IRES: Track I: Andean-Amazonian Watershed Experience: Exploring Sustainability of Mountain Ecosystems in Ecuador (AWESOME)

University Of New Hampshire, Durham NH

Investigators

Abstract

This IRES project is co-funded by Office of International Science and Engineering (OISE) and Hydrologic Sciences programs (GEO/EAR). Part 1: Nontechnical description. As our world becomes increasingly globalized and interconnected, providing opportunities for U.S. students to engage in international research and cultural exchange is essential to creating a globally aware and skilled workforce capable of tackling the challenges of the future. This is especially true for global issues related to water, given that the scarcity of reliable and clean water supplies to support growing human populations is one of the world’s most pressing environmental and social issues today. This IRES supports an international program for U.S. undergraduate and graduate students, the “Andean-Amazonian Watershed Experience: Exploring Sustainability of Mountain Ecosystems in Ecuador” (AWESOME). The program takes place in the Andean-Amazonian region of Ecuador, which is currently experiencing a range of water-related issues along with a diversity of policy responses aimed at finding solutions, and thus provides an ideal landscape for engaging students in international research experiences. AWESOME will support 18 U.S. students over three years to conduct individual research projects over two months at two sites in the upper Andean-Amazonian region: alpine paramo in the Paute watershed, and rainforest in the Napo watershed. Students will be supported by faculty mentors from three collaborating Ecuadorian institutions, the University of Cuenca, the Regional University of Amazonia, and the University of Azuay, and UNH faculty mentors from diverse disciplines. Two cohort experiences, an orientation watershed tour and a synthesis workshop (10 days each), will introduce students to water resource science and policy across diverse natural ecosystems and human communities, foster their capacity for systems-thinking and interdisciplinary analysis, and help them to conceptualize their own research as part of a complex and interconnected world. Part 2: Technical description. Addressing global water-related challenge requires that future leaders have a strong understanding of the science of watershed sustainability and complex socioecohydrological systems (SEHS), and the ability to apply that understanding to developing effective policy solutions using transdisciplinary approaches. The goals of AWESOME are to, (1) provide an international research experience that enhances student understanding of the complex dynamics of coupled SEHS in response to diverse global change drivers, and (2) investigate science-based policies for improving watershed sustainability. Student research projects will focus on six themes: 1) hydrologic regulation–from leaves to watersheds; 2) biogeochemical cycles—water quality and carbon storage; 3) biodiversity–biotic interactions and watershed functions; 4) social dynamics andcommunity resilience; 5) economic-ecological tradeoffs of water funds, and 6) water policy. Themes are unified under a conceptual framework of watershed sustainability that incorporates the complex interactions and feedbacks between the human and biophysical systems within SEHS. This conceptual model is grounded in the theories of coupled natural-human systems dynamics, watershed sustainability, community resilience, and inter/transdisciplinary research, providing a strong intellectual framework for guiding the AWESOME experience. Students will participate in interdisciplinary and intercultural research teams and engage in transdisciplinary discussions with diverse watershed actors, which will support their development and refinement of mental models of watershed sustainability. By leveraging ongoing research collaborations between Ecuadorian and U.S. faculty and partner academic institutions, our research team will offer a unique and transformative international research experience that will have an impact on students’ personal and professional trajectories. AWESOME will result in an innovative model for international research and experiential learning around SEHS and watershed sustainability, with broad impacts on educational programs between the U.S., Ecuador, and beyond. Through established partnerships and interactions with local watershed actors, research results and their implications for water resource policy will be shared and discussed at a synthesis workshop and in student reports. A seminar will be organized through the NH International Seminar Series to highlight the AWESOME experience, with U.S. and Ecuadorian students and researchers giving presentations and facilitating discussions, which will be widely disseminated via a webinar. Pedagogical approaches will be developed for using international research opportunities to enhance student learning regarding issues of watershed sustainability while cultivating academic, professional, and personal growth. Finally, this IRES will create international research collaborations and exchange programs that will be sustained beyond the tenure of the AWESOME program. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.