Natural Resources and the Environment

The environment, climate change and the management of natural resources have been taking centre stage with policy-makers and governments in Southeast Asia. It is now recognized that environmental degradation cannot continue unabated over the long term. It is already affecting countries, their economies and communities. Economic and social well-being will depend on how well environmental resources are managed. Concern for the environment was well documented in the Third ASEAN State of the Environment Report 2006: Towards an Environmentally Sustainable Community (SOE 2006). (1) In this report, ASEAN leaders stressed that the resources used to fuel economic growth have to be utilized in a sustainable manner, in order to ensure that prosperity in the region will be durable. ASEAN leaders have also acknowledged that sustainable development, with a dynamic and mutually supportive balance between economic growth, social equity and environmental integrity are to be the guiding principle to establish the ASEAN Community. One way to achieve this balance would be by reconciling economic-environmental trade-offs within the social setting in public policy making. Due consideration must be paid to protecting the environment and its natural resources by ensuring that resources are used in a way that benefits society as a whole, not just private interests. To do this, we need an accurate assessment of the value of environmental goods and services to society. ASEAN faces enormous challenges. Besides ongoing efforts at economic integration and political cooperation, and the high poverty incidence in Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, the Philippines and Vietnam, (2) there is a need to redress environmental problems like air and noise pollution, sewage disposal and management, traffic congestion, land degradation and deforestation, the depletion of natural resources and biodiversity, damage to marine and coastal ecosystems, depletion of the ozone layer and excessive emissions of greenhouse gases. Managing environmental resources is not easy. Markets normally do a good job of dealing with scarcity--as things become scarcer, their prices increase, people consume less of them and producers invest more in producing them. However, this does not happen when environmental goods become scarce, because few of them are bought or sold in markets. Many are also subject to misguided government policies that encourage environmental destruction by, for example, subsidizing energy consumption, over-fishing and deforestation. Environmental economics can help us to recognize the economic cost and causes of environmental depletion and so help us to react quickly--by strengthening property rights (either private or community-based), applying corrective taxes and so on. Economics can also help us design environmental laws that incorporate workable economic incentives and that, therefore, have a good chance of affecting behaviour. Conversely, environmental economics can reveal the full environmental costs of human activity. By assessing such costs and incorporating them into the prices of goods, we can use market forces to bring about environmental protection: If we all had to pay the full environmental cost of our activities, we would soon learn to conserve resources and to consume in less damaging ways. The papers in this special issue deal in varying degrees the need to price environmental resources. They also address some of the issues identified in the SOE 2006. Specifically, they use economic analysis to examine issues surrounding climate change, environmental degradation and the depletion of natural resources. The authors have been given a free hand to approach these issues from a quantitative or qualitative perspective, and on any aspect of the environment, provided they focus on ASEAN as a region or on ASEAN member countries. These papers report the findings of a series of research projects financed by the Economy and Environment Program for Southeast Asia (EEPSEA). …

