A total of 126 people have now successfully completed an online course on green infrastructure, devised by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) in India, in collaboration with the International Water Security Network (IWSN) and the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol).
Green Infrastructure: Effective Measures to Manage Urban Flooding and Water Supply is designed to help students, environmental enthusiasts and working professionals learn the concepts and principles of green infrastructure for improved urban water management. The aim is to build a community of practice that can successfully work towards designing and implementing green infrastructure interventions in towns/cities.
The course took place in September, following a successful first run in February, and once again attracted a very diverse range of participants. There was a 60%-40% female-to-male gender ratio, and although most participants were from India (with five from other countries), they came from 18 different states.
Forty-three organisations were represented, including:
- Government
- Delhi Development Authority
- Ministry of Housing and Urban Development in Odisha
- Ministry of Defence of India
- National Mission for Clean Ganga
- Town Planning Department of Rajasthan
- Governing Council of the Special Regime of the Galapagos Islands
- French Development Agency (AFD)
- Ministry of Education and Sports in Uganda
- Universities and academic institutes
- Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi
- Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati
- School of Planning and Architecture Delhi
- Central University of Rajasthan
- Indian Institute For Human Settlements
- Symbiosis Institute of Technology
- Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology
- Kathmandu University
- Indian Institute Of Remote Sensing, Dehradun
- The Energy and Resources Institute, India
- Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University
- NGOs
- UNICEF
- IWA
- IPE Global
- The Nature Conservancy India
- World Wide Fund for Nature – Hong Kong
- World Vision India
- Tamilnadu Water Investment Company
- Consultancies
- GIZ India
- Terra Viridis
- TÜV SÜD South Asia
- Alchemei – Environmental Initiatives
- Envirocon Urban Hydro Environment Centre
- Sustainability Consultancy And Research
- New Brunswick Environmental Network
Feedback from participants was overwhelmingly positive with over 94% rating the course good or excellent on the materials, content and organisation. When asked if the course’s objectives has been achieved, 100% said yes. The course was described as “informative and an eye-opener,” “well-structured,” and “highly effective”. One university student said: “I thank all the members of the course for this wonderful experience. I really liked the way of providing the contents and reading materials, and the overall way of conveying the concepts.” The Dean of a Faculty of Architecture said: “I love all the courses offered by CSE as they are practical courses which are extremely relevant in our current situation.”
The course is one of many planned activities that will take place under a three-year collaboration between CSE and IWSN/UWE Bristol.