The FuturAgua project: 

Fostering regional drought resilience in Northwestern Costa Rica through international collaborative action research

Thursday, November 23, 2017

Aquatic Ecosystems Research Laboratory Building

2202 Main Mall, UBC Point Grey Campus

Vancouver

Research Seminar: 12:30-1:30pm, AERL Theatre (room 120)

Poster Session + Lunch: 1:30-2:30pm, AERL Foyer
RSVP required for lunch: futuraguaproject@gmail.com

The FuturAgua project is an international, multidisciplinary, action-oriented research program involving three teams of researchers, funded by granting agencies in three countries, all focused on applied research to help build resilience to drought in the dry tropical northwest part of Costa Rica. The project was conceptualized, developed, and carried out in close collaboration with civil society groups and regional agencies that work to address important water questions in the region.

This presentation will address the context, design, process, and key findings of the research conducted by UBC researchers, with input from the team members at Carnegie Mellon University. Dr. Andrea Suarez, Director of the Centre for Mesoamerica for Sustainable Development of the Dry Tropics (CEMEDE) at the National University of Costa Rica, will provide regional perspectives on the project. The researchers will highlight some of the factors that led to the main successes of the project, and also reflect on some of the challenges of conducting a research project of this kind.

After the seminar, there will be a poster session to showcase the project’s main research findings. Lunch will be served (RSVP required)

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS 

Tim McDaniels

Professor, School of Community and Regional Planning

Douw Steyn

Professor Emeritus, Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences (EOAS)

Mark Johnson

Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair, Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability (IRES) and EOAS

Kai Chan

Professor, IRES

INTERNATIONAL GUEST 

Andrea Suarez

Director of the Centre for Mesoamerica for Sustainable Development of the Dry Tropics (CEMEDE), National University of Costa Rica

RESEARCHERS

Silja Hund

PhD Student EOAS

Laura Morillas

Postdoctoral Research Fellow IRES and EOAS

Paige Olmsted

Postdoctoral Fellow IRES, Visiting Fellow Copenhagen Business School

Alejandra Echeverri

PhD Student IRES

Daniel Karp

Former Killam Postdoctoral Fellow IRES, Assistant Professor, Department of Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology UC Davis