NYU Wagner student wins "Best Poster" at American Planning Association conference in Phoenix

Congratulations are most definitely in order for NYU Wagner student Manohar R. Patole.  Manny is the winner of the “Best Poster” designation given at the 2016 American Planning Association's National Planning Conference. The annual APA event was held in early April in Phoenix, Arizona.

Patole, a 2016 candidate for a Master of Urban Planning degree, with a specialization in International Development, received the most votes for the presentation of his project in the poster contest, entitled Transboundary Aquifer Management: The Guarani.

The Guarani Aquifer System, one of the largest in the world, lies beneath Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uraguay. Manohar’s poster summarizes a detailed analysis he conducted of the Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development of the Guarani Aquifer System Project, as well as the resulting Guarani Aquifer Agreement.

In light of population growth, he notes, pollution of aquifers, and climate variability, countries and cities around the world will have to identify and utilize their aquifer systems to provide freshwater sources not only for people, but for economic and environmental uses. 

Through his analysis, Manohar demonstrates that the planning community should look toward the Guarani Aquifer System Project as a best practice on how cooperation across sectors can foster a space of trust and results in sustainable development and growth.

To prevent the problems of the past, sustainable management of all waters, surface and ground sources, is needed. For as he points out, and as we are seeing, water is a growing concern and now part of the international agenda on sustainability – Goal 6 of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.