April 13, 2007
Bowling
Green, Ky. - Several Western Kentucky University students and faculty members have been training Chinese graduate students in methods to exploit underground water resources in a remote section of southwest China’s Yunnan province. The WKU team returned to the U.S. recently following a three-week expedition to China.
WKU’s China Environmental Health Project (CEHP) receives major support from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The program’s goal is to improve public health in China through activities promoting access to potable water and clean air. USAID establishes academic partnerships with Chinese universities to achieve these objectives.
WKU is working with Southwest University China (SWUC) on karst water resources and the Anhui University of Science and Technology on clean coal technologies. Other major project partners include the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C., and the International Institute of Rural Reconstruction (IIRR) in Kunming, China. The project was made possible through the support of U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.
The recent WKU/SWUC venture included nine Chinese scientists and graduate students who worked with eight U.S. scientists to gain experience in methods to exploit karst water resources in rural areas where surface water is lacking. Seminars at SWUC in December and January gave the students training in mapping the pathways of underground rivers, water quality sampling and related computer data analysis using Geographic Information Systems.
Dr. Chris Groves of WKU, who directs the CEHP, visited the Yunnan province project site with John Pasch of USAID’s Regional Development Mission in Bangkok and John Hill of the American Consulate General in Chengdu, China. They went to caves where the joint U.S.-Chinese team is searching for underground water, in some cases only accessible through vertical shafts, one nearly 500 feet deep. They also met with local residents and village officials to improve relationships which are critical to the success of the fieldwork.
“These are rural places where many people are living on less than $60 per year, a situation made worse because of water supply challenges,” said Groves, of the Hoffman Environmental Research Institute in WKU’s Applied Research and Technology Program. He said residents supported the CEHP project, which would provide needed water.
The expedition, led by Hoffman Institute assistant director Pat Kambesis, included WKU graduate student Erin Lynch and recent WKU graduates Joel Despain and Shane Fryer, along with four other scientists from the U.S. and United Kingdom with extensive cave exploration experience. Geography Instructor Scott Dobler joined Groves and Amelia Chung from IIRR on the trip, focusing on social science and outreach efforts.
“The project is fostering partnerships between academic and community-building specialists in the U.S. and China,” said Pasch of USAID. “It also involves Chinese provincial and local government officials, and local residents who are engaged in the work.”
The head of WKU’s Department of Geography and Geology said the project had far-reaching implications. “This collaborative international research project showcases the commitment of WKU’s faculty and students to engage in global issues at the local and regional level,” said Dr. David Keeling. “The experiences gained in China will prove useful in south-central Kentucky, where we address similar problems of water quality, access and distribution.”
More WKU news is available at www.wku.edu. If you’d like to receive WKU news via e-mail, send a message to WKUNews@wku.edu.
-WKU-
"A leading American university with international reach"
Office of Media Relations
Western Kentucky University
1906 College Heights Blvd., Bowling Green, Ky. 42101-3576
Phone: (270)745-4295 - Fax: (270)7455387 - E-Mail: western@wku.edu