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Water Basin Congress in Costa Rica
UPADI’s
Pan-American
Committee on Water Basins
held the IV National Water
Basin Congress and the I
Central American Congress
on Water Basins from June
15 to 16 at the Biodiversity
Institute of Costa Rica
(INBIO) with the participation
of one hundred professionals
who
work
with
water
resources.
Some of the topics discussed
during the Congress included environmental sustainability, water basin management, and
ecosystem biodiversity.
Engineer Irene Campos, President of UPADI, stated that water basins are highly important
geographic units that should be considered in land planning, especially when analyzing
risks and vulnerabilities.
“Land use within a water basin unit should be managed integrally by taking into account all
elements in it, including its flora, fauna, agricultural and urban soil in order to avoid, for
instance, indiscriminate felling, fires, and excessive uncontrolled soil fertilization,” said
Engineer Campos.
“Undoubtedly, this is a complex issue which requires a joint intersectorial approach.
Forums like this are an excellent scenario to analyze experiences and discuss proposals
for sustainable urban development,” she added.
One of the most significant contributors to the Congress was Dr. Rodrigo Gamez,
President of INBIO, who pointed out that people’s behavior should reflect their values and
respect toward nature as “the environmental problems around us are derived from
people’s lack of ethics.”
On the other hand, Engineer Dennis Mora, Vice Chair of UPADI’s Committee on Water
Basins stressed the value of the participation of professionals from Central America as this
is one of the regions in the Americas with the greatest risk of suffering future problems
derived from climate change.