PurposeThis study aims to determine the effects of lodging infrastructure development (LID) on Cordillera Administrative Region’s (CAR) environmental quality and natural resource management and its implication to globally responsible leadership. Specifically, this study sought to determine the contribution of LID to environmental deterioration and natural resource degradation in the CAR. As a result, a mathematical model is developed, which supports sustainability practices to maintain the environmental quality and natural resource management in CAR, Philippines.Design/methodology/approachThis study used a descriptive research design using a mixed-methods approach. Self-structured interview and survey were used to gather the data. The population of this study involved three groups. There were 6.28% (34) experts in the field for the qualitative data, 70.24% (380) respondents for the quantitative data and 23.47% (127) from the lodging establishments. 120 respondents from the Department of Tourism – CAR (DOT-CAR) accredited hotels. Nonparametric and nonlinear regression analysis was used to process the data.FindingsThe effects of LID on the environmental quality and natural resource management in CAR as measured through carbon emission from liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), electricity and water consumption in the occupied guest rooms revealed a direct correlation between the LID. Findings conclude that the increase in tourist arrival is a trigger factor in the increase in LID in the CAR. The increase in LID implies a rise in carbon emission in the lodging infrastructure. Any increase in tourist arrivals increases lodging room occupancy; the increased lodging room occupancy contributes to carbon emissions. Thus, tourism trends contribute to the deterioration of the environmental quality and degradation of the natural resources in the CAR. A log-log model shows the percentage change in the average growth of tourist arrival and the percentage increase in carbon emissions. Establishments should observe standard room capacity to maintain the carbon emission of occupied lodging rooms at a minimum. Responsible leadership is a factor in the implementation of policy on standard room capacity.Practical implicationsThe result of the study has some implications for the lodging businesses, the local government unit (LGU), the Department of Tourism (DOT) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in the CAR. The study highlights the contribution of the lodging establishments to CO2 emission, which can degrade the quality of the environment, and the implication of responsible leadership in managing natural resources in the CAR. The direct inverse relationship between energy use and CO2 emission in hotels indicates that increased energy consumption leads to environmental degradation (Ahmad et al., 2018). Therefore, responsible leadership among policymakers in the lodging and government sectors – LGU, DOT and DENR – should abound in the CAR. Benchmarking on the model embarked from this study can help in designing and/or enhancing the policy on room capacity standardization, considering the total area with its maximum capacity to keep the carbon emission at a lower rate. Furthermore, as a responsible leader in the community, one should create programs that regulate the number of tourists visiting the place to decrease the number of overnight stays. Besides, having the political will to implement reduced room occupancy throughout the lodging establishments in CAR can help reduce the carbon emissions from the lodging businesses. After all, one of the aims of the International Environment Protection Organization is to reduce CO2 emissions in the tourism industry. Hence, responsible leadership in environmental quality preservation and sustainable natural resource management must help prevent and avoid greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.Originality/valueMost studies about carbon emission in the environment tackle about carbon dioxide emitted by transportation and factories. This study adds to the insights on the existing information about the carbon emission in the environment from the lodging establishments through the use of LPG, electricity and water consumption in the occupied guest rooms. The findings of the study open an avenue for globally responsible leadership in sustaining environmental quality and preservation of natural resources by revisiting and amending the policies on the number of room occupancy, guidelines and standardization, considering the total lodging area with its maximum capacity to keep the carbon emission at a minimum, thus contributing to the lowering of GHG emissions from the lodging industry.

<p>natural resources, is already experiencing the effects of climate change. The region’s climate is projected to become harsher, with increased average temperatures, intensity of rainfall events, and increased variability in space & time of monsoon rains being consistently projected for the region. Without action in the form of adaptation of social, human, economic, and natural resource management systems, these weather changes are predicted to result in decreasing surface and ground water availability, flash floods, degradation of soil resources, decrease in crop yields, greater vulnerability to crop pest outbreaks, and declines in forest and pastureland ecosystem goods and services, thus rendering agricultural and herding communities extremely vulnerable to weather related losses of life, livelihood, and food security.</p> <p>In Rajasthan, government is focussing for sustainable development and climate change adaptation by finding and administering alternative methods to deal with issues of poverty and environmental degradation in context of linkage between livelihood and the immediate environment of the people. The livelihoods of the rural poor are directly dependent on environmental resources like land, water, forests — and are vulnerable to weather and climate variability. Climate change affects every aspect of society, environment and economy requiring adjustments in behaviour, livelihoods, infrastructure, laws, policies and institutions in response to experienced based expected climatic events. However, it was found that local coping strategies and traditional knowledge need to be used in synergy with government and local interventions. Solutions must be integrated to address the interrelationships between water, agriculture, forests and pastures, livestock. Finally, there is great potential for existing policies and schemes to be employed synergistically towards building true adaptive capacity for the rural communities. However, adapting to climate change will entail adjustments and implementation at every level – from community to national and international.</p>

Water sprays from an open fire hydrant in Brooklyn, New York, in the midst of a July 2010 heat wave that affected much of the eastern United States.In 2007 the New York City Department of Environmental Protection first teamed up with Alianza Dominicana, a Washington Heights community organization, to educate city residents about the appropriate use of fire hydrants and other ways

The problem of the study was that despite the importance of natural resource management and its impact on the implementation of the sustainable tourism development strategy, there are shortcomings in the management of natural resources. Where the importance of this study stems from highlighting the importance occupied by the management of environmental natural resources, whether in being a mainstay for the development of tourism activity in preserving environmental resources and rationalizing their consumption or in the fact that it meets the needs of sustainable tourism development and its ability to preserve the elements of the ecosystem in continuity. The study aimed to highlight the concept of sustainable tourism development and the requirements for its application, in order to reach the standards of sustainable tourism development and to effectively manage environmental natural resources within the sustainable tourism development plan. The study reached several results, the most important of which is that the natural environmental resources are considered one of the most important elements of tourist attractions, and the results of the study also showed some shortcomings in the management of these environmental natural resources, which resulted in their exposure to many manifestations of deterioration, which sometimes reached the beginning of their depletion. The study also reached many recommendations based on the results that have been reached, as it is necessary to work on developing a comprehensive plan through which it is possible to identify the means that help preserve natural resources and how to use them in the tourism sector without harming them.

