{"id":13047,"date":"2024-03-15T12:20:45","date_gmt":"2024-03-15T12:20:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/?p=13047"},"modified":"2024-07-02T17:56:28","modified_gmt":"2024-07-02T17:56:28","slug":"looking-at-water-through-a-global-lens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/2024\/03\/15\/looking-at-water-through-a-global-lens\/","title":{"rendered":"Looking at water through a global lens"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether for sanitation, drinking, growing crops, or even putting out a fire, everybody in the world relies on access to water. Many don\u2019t have to think about it. But for some, water security is a constant concern that affects their everyday lives.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_13055\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13055\" style=\"width: 200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13055 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/02\/Edelen-Portrait.png\" alt=\"&lt;strong&gt;Kate Edelen&lt;\/strong&gt; in 2011, during her time as an Augsburg student (Archive photo)\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/02\/Edelen-Portrait.png 200w, https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/02\/Edelen-Portrait-768x1152.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-13055\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><strong>Kate Edelen<\/strong> in 2011, during her time as an Augsburg student (Archive photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><b>Kate Edelen \u201911<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is one of those people consumed by water security issues\u2014it\u2019s her job. Throughout her career, she\u2019s worked in the world of water, climate, and conflict in more than 15 countries. In her current role as global director of water security at Mercy Corps, a global non-governmental humanitarian aid organization, Edelen leads a team of water security experts who provide support for project implementation, technical design, management, capacity development, and policy and advocacy work in 50 countries worldwide.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThere are many users and demands on our water resources,\u201d she said. \u201cThere\u2019s human consumption; water you need for the environment to sustain the ecological flows of rivers and streams; and water needed for economic development, whether that\u2019s industry, agriculture, or livelihoods. I think of it as a triangle. It\u2019s about balancing across those three different areas most efficiently and effectively, now and into the future.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One example she cites is the group\u2019s work in the Somali Region of Ethiopia, which has experienced humanitarian crises driven by the impacts of climate change. An extended drought has led to the loss of crops and livestock. Water access is challenging because the aquifers are drying up, and the water boreholes (deep shafts drilled into the ground to extract water) aren\u2019t working, said Edelen.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThe big challenge is you\u2019ll have a drought, but then you&#8217;ll have flash floods,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd because you have drought, the water can\u2019t penetrate the groundwater\u2014it just slides right off and takes everything with it, resulting in flash flooding.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mercy Corps is designing a water security project for the area, including a water treatment plant and watershed management system.<\/span><\/p>\n<div style=\"border: #660033 solid 5px; padding: 15px;\"><center><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"facebook post\" style=\"border: none; overflow: hidden;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fmercycorps%2Fposts%2Fpfbid02uqJ1r7neHStQn3F1t2uzCjFNiCPjhKRqURNxXmBU1AxrHqNEtVSRHuMAfT1pTbBl&amp;show_text=true&amp;width=500\" width=\"500\" height=\"638\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/center>Edelen works with Mercy Corps, a global non-governmental humanitarian aid organization. (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/mercycorps\/posts\/634440172052786\">Facebook post<\/a>)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cBy doing some of these watershed activities,\u201d Edelen said, \u201cwe\u2019re stabilizing the riverbeds and understanding how the sedimentation flows, which then affects the water treatment plant because cleaning the water will take much more energy and resources. If you can reduce the sedimentation, you can also reduce the costs and burden on the water treatment plant downstream and allow their capacity to function at a higher level and provide more water to more people. It\u2019s coupling the provision of water with an ecosystem service.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>A global outlook<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Edelen attributes her curiosity about world issues to growing up in Madison, Wisconsin. Her mother was pursuing her PhD in Middle Eastern history at the University of Wisconsin then, and they lived in a student housing apartment complex.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cMost people living there were students from abroad, so I grew up in a global community,\u201d she said. \u201cWe had giant community potlucks. It was full of hope because education was a formative part of everybody&#8217;s belief structure and values. It was an education for a greater life. Even though we came from different cultures and places, there was a common bond and thread with education.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Edelen was drawn to Augsburg for her undergraduate education for several reasons, including its science program, focus on the community, and location in the heart of Minneapolis\u2019 Cedar-Riverside neighborhood. A soccer player and a triple major in biology, chemistry, and environmental studies, Edelen went on to become a Fulbright Research Fellow at the Peace Research Institute Oslo, Norway; a Herbert Scoville Jr. Peace Fellow at the Friends Committee on National Legislation in Washington, D.C.; and a graduate of the University of Oxford with a master\u2019s degree in water science, policy, and management as an International Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">She cites several experiences at Augsburg as helping her get to where she is now, including her research through the Office of Undergraduate Research and Graduate Opportunity (URGO) overseen by Director <\/span><b>Dixie Shafer<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Professor <\/span><b>Joseph Underhill<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, environmental studies program director, also worked closely with Edelen during her time at the university.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cShe\u2019s one of those students who comes ready to learn,\u201d Underhill said. \u201cIt was this great combo of working in the sciences but then being interested in the political side of it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He remembers having her in a class that studied the Mississippi River (a precursor to his <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/river\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">River Semester<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, in which students spend 100 days traveling down the Mississippi River by boat), and an environmental politics class that featured a section on global water issues.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><figure id=\"attachment_13057\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13057\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13057 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/02\/Underhill-River-Sem.png\" alt=\"Professor &lt;strong&gt;Joe Underhill&lt;\/strong&gt; [back] and students paddled hand-crafted catamarans during the 2021 River Semester. (Photo by Courtney Perry)\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/02\/Underhill-River-Sem.png 600w, https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/02\/Underhill-River-Sem-768x512.