DOUBLE DEGREE MASTER’S PROGRAM AIT-UNESCO-IHE (AWM)

The population growth - particularly high in emerging and developing countries - means that these countries have an additional challenge to meet the Millennium Development Goal of food security by increasing production in their own territory, where possible combined with increased import of food. Researches estimate that in the coming decades about 80-90% of the required increase will need to be realised on existing cultivated land, and about 10-20% on newly reclaimed land. For sustainable rural development, socioeconomic and environmental aspects play crucial roles. It is also imperative that the modernisation of existing water management systems, including management transfers, remains a continued process. Increased vulnerability of agriculture is due to flooding caused partly by the impacts of climate change, land subsidence and the escalating value of land because of the requirement of higher yields per hectare. This necessitates the agricultural water management in such areas to be integrated with flood management and flood protection provisions. This Double Degree Master programme focuses on these issues.