Mineral resources depletion, environmental degradation, and exploitation of natural resources: COVID-19 aftereffects

Valuing Nature

HEALTH DISPARITIES: Climate Change and Health: A Native American Perspective

The marshes are possessing natural economic capabilities and environmental resources and unique biological diversity. It inhabited by thousands of citizens for thousands of years, as these residents relied heavily on the natural environmental and economic resources which they depend on them as a basis for their livelihood, and given the increasing continuous demand for these resources as well as the frequent government neglect for this environment, for these reasons the research problem resulted from the weak investment of natural and economic environmental resources and their excessive and unsustainable exploitation, which led to an imbalance in the environmental and economic balance of the region. The main goals of the research were to maintain the natural resources in sustainable and sustainable economic activities for the residents and to achieve the goals of sustainable development, and the research adopted the hypothesis that natural and economic resources can be sustained through sustainable spatial development by activating institutional aspects as well as environmental awareness, which will enhance their sustainability in the present and the future. To achieve this, a complete survey of villages and human settlements in the study area was conducted, as well as a determination of the proportions of the economic activities and their geographical distribution. The research concluded that there is unsustainable use and un-environmentally sound methods for some natural resources through some economic activities such as fishing for fish and birds, as well as a lack of interest and governmental neglect for some of the economic activities, such as buffalo breeding and milk production. The research reached the most important recommendations of the necessity of activating sustainable spatial development and the existence of great opportunities to invest better and sustainable natural and economic resources as well as developing the eco-tourism aspect, to achieve the well-being and prosperity of the inhabitants as well as to preserve the marshes, their integrity and their sobriety within the list of world heritage and their international environmental agreements.

Adopted on the fifteenth anniversary of resolution 1325, Security Council resolution 2242 has recognized for the first time the substantial link between climate change and the “Women, Peace and Security” (WPS) framework. Despite this landmark resolution, the intersections of environmental factors, conflict and violence against women remain largely absent from the Security Council's WPS agenda. Competition over natural resources is generally understood as a driver of conflict. The risk of insecurity and conflict are further increased by environmental degradation and climate change. It is therefore clear that the environment and natural resources must be integrated into the WPS agenda. This should necessarily include a discussion of indigenous rights to land and the gender-related dimensions of environmental factors. Indigenous women are disproportionately affected by environmental degradation, caused by resource extraction and increasingly compounded by climatic changes. This in turn exacerbates other vulnerabilities, including sexual and gender-based violence and other forms of marginalization. This article argues, by reference to the situation in West Papua, that unfettered resource extraction not only amplifies vulnerabilities and exacerbates preexisting inequalities stemming from colonial times, it also gives rise to gendered consequences flowing from the damage wreaked on the natural environment and thus poses a danger to international peace and security. As such, the Security Council's failure to recognize the continuous struggle of women in indigenous and rural communities against extractive economies and climate change impact as a security risk forms a serious lacuna within its WPS agenda.

West Bank and Gaza is faced with natural resources scarcity, which constrains livelihoods and development to varying degrees. The inherent scarcity of natural resources is further compounded by increasing degradation of environment and natural resources. Multiple factors contribute to deteriorating conditions of the environment and natural resources. The politically fragile situation continues with impacts of restricted movement on people and goods affecting the environment negatively since there are limited options for expansion of built-up areas and other livelihood opportunities. This has led to unsustainable practices with diminishing quality of the environment and natural resource-based livelihood opportunities for communities. It is therefore vital that the environment and natural resources scarcity be actively managed in a manner that enhances community livelihoods and resilience in order to contribute to sustainable development. The Palestinian authority recognizes the challenges that West Bank and Gaza faces in terms of environment and natural resources and has put in places various strategies and programs to address them. While these sectoral and national strategies and plans are important, they require full implementation and follow-up to ensure better environmental outcomes. This report discusses the key environmental issues faced by West Bank and Gaza, and the way forward to combat the same.

