth is that we in Georgia haven’t managed our water resources very well, and there is an enormous amount that needs to be done.”
Projects already foreseen for the Center include:
• Conducting and compiling scientific research on riverine ecosystems to provide a foundation for sound public policies;
• Analyzing public policies relating to rivers and river basins to identify gaps in scientific knowledge and weaknesses in management approaches;
• Informing policy makers about policy alternatives that support sound water resources management, based on the best available scientific information; and
• Educating students in the science of riverine ecosystems and the role of public policy in protecting water resources.
The center will be concerned with issues involving growth, watersheds, water supply reservoirs, stream bank restoration, vegetative buffers and erosion.
“Although Georgia and the Southeast form the main focus of the center, the activities are truly international,” says Carroll. “For instance, we are already engaged in a World Bank project in Ecuador to help protect a major river basin that is world-famous for its rich biodiversity.”
The first Distinguished Fellow for the center will be former Georgia Lt. Gov. Pierre Howard, says Carroll. |
