USGS CAPACITY BUILDING EFFORTS IN WATER RESOURCES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD

Access to adequate and safe supplies of water of poor people is a problem in developing countries, affecting health, food supply, and security. Currently, millions of people are lacking a potable water supply and scientific information needed to assess and manage their water resources. To remediate these conditions, a sound monitoring infrastructure and management strategy are needed to assess, understand, and manage water resources. The development of famine early warning systems have inspired the innovative use of remote sensing, numerical modeling, and decision support system for enhancing water-resources assessments and management. Generally, in order for these remedial measures to be successful the capacity of the local citizens, managers, and government entities needs to be significantly increased. These international efforts mostly focus on higher education, including institutional capacity-building and networking, education for research at the postgraduate level, continuing professional education, and to activities targeting the training of trainers.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is a fact-finding agency that collects and analyzes data, providing both scientific understanding about natural resources and impartial multi-disciplinary science. Its science has been crucial to the quest for sustainable and safe drinking water supplies and the development of sound environmental and water-resources management policies in the US. As part of its international mission, the USGS engages in numerous partnership efforts to improve the understanding and wise management of water resources throughout the world. Activities include exchanging scientists to study problems of mutual interest; improve the scientific basis for managing natural resources; and last but certainly not least providing technology transfer and perform capacity building in developing nations. Recently, the USGS has cooperated with local, regional, and national agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGO's) such as the United Nations in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Sudan, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Cape Verde, and Honduras using variable approaches depending on country and agency or NGO needs/mission. The presentation will focus on various capacity building approaches depending on the institutional capacity of the developing country.