This study aimed to assess the levels of community awareness to the environmental effects of growing use of forest product for peoples’ livelihood and their management practices in Jimma Zone. Thus, local farming communities, Development Agents (DA), Agriculture and Natural resource, Forest and Environmental Protection Officials & Experts are the participant of this study. The study employed descriptive survey research design and both qualitative and quantitative methods of data collections were employed. To assess community environmental awareness survey questionnaire questions (both open and close ended) were distributed for 240 sample respondents. An interview with10 Key informant interviews were also conducted with the head of natural resource management offices of selected woredas and six development agents (DA) in sample selected kebeles and four focus group discussions (FDG) consisted of 10 members were also employed to collect qualitative data.The findings show that all the respondents aware of forest and natural resource degradation about (87%) and (75.4%) were aware of clearing of forest to expand farmland for growing population and cutting trees for fuel wood, charcoal and other forest productsrespectively. Only very few of the respondents were indicate that lack of community awareness to sustainable use and management of forest resource (44.5%)and lack of clear understanding of forest laws and regulation among the community (40.4%)as a cause of deforestation. Therefore, the assessment of community awareness to forest resource degradation survey result shows that all of the farmers in the study area have been aware of natural resource and environmental degradation. Based on the findings of this study, it is recommended that there is a need of modifying educational/training programs for local communities considering the existing knowledge and practices in a particular area.

Science and technology has succeeded in increasing agricultural productivity and food production in many parts of the dry areas but this has been mostly at the expense of the degradation of natural resources, namely water, biodiversity and land productivity. In addition, there is a vicious cycle of cause and effect relationship between poverty and environmental natural resources degradation and desertification. Science and technology can certainly break the vicious cycle, but badly applied, they promote the non-sustainable use of natural resources and aggravate further environmental degradation and poverty. In addition to the UN Conventions that were established in 1992, there are several other conventions, agreements and treaties that deliver guidelines and policies to protect environment and human health from the greed of irresponsible promotions of private sector, although there are many private sector investments that are responsible. FAO intergovernmental commissions as well as the secretariats of agreements and treaties ensure these policies are followed to protect the environment and human health.

In recent years economists have recognized that, along with physical and human capital, environmental resources should be viewed as important economic assets, which can be called natural capital. However, the services provided by natural capital are unique. They include the use of resources for material and energy inputs, the assimilative capacity to absorb waste, and the provision of ecological services. The latter services are particularly not well understood, and lie at the heart of the debate over the role of natural capital in sustainable development. That is, does the environment have a unique or essential role in sustaining human welfare, and if so, are special compensation rules required to ensure that future generations are not made worse by natural capital depletion today? A further debate has emerged over whether environmental degradation in an economy may initially increase, but eventually declines, as per capita income increases. This hypothesis, called the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) has led to a number of attempts to estimate empirically an inverted U shaped relationship between a variety of indicators of environmental pollution or resource depletion and the level of per capita income. Finally, recent economic theories and empirical evidence have questioned whether poorer economies that are endowed with abundant natural resources develop more rapidly than economies that are relatively resource poor. It is possible that resource abundant economies are not reinvesting the rents generated from natural resource exploitation into productive assets, or that resource booms actually divert economic resources from more productive and innovative sectors. The result is a boom and bust pattern of economic development. There is evidence of this phenomenon particularly with regard to economic development and land expansion, especially in Latin America. Overall, although our understanding of the role of natural resources in economic development has improved markedly in recent decades, there is still much to learn. How natural resource depletion is affecting the ecological services provided by the environment is one concern. In the case of the poor economies, there is increasing evidence that their prospects for economic take off are being adversely affected by the lack of efficient and sustainable management of their natural resource base. Yet the underpricing and undervaluing of natural capital makes it difficult to design appropriate policies for ensuring that natural resource rents are reinvested in other productive assets of the economy.

