Bio
Winston Yu is Adjunct Professor of Energy, Resources and Environment at SAIS Europe
Winston Yu is a Senior Water Resources Specialist at the World Bank. He has extensive experience working on technical and institutional problems in the water sector and has carried out a number of investment projects in a variety of developing countries (e.g. India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, China). His research interests include the development of river basin management tools, flood forecasting and management, groundwater depletion, international rivers and transboundary issues, and adaptation to climate change. Prior to joining the Bank he was a senior researcher at the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) and also served as a American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Fellow at the US Department of State. He is currently associated with the multi-discipline Johns Hopkins Global Water Program and is serving as a technical member of the Water and Society Committee of the American Geophysical Union.
He holds a PhD and MS in environmental science and engineering from Harvard University. He received his BS from the University of Pennsylvania.
Courses
- International Water: Issues and Policies
Is it true as recent headlines suggest that our fragile planet is on the loom of a grave water crisis, that our rivers are running dry and groundwater aquifers increasingly over-tapped and over-exploited, that wars will be fought between nations over this precious resource (more valuable than oil), and that this is likely to affect the development opportunities for a large share of the world population? Or is this looming crisis over-hyped, a matter of political will and proper pricing, and within the capacity of society to manage? Water is a classic renewable resource, essential to life on this planet. Water sustains the livelihoods of society and makes productive economic activity possible. For such an important resource, it is no wonder that issues surrounding its use (and abuse) can generate cause for so much passionate controversy and concern. This course is a broad survey of the international water issues facing the 21st century. Topics to be covered include, privatization of water service delivery, conflict and cooperation on trans-boundary rivers, the role of large multi-purpose reservoirs (for hydropower, water supply, irrigation), water as a human right, achieving the Millennium Development Goals on water supply and sanitation, the role of water in food security, and climate change. Any discourse today on sustainable development is not complete without a discussion of the important role of water to society.
