Integrated river basin management is one of the biggest challenges of the 21st century. The term integration refers to various aspects essential to achieve a sustainable development of river basins, and includes water demand and supply, trans-boundary aspects, upstreamdownstream linkages, water and environment, development (including poverty alleviation) and environment, as well as organisational and institutional aspects at different scales.

Learning objectives

At the end of this course participants will be able to:

explain interaction between development, water and environment at the river basin scale;
explain the importance of holistic approaches in river basin research and management;
give an overview of the latest concepts, international trends and practices of Integrated River Basin
Planning and Management;
follow a step-wise approach in applying Integrated River Basin Planning and Management in a river
basin.

Target group

The course is designed for professionals dealing with river basin management. Participants are typically from river basin organisations, regional or national governments involved in planning, water resources, forestry, agricultural, economic aspects of IRBM, nongovernmental organisations, companies or universities.

Course structure

Participants complete the course in a period of four months with a workload of 140 hours (8 hours a week on average). The course is sub-divided into 7 subjects and a final paper assignment. Each subject starts and ends on a specified day and takes approximately 2 weeks. Within this period, the participant is free to study in his or her own time.

The web-based eCampus (based on Moodle) is used for downloading training material and communication. Questions can be posted on the course forums or directly asked to the responsible course trainer. Various interactive options are available to discuss course matter with fellow participants.

Course content

The course entails a combination of high-quality lecture notes blended with examples and case studies to highlight applications of concepts taught and discussions to share experiences. Regional case studies are used throughout the course work to enable participants to learn the subject within an international setting. These case studies are used for several key assignments in the course, amongst which the final exam. Additionally, they provide a constant frame of reference for application of the theory taught in the course.

Course	Key Questions	Duration	Study load, hours
1. Introduction to the course	Who are my trainers and fellow participants? Why this course and how is it organized?	1 week	8
2. The river system and human interferences	How does the river system work and what are the impacts of humans?	2 weeks	16
3. IRBM concepts and Issues	What are the latest IRBM concepts and issues?	2 weeks	16
4. Planning for sustainable river basin development	How to plan river basin developments?	4 weeks	16
5. Operational management of river basins	How to turn planning into operational management?	2 weeks	16
6. Analytical support for IRBM	What are useful methods and tools for supporting IRBM?	2 weeks	16
7. Organisational and institutional framework	How to organize planning, operational management and analytical support?	2 weeks	16
8. Final Assignment	How do I use what I have learned in my own river basin?	1,5 weeks	8
9. Exam	How does the course material apply to a real-life case?	1,5 weeks	8

Each subject ends with either a tutor or discussion assignment for which participants have to use their newly acquired knowledge and interact with the teacher and the other participants. The participant’s progress will be evaluated based on these assignments and the final paper. After completion, participants will receive a certificate jointly issued by UNESCO-IHE, NHRI, Hohai University and UNPAR. The final mark will be given based on marks you receive for the tutor assignments including the final assignment and on an active involvement in the group discussions. Participants who successfully complete the online course by completing all the course components (score greater than 60%) receive a Certificate. This certificate will be accompanied by a course record, mentioning the period of study, the study load, subjects, and the mark or grade obtained. The Certificate is equivalent to 5 ECTS, which can be used for an exemption for an equivalent module in the UNESCO-IHE MSc programmes. Participants who complete the course (at least 80%), but do not participate in the final exam (or fail for the exam) will receive a Certificate of Attendance.