Managing water in an integrated and sustainable manner is currently challenging water resource managers throughout the world. It requires professionals from many disciplines working together with impacted stakeholders in crafting a strategy that is economically efficient, ecologically sound, and acceptable to all who are impacted by how this resource is managed over space and time. We at universities are continually thinking about how we can better prepare our students who elect to become our future water resources planners and managers. This paper identifies some of the issues and challenges facing educators in this field, and some possible ways of addressing them. The amount of water available and suitable for human use in the world is limited. Too many humans must live with less water than what they would like, and even need, to maintain their health let alone their overall welfare. Currently the world's water resource systems are not able to provide everyone reliable potable water at reasonable costs. Populations are increasing, as are per capita demands for water. The United Nations tells us about one person in six, on average, in this world has no access to safe drinking water, and about one in three lacks adequate sanitation. In many countries these percentages are substantially higher. One can assume that those without clean water to drink are sick. The World Health Organization (WHO) tells us more than 30 thousand children under the age of five die from either hunger or from water-borne and easily-preventable diseases. We use about 70 percent of our freshwater resources for agriculture. What we get for that varies considerably. The World Water Council believes that by 2020 we shall need 17 percent more water than is currently available if we are to feed everyone. Do all these grim statistics suggest a water crisis? Will there be a water crisis in the future? Much depends on how we manage our water and our watersheds (Rogers et al. 2006). And this in turn depends on our abilities at universities to provide the personnel with the training and capacity to manage this resource effectively. With perhaps a few exceptions, those of us who live in North America are not dying from lack of water or sanitation. We are fortunate. We seem to have enough water, although the recent droughts in the southeast and in the west suggests we may be increasingly challenged to meet our demands for water supplies, to keep our rivers flowing and clean and our aquatic ecosystems functioning as they should. We can manage all our natural resources better, and professionals know this, but deciding what is better and implementing measures to be better involves more than just professionals. Politicians representing the public, and increasingly the public itself, are participants in this decision-making process. They define what is “better” and when and how to act. And inevitably acting requires money. Acting in ways to prevent crises is not always easy to do. There are always more pressing matters that get people's attention – and their money – until of course there really is a water crisis. This has prompted the well-known concept called the hydro-illogical cycle illustrating the lack of interest in planning for floods during periods of drought, or in planning for droughts when experiencing a flood. Many of the issues facing water and environmental resource managers today generally stem from the following factors: changing priorities of water and environmental management objectives over time – for example from economic efficiency to ecological health and diversity that require changes in past policies and even infrastructure, the way our institutions work, the need for multiple disciplinary inputs and public participation, uncertainties regarding future demands, supplies, and pollutant types and loads, and a lack of adequate understanding of many natural and social processes affecting, and affected by, the management of water and environmental resources. Managers and planners are challenged to develop plans and policies for serving often conflicting multiple purposes and satisfying multiple objectives expressed by multiple stakeholders representing multiple interests and backgrounds, all lacking perfect knowledge of what economic, physical, chemical, biological, ecological and social impacts will result from what ever decisions they make. We all could benefit from better science, better management tools, better training of professionals in all the applicable disciplines, and political institutions that can provide the expertise and leadership that will result in more timely, integrated, and sustainable water resources and environmental management plans and policies. The remainder of this paper outlines some current issues related to the training of individuals who wish to accept the challenges just described and contribute to improving how we manage our water and environmental resources. Recent decades have witnessed a shift in emphasis by U.S. agencies providing funds for research and training of graduates interested in environmental and water resources management. The emphasis has been on addressing scientific uncertainties and less toward planning and management issues. This runs counter to those who claim there is a need for improved environmental and water resource management. One result of this shift away from research in planning and managerial issues has been the decline of academic programs in water management and planning. Ironically, weather- and climate-related research programs, as well as large-scale observation initiatives promoted by many in the hydrologic, ecological, environmental engineering and other communities, increasingly cite benefits for water resources, environmental, and ecological management as central to their programmatic justification. Having more scientific information and the understanding that comes from it does not automatically mean we know how best to use it. There are many scientific, technical, political, practical, and regulatory challenges to integrating advances in hydrologic science into policies for managing environmental and water resources. There may be an unrealized potential, for instance, for using improvements in hydrologic forecasting based on new data sources and methods, such as embedded environmental sensors and data assimilation techniques. As science teaches us more about the processes taking place at the interface of hydrology and climate, and as the hydrologic, water quality, and associated ecological implications of land cover change become better understood, ways are needed to incorporate this knowledge