The concern about the mismanagement to the water resource in the country sounded the alarms in the University of Costa Rica (UCR) which, as a result of this concern, created an Observatory of Water and Global Change.
According to data from the most recent State of the Nation Report during 2017, 91% of the population had access to drinking water. In addition, environmental improvements were reported such as the growth of sanitary sewage with wastewater treatment, from 4.2% in 2014 to 8.2% in 2016.
However, despite some steps that have been taken in the right way, the consequences of an inadequate management of waste continue to affect the rivers of the country. Tárcoles River, considered the most polluted river in Central America, is an example of this.
According to Christian Birkel, a hydrologist and professor at the UCR School of Geography, the water resource in the country has not been handled very well, mainly for historical reasons.
There was never really a need for long-term planning. Suddenly you see the need to plan for the future, for example to anticipate situations of lack of water or on the contrary, too much water,”
said Birkel.
The Observatory will aim to address the topic of water resources from an inter, trans and multidisciplinary perspective, in order to generate and disseminate updated information on water management and its link to global change.
Similarly, Isabel Avendaño Flores, director of the School of Geography, said that much of the time and resources are spent in the preparation of research on the subject of water, so they predict that the project will be successful.
An observatory has a lot to do with the creation of knowledge, but also with work in communities… We cannot ignore that the water resource and its integral management is a challenge of the world,”
said Avendaño.
This Observatory started this year as a Teaching Extension project and it’s currently integrated by geography teachers and researchers.