International Workshop: U.S.-Latin American Caribbean Environmental Problems and Sustainable Solutions, Cartagena, Colombia, May 2004

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In this project funded by the Americas Program of the Office of International Science and Engineering and the Environmental Engineering Program in the Division of Bioengineering and Environmental Systems, Dr. Pedro J. Alvarez of Rice University will organize a workshop on the theme of "Emerging Solutions to Environmental Problems in the Caribbean" held the week of May 17, 2004 in Cartagena, Colombia. Foreign organizers of the workshop include Henry Mauri of Corporacion Universitaria de la Costa, Barranquilla, Colombia. The workshop aims to facillitate interaction of U.S. researchers with environmental engineers in Latin American countries and focuses on topics of considerable importance to solving environmental problems in the Caribbean. Among these topics are water quality issues and ecological engineering, eutrophication control and nutrient removal, alternative drinking water and wastewater treatment approaches, and hazardous waste management and site cleanup. This meeting will take place after CONCARIBE-2004, which is an international conference that joins technologies, methods and ideas to solve environmental problems in South American countries.The U.S. and neighboring Latin American countries in the Caribbean face a large and growing number of environmental problems that threaten public health and biodiversity. This workshop will help build bridges for collaborations with Latin American scientists and engineers working on sustainable solutions to environmental problems in the Caribbean. Although some approaches appropriate for the Caribbean may not be implementable in the U.S. due to constraints associated with a higher degree of development, many solutions will point the way to solving similar environmental problems in the U.S. itself. The interactions among participants of this workshop are also likely to result in improved technology transfer and in opportunities for research and international experience for U.S. students and young researchers who will also attend.