Erasmus Mundus Master of Science in Ecohydrology

The vast majority of current master degrees offered in Europe are focused in one component of ICARM (eg. Surface water, ground water, ecology) or at most address the integrated river basin component or the coastal zone component. The linkage of ecologic and biologic processes with the physical environment at the light of Ecohydrology has not yet been adequately explored. The approach developed in this master course will thus be an important advance in water education for Europe. Its students will enable to establish long lasting links with third countries professional in the water management field and will reinforce the position of Europe as leader in environmental issues. No integrated, international master or doctoral programmes on aquatic ecologic engineering, integrated coastal areas and freshwater systems, are available yet within Europe. To fill this gap, this proposal focus on aquatic ecological engineering and management solutions, is presented. This proposal is based on the recognition that integration between environmental and engineering solutions is more likely the best approach to achieve and sustain water quality and biodiversity in aquatic ecosystems. The scientific background to the Masters proposal have been generated within the Ecohydrology working groups and task forces, under the VII International Hydrologic Programme of UNESCO and all the participants, both in the consortium and third countries, have been actively linked with the development of the concept and its application.

A comparison with Master courses offered in the European space in related areas showed that the vast majority of courses is focused either in the physical aspects of ecohydrology (e.g. hydraulics, hydrology, hydrogeology, hydroinformatics) or in the biologic/ecologic aspects (e.g. ecology, biology, limnology, biodiversity) but not in the integration of these two scientific areas as a basis for the development of sustainable solutions for aquatic ecosystems.