17.04.2024 - Seminar Lecture Series: Enhancing stormwater management and water quality in a sea discharge on oceanic islands in Colombia

Abstract

In this seminar speakers will present research findings on stormwater management and coastal water quality in a brine discharge area for a fragile ecosystem on San Andrés Island, located in the Northwestern Atlantic region of Colombia. Its status as an oceanic island presents challenges similar to those faced by Small Island Developing States (SIDS), including overexploitation of natural resources, mass tourism, and pollution of unique ecosystems.

Participants of the seminar will learn:

• Insights into stormwater management: discover the reasons behind flooding events on San Andrés Island, including the inefficiency of drainage structures and critical points for monitoring flooding levels.
• Understanding brine discharge effects: gain knowledge about the impacts of desalination brine discharge on near-field environmental variables such as salinity and temperature and insights into potential far-field effects.
• Application of data for environmental management: learn about the methodologies employed in fieldwork and data analysis for understanding stormwater management and coastal water quality and how these insights can inform environmental management strategies.

This research was conducted by the Center of Excellence in Marine Sciences (www.cemarin.org) and the Universidad Nacional de Colombia (Medellín and Caribe campus), with support from the local environmental agency CORALINA. Funding was provided by the SDG^nexus Network Call ''Data for Data-Scarce Regions: Pioneering Solutions in Generating Water and Meteorological Information" and the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD).

Presenters: Lizbeth Daniela Rosero Melo, M.Sc. Student, National University of Colombia, Researcher at the Center of Excellence in Marine Sciences, Colombia, and Juan Sebastián González Guirald, M.Sc. Student, National University of Colombia, Researcher at the Center of Excellence in Marine Sciences, Colombia.

Date: 17.04.2024 14:30-15:30 CET - virtual

About the SDGnexus Network Seminar Series

The SDGnexus Network Seminar Series cover topics related to research and teaching along the Sustainable Development Goals. Seminar Series are created for everybody interested in the SDG topic, the network offers a fantastic opportunity to union knowledge and experience from researchers across a variety of disciplines and regions.