November 19, 2007
Bowling
Green, Ky. - Western Kentucky University’s China Environmental Health Project was featured last Wednesday in a presentation by Dr. Chris Groves at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C.
The talk, “Water, Water Everywhere….But None Within Reach: Resource Challenges in Southwest China’s Karst Regions,” described the progress of the WKU program, which works to develop partnerships with Chinese universities to develop solutions to environmental health problems there. Major support for the project is being provided by the U.S. Agency for Environmental Development (USAID) and the ENVIRON Foundation. USAID support has been made possible through the efforts of Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell.
Dr. Groves, who directs WKU’s Hoffman Environmental Research Institute within the Applied Research and Technology Program, was joined by Amelia Chung of the International Institute of Rural Reconstruction (IIRR). The two described progress in the water resources part of the project, highlighting fieldwork in a remote area of southern Yunnan province close to the border with Vietnam. In this area, which has karst topography somewhat similar to here in south central Kentucky, many residents earn less than $100 per year and have to walk to obtain water during the winter dry season.
The China Environmental Health Project also has a coal and air quality component in an effort managed by Dr. Wei-Ping Pan of WKU’s Institute for Combustion Science and Environmental Technology.
Dr. Jennifer Turner, who directs the China Environment Forum at the Woodrow Wilson Center, is also a key partner in the project, focusing on information outreach.
“Chris and Amelia highlighted both technical and social aspects of water supply problems that are underappreciated both in the US and China,” Dr. Turner said. “While southwest China typically gets sufficient rain each year, in the karst areas it quickly runs underground and is often inaccessible at the surface. Many experts on China’s water resources issues are not really aware of these problems, which impact millions of mostly rural people.”
Geography and Geology Department head Dr. David Keeling also noted that “the project’s partnership with the Woodrow Wilson Center is important for building research synergies across the disciplines and for developing a more holistic and comprehensive approach to solving some of our planet’s most pressing problems. The department’s international research is critical to WKU’s mission of preparing students for success in a global society.”
More information about the talk and a streaming podcast is available online at the Wilson Center’s site at http://www.wilsoncenter.org/index.cfm?topic_id=1421&fuseaction=topics.event_summary&event_id=303287
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.
For information, contact Chris Groves at (270) 745-5974.
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