into management plans and policies. Research is needed to figure out how best to do that, and trained professional planners and managers are needed to make it happen. At various universities, debates are taking place over a variety of issues, some of which are listed below. Issue #1: Educational policy – should universities turn out more well-trained engineering professionals and scientists, or more broadly trained generalists? Many will argue that there is an overarching need for people who know there is a world beyond where they live and work and can appreciate how history and culture affects current events. There is a need for individuals who can evaluate, think, and speak and write effectively at technical and non-technical levels. In my opinion, such skills should be obtained at the undergraduate level. One way to get this background is to obtain a liberal arts education (including study in a foreign country). Expertise in specific technical disciplines can be obtained at the master's level. After all, medicine, law, and business are graduate subjects. Why not in this multidisciplinary water resource field as well? Obviously for those desiring engineering or the sciences some basic introductory courses would be expected at the undergraduate level, just as pre-med courses are expected for admission to most medical schools. This is not to say we cannot train students to become competent technical professionals with engineering, economic, ecological, or natural resource degrees, for example, at the undergraduate level, but doing that eliminates the time needed for students to obtain the other skills that all should have who expect to become tomorrow's leaders in whatever they do. Yet in much of the world, attending universities costs money, especially at private universities and colleges. This means we need fellowships and training grants to attract the best and brightest students we can to our water resources profession. Issue #2: Course curricula – do they need changing? Many universities need to take a serious look at their curricula more often than they do. It seems much easier to change course contents than the overall plan. Most educators support exposing students to interdisciplinary projects at both graduate and undergraduate levels, so that students learn to participate productively in such projects and recognize the approaches and issues of fields other than their own. Engineers, economists, and ecologists especially need to appreciate each other's approaches to problem solving. Being exposed to case studies, including failed projects and those that get students out in the field is also beneficial. This gives them an appreciation of multidisciplinary team-building and dealing with multiple conflicting goals such as drought mitigation, flood management, flash flood prediction, water supply, transportation, emergency management, agriculture, and ecosystem stewardship – and conflicting opinions about how to achieve them. Issue #3: Continuing education: How can it best be provided to all professionals? Some have suggested that whatever the technical information students learn, it will be obsolete by the time they get their first job. The rate of increase in knowledge and changes in technology seem to be increasing over time. The half-life of the technical information we teach our students is decreasing. On-the-job training and continuing education throughout one's professional career is an absolute necessity. How can universities best meet this need? Some governmental agencies concerned with environmental and water resources management have programs for continuing education. However, a high turnover rate often makes this uneconomic. Professors themselves need continuing education as well. Their research provides some of this, but they also can learn from their consulting and what they do on their sabbatical leaves. All professionals should be provided such opportunities, not just academics. Issue #4: Funding. Can the needed changes in education be accomplished in the absence of changes in funding “carrots and sticks”? Difficulties in supporting students studying water and environmental resources management have led to the relative lack of students studying these subjects. University deans look for where the money is when they analyze continuing and new directions for their academic departments. The availability of fellowships, traineeships, and research grants are noticed. Industry can also provide support, and in many disciplines they do, but in the water and environmental resources arena the private sector has not been a major player. Managing water and environmental resources is primarily a public responsibility. Nevertheless industry has provided some support, for example to the American Water Works Association Research Foundation which promotes research and technology transfer. Coop programs, internships, and traineeships that expose students to the real world may be a partial solution. The USDA-CSREES coop funding program is an example for agricultural water management. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers master's degree program in planning is another example. Employers working in the water management area often report difficulties in finding employees with the appropriate backgrounds. Because of the decrease in funding of research and training grants in the water planning and management area, few young graduate students are finding their way into the field. This leads to fewer students being trained in the areas of most interest to these employers. The report Freshwater Ecosystems: Revitalizing Educational Programs in Limnology (National Research Council 1996) included a chapter on linking education and water resource management. Water is viewed as a public good, and thus those who manage it are often associated with government agencies. At a recent meeting of the National Research Council (Logan 2006), several government agencies stated their need for articulate young people prepared for working in interdisciplinary and multi-disciplinary teams, which is the nature of modern water management, viewing problems in a broad systems context – water management decisions made upstream “reverberate” downstream influencing eco-systems, fisheries, and the coastal zone in general, linking societal goals and objectives with performance measures and conceptual eco-logical models, adaptability in general and adaptive manage-ment in particular, quantifying and dealing with risk and uncertainty, and conflict management and resolution in a stakeholder-driven participatory political process. One can think of other