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CATHALAC and the United Nations University, International Network on Water, Environment and Health (UNU / INWEH) agreed to establish and operate in CATHALAC a Water Virtual Learning Center (WVLC) of the United Nations, that would meet the needs of the Latin America and the Caribbean region. The main purpose of the WVLC is to improve the water resources management and services of the Latin American and the Caribbean region by improving training and education in the water sector.

Background:

In the midst of a water crisis, our countries face a decline in freshwater sources, besides its poor handling threatens the health of people and ecosystems. On the other hand, in the past decade, 90% of the natural disasters were related to water, such as floods, drought and pollution. Fortunately, access to drinking water seems an achievable goal in most Latin American and Caribbean countries, although not the same thing happens with the sanitation, since this requires greater efforts and investments. In any case, the protection and sustainable management of the environment is a critical need, as much as the investment in the physical infrastructure. In addition it requires an appropriate management of risks to prevent these from becoming catastrophes.

A critical factor that contributes to the water crisis is the need for more local capacity for effective resource management. CATHALAC and UNU-INWEH are trying to resolve this challenge through a distance education program focused on Latin America.

Course objective

The curriculum offers a wide basic coverage of principles and practice of the IWRM giving the student knowledge on natural sciences, engineering, health, governance, public administration, social sciences, economics, resource conservation, strategic planning, as well as aspects of the program and project management. The integration within the program is reinforced by the "Four Pillars" reference structure of the UNU / INWEH for the development of skills and other integrated topics.