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-13057\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Professor <strong>Joe Underhill<\/strong> (back) and students paddled hand-crafted catamarans during the 2021 River Semester. (Photo by Courtney Perry)<\/figcaption><\/figure><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWe talked about issues around water privatization, water conflict,<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and water scarcity problems in many parts of the world,\u201d he said about the environmental politics class. \u201cIt clearly resonated with her. It was one of those things that clicked.\u201d <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At Augsburg, Edelen said she learned that failure is necessary to reach success.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cYou have to keep trying different things and talking to different people,\u201d she said. \u201cYou should never allow somebody to dictate what you can and cannot do. When you see someone\u2019s success or abilities, it\u2019s just the tip of the iceberg. Everything below is all the people who pushed, helped, and supported them. I think about how a lot of luck is involved in success, but there\u2019s a lot of community, too. At Augsburg, one of the biggest things I\u2019m grateful for is my great support from people who believed in me and told me to keep going.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>The importance of water<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When Underhill talks about water security, he starts at the beginning. He said that water has a long history of being the \u201ccradle of civilizations,\u201d with many cities built around rivers. It\u2019s led to numerous conflicts, including battles over who controls the water, as well as several peace agreements.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWater is one of the main areas in which countries or factions have realized that they have a mutual interest in safeguarding, and it\u2019s a basic human need,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s often something that neighboring countries have realized that if they go to war over it, both sides will lose. Some of the very first peace treaties ever signed in the modern era were around the joint management of water.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With climate change and water sources drying up, people are forced to migrate\u2014to become climate refugees\u2014leading to shifting populations. This can lead to conflict, he said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIt\u2019s not directly over water, but it\u2019s related to changes in water access that have brought communities into conflict,\u201d Underhill said. \u201cIt\u2019s something the U.S. military and other militaries around the world are beginning to pay attention to\u2014water and climate change as a contributing factor to conflict.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Edelen said the world is becoming less secure with more protracted crises, which can lead to water insecurity.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cClimate change is really exacerbating this experience and pushing migration,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s shifting some of the previous informal relationships that communities have around natural resource management. You\u2019re seeing some of these conflicts come into play with migration and the different challenges it brings. When you have fragile institutions that aren\u2019t responsive to the populace, and then add the layer of climate change, it becomes harder to manage resources even for functioning institutions. That\u2019s an exacerbating cycle.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mercy Corps is looking at building resilience in those communities so people can adapt, cope, and thrive. But it\u2019s not just fragile institutions that are dealing with these challenges, she said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThe U.S. is dealing with this. India\u2019s dealing with this,\u201d Edelen said. \u201cPeople sometimes think water is such a specific sector. It\u2019s not. It\u2019s in everything\u2014our economy, food, and energy systems. It\u2019s going to be the largest constraint on the world\u2019s economy.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Keeping the faith<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When she\u2019s not traveling the world for work, Edelen\u2019s home base is Arlington, Virginia, with her husband, son, and two dogs. She admits that sometimes climate change and inequity across the globe keep her up at night. But she doesn\u2019t let herself get bogged down in the negative; instead, she focuses on creating solutions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Edelen urges people to educate themselves about their country\u2019s contributions to international development\u2014which currently stands at about 1% of the U.S. federal budget, she said. She\u2019d like Americans to talk to their senators and congressional representatives about more funding for international development and financing for those most impacted by climate change. Less than 1% of total climate adaptation financing has reached the most fragile and conflict-affected countries, she said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From an early age, Edelen was taught to use any opportunities or gifts she received to make the world a better place. She\u2019s determined to do just that with her work at Mercy Corps. Underhill said Edelen\u2019s spark combines passion, caring, and pragmatism.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIt\u2019s a sense that there are solutions that you can pursue,\u201d he said. \u201cThat it\u2019s not necessarily a matter of just throwing up your hands and bemoaning an awful situation, but that there is something that can be done about this. And then there\u2019s a certain kind of determination on [Edelen&#8217;s] part along with being capable and bright\u2014that\u2019s powerful. That\u2019s a big part of what accounts for her being where she is today.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><em>Top image: Water crisis in Africa (Photo by <a href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/@ackley5?utm_content=creditCopyText&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_source=unsplash\">Jeff Ackley<\/a> on <a href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/photos\/group-of-people-walking-at-the-road-carrying-containers-YwDo_HwORXs?utm_content=creditCopyText&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_source=unsplash\">Unsplash<\/a>)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Whether for sanitation, drinking, growing crops, or even putting out a fire, everybody in the world relies on access to water. Many don\u2019t have to think about it. But for some, water security is a constant concern that affects their everyday lives.\u00a0 Kate Edelen \u201911 is one of those people consumed by water security issues\u2014it\u2019s <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":610,"featured_media":13056,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[237],"class_list":["post-13047","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured-stories","tag-spring-2024"],"wps_subtitle":"Augsburg alumna leads a team of water security experts in solving access issues around the world.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13047","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/610"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13047"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13047\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13195,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13047\/revisions\/13195"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13056"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13047"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13047"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13047"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}