The 2017 cohort focused on understanding how to build resilience in watersheds affected by hydrologic alteration, climate variability, and human activity, using the Tempisque River Basin in Costa Rica as a case study. The program examined interactions among hydrologic, ecological, and social systems to identify strategies for sustainable water management in a rapidly changing environment.
Through a systems-based approach, the cohort integrated modeling, field-based research, and stakeholder engagement to explore trade-offs and inform decision-making. The program emphasized collaboration with partners in Costa Rica and supported applied research through workshops, scenario planning, and engagement with water managers and institutions.
Cohort Composition
- Agricultural and Biological Engineering, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences
Faculty: Dr. Rachata Muneepeerakul; Dr. Rafael Muñoz-Carpena; Dr. Greg Kiker
Graduate Students: Kathleen Vazquez; Marco Pazmiño-Hernandez - Environmental Engineering Sciences (ESSIE), College of Engineering / School of Natural Resources and Environment
Faculty: Dr. Christine Angelini
Graduate Student: Stefano Barchiesi - Anthropology, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Faculty: Dr. Jeffrey Johnson
Graduate Student: Oswaldo Medina Ramirez - Geography, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Faculty: Dr. Peter Waylen
Graduate Student: Caroline Huguenin - Center for Governmental Responsibility, Levin College of Law
Faculty: Dr. Tom Ankersen
Funding: the cohort was supported through the Water Institute Graduate Fellows Program.
Outputs and Contributions: The cohort produced 9 peer-reviewed publications, advancing understanding of resilience in coupled human–water systems, wetland dynamics, and water governance.
The cohort also supported extensive engagement through workshops, webinars, and scenario planning activities with stakeholders and decision-makers in Costa Rica. These efforts resulted in a formal collaboration agreement (MoU) with the Ramsar Regional Center for Training and Research for the Western Hemisphere (CREHO) and helped catalyze over $5.1M in external funding for the project “Towards a Multi-Scale Theory on Coupled Human Mobility and Environmental Change.”