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Academic departments

Water resources and ecosystems

The WRE department strives to support society and economy to sustain freshwater resources and ecosystems by balancing their protection, restoration, use and development. We therefore focus our education, research and capacity development activities on understanding and sustaining the ability of the biosphere to support society to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. We aim to achieve this through inter- and trans-disciplinary partnerships within and outside IHE Delft.

Aims and ambitions

We do this through the Institute’s three core activities: education, research and capacity development. Research enhances the understanding of the processes within and amongst components of freshwater ecosystems, and the interaction between them and society. We share this understanding by developing and sharing new knowledge through our education and training programmes.

In this way, education, research and capacity development are integrated. In the WRE department, we believe that to be sustainable and to remain relevant, our focal areas should have depth in all of these fields. Such depth is attained through student numbers in education, capacity development projects and research efforts that reinforce each other, in collaboration with both internal and external partners. With a focus on country’s needs, our aim is to use this approach to make a significant impact by enhancing the capacity to support existing and implement new policies and practices that sustain freshwater resources and ecosystems. This is aligned with the 2020 Delft Agenda for Action, in particular the recognition that successful capacity development has to become more systemic.

Research themes

Through these themes listed below, the department aims to combine fundamental with applied research to strengthen its education and capacity development offerings and vice versa.

  • Catchment hydrology and water resources assessment

    The movement of surface and groundwater through the landscape and the availability of these resources to society.

  • Aquatic ecosystems

    Developing understanding of ecological processes in aquatic environments (rivers, lakes and wetlands) to better guide their sustainable management.

     

  • River basin development

    The development of river basins and the infrastructure needed to provide benefits from the basin to society in a sustainable way.

  • Climate variability, change and adaptation

    Assessing natural climate variability and anthropogenic induced climate change and developing services to society to respond to these.

People in this department