skills needed to address some of our current and future management challenges. For example, how can managers most effectively design, manage and operate infrastructure in the face of non-stationarity in water supply and demand; identify and provide environmental flows in already over-allocated systems, especially in times of drought, and environmental effects of reservoir operation and dam removal; alter reservoir regulation in the face of changing uses and priorities, environmental and ecological uncertainties and needs, and possibly the removal of past engineering infrastructure such as dams and canals; predict and then respond to hydrologic responses to precipitation, surface water generation and transport, environmental stresses on aquatic ecosystems, the relationships between landscape changes, sediment fluxes, and subsurface transport, as well as mapping ground water recharge and discharge vulnerability; respond to the environmental, economic, health and social impacts caused by floods, droughts, sedimentation, and contamination including from pharmaceuticals and other household chemicals and products; provide an early warning for flooding, droughts, habitat degradation, and health hazards, increase the efficiency of water use, especially in the agricultural sector; address questions whose answers require knowledge of the quantitative relationships among various physical, chemical, biological, and social process occurring at disparate spatial or temporal scales. For example, how can we scale up to larger area forecasts from knowledge of smaller habitat patch scale ones? How can we estimate regional aquatic ecosystem processes over entire river basins often based on small plot experiments and observations? deal with deforestation, suburbanization, road construction, agriculture, and other human land-use activities that impact economies and ecosystems (changes in land cover, climate, and land use affect water quantity and quality regimes which impact ecosystem health and other uses of water such as for drinking, irrigation, industry and recreation); manage chemical and biological components of the hydrological cycle under changing land uses and habitats, and control invasive species … This list could continue. Suffice to say there are many subjects a competent water resource manager should be familiar with, at least to the extent that the issues are appreciated and that effective communication can take place between the manager and experts or specialists when appropriate. Today's planning and management environment involves public participation, not just at the final stages of planning, but throughout the process, including decision making. Tools are being developed to help all stakeholders gain a “shared vision” of how their system works, and the physical, economic, environmental, ecological and sometimes the social impacts of various plans and management policies. Such public participation does not make the planning and management processes any easier, or more efficient, or cheaper. In fact often the opposite happens. But the end result has a far better chance of being robust to multiple interests and thus more sustainable in the long run (ASCE 1998). Future water resources managers need to know how to facilitate such participation. Water resources professors cannot rest on their laurels. Planning and management issues continue to evolve as do their demands on this profession. Students today will be faced with problems and technology we can only speculate about today. But they have to be prepared to effectively address those issues and use that technology. It's the job of those of us involved in water resources planning and management programs at universities to ensure our graduates have that capability. The increasing breadth, complexity, and rate of change of professional practice places a greater emphasis not only on continuing education but also on what a basic professional education must deliver at the undergraduate as well as graduate levels. The body of knowledge necessary to effectively manage water resources is beyond the scope of the traditional bachelor's degree, even when coupled with early-career experience. Education must meld technical excellence with the ability to lead, influence, and integrate a diverse number of disciplines and stakeholders – all required to meet societal goals in some ‘best’ and most sustainable way. Ideally, graduates from university programs in water resources planning and management should be knowledgeable in their particular discipline, as well as conversant with other applicable disciplines. An engineer, for example, should not only understand how to use the theories, principles, and/or fundamentals of mathematics, physics, chemistry, engineering economics, biology, and probability and statistics underlying engineering but also be exposed to political processes, systems analysis and computer modeling, laws and regulations, history, sociology, and ethics. Most importantly, they should know how to work in interdisciplinary teams and effectively and clearly communicate orally and in writing. They must be optimistic in the face of challenges and setbacks they will surely face, and be committed to ethical behavior, both personally and professionally. After graduation they must remain curious and willing to continue learning fresh approaches, develop and use new technology or innovative applications of existing technology, and take on new endeavors that require research and ingenuity. Managing our water resources, including our ecosystems in our natural and built environments, involves both technical and administrative expertise. It involves both the “hard” as well as the “soft” sciences. In the hard sciences, the laws of physics, biology, chemistry, and mathematics are well established. The same cannot be said of the soft social and political sciences. Thus the “hard” sciences are easy. The “soft” sciences are hard. Clearly, however, we need more people competent in both to address many of the issues water resource managers are facing today. Daniel P. Loucks is a professor in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, USA, (www.cornell.edu) where he teaches and directs research in the development and application of economics, ecology and systems analysis methods for estimating the impacts of alternative policies aimed at solving environmental and regional water resources problems. He has authored articles and book chapters in these subject areas and has been involved in various development and environmental restoration projects throughout the world. He may be reached at Loucks@cornell.edu.