WISE guys arrive at U. to study nature
Alexander Roehrkasse
Issue date: 1/29/08 Section: Campus News
How does industrial growth affect groundwater pollution? What's the effect of soil disturbances on aquatic ecosystems? This year's Watson International Scholars for the Environment, who arrived on campus last week, hope to lend an alternative perspective to such issues, and hone the expertise it takes to tackle them.
The seven WISE scholars, hailing from Zimbabwe, Brazil, India, Nepal, Papua New Guinea and Trinidad and Tobago, will spend a semester at Brown receiving training and participating in a seminar on land-use change in the developing world. By sharing their experiences and expertise, the scholars act as both students and teachers, said Steven Hamburg, associate professor of environmental studies, as they collaborate with students and faculty in exploring the issues they work on.
"The program brings together people from the developing world who care about problems we deal with and are working with them day in and day out," he said.
The selective program, which began in 2001 with support from the Henry Luce Foundation and the United Nations Environmental Programme, gathers mid-career professionals from diverse backgrounds of environmental work in the developing world. Conceived as a sort of sabbatical for those who wouldn't normally have such an opportunity, the program helps the scholars explore new ideas and practices in their field of work, Hamburg said.
Jasjit Singh Walia, a WISE scholar and chief executive officer of the eco-tourism program in the Himachal Pradesh Forest Department in northern India, said that such a retreat helps him develop new perspectives on his work.
"All these sabbaticals really help me to go back, re-learn, tell myself whether I'm doing it right," he said.
In addition to its reflective aspects, others say, the cornerstone of the program is the opportunity to build off of each other's expertise.
"All the interaction with all the people from other countries - this will be a fundamental combination of science and networking," said Edenise Garcia, a WISE scholar and an environmental scientist from Brazil who now works in Vancouver. Though many people often think that solutions to environmental problems require lots of money, she said, a better answer can often be found by simply sharing ideas.
The seven WISE scholars, hailing from Zimbabwe, Brazil, India, Nepal, Papua New Guinea and Trinidad and Tobago, will spend a semester at Brown receiving training and participating in a seminar on land-use change in the developing world. By sharing their experiences and expertise, the scholars act as both students and teachers, said Steven Hamburg, associate professor of environmental studies, as they collaborate with students and faculty in exploring the issues they work on.
"The program brings together people from the developing world who care about problems we deal with and are working with them day in and day out," he said.
The selective program, which began in 2001 with support from the Henry Luce Foundation and the United Nations Environmental Programme, gathers mid-career professionals from diverse backgrounds of environmental work in the developing world. Conceived as a sort of sabbatical for those who wouldn't normally have such an opportunity, the program helps the scholars explore new ideas and practices in their field of work, Hamburg said.
Jasjit Singh Walia, a WISE scholar and chief executive officer of the eco-tourism program in the Himachal Pradesh Forest Department in northern India, said that such a retreat helps him develop new perspectives on his work.
"All these sabbaticals really help me to go back, re-learn, tell myself whether I'm doing it right," he said.
In addition to its reflective aspects, others say, the cornerstone of the program is the opportunity to build off of each other's expertise.
"All the interaction with all the people from other countries - this will be a fundamental combination of science and networking," said Edenise Garcia, a WISE scholar and an environmental scientist from Brazil who now works in Vancouver. Though many people often think that solutions to environmental problems require lots of money, she said, a better answer can often be found by simply sharing ideas.