What is Aquatic Resources?

Aquatic Resources refers to water and its multiple roles as a natural resource and in supporting all human, animal and plant life. It has a meaning that is broader than that of water resources alone, in that it encompasses all the possible roles for water, including human survival needs, supporting aquatic ecosystems and as an essential component of economic development. It considers both the quantity of available water and its quality for its intended uses. Aquatic Resources also encompass the linkages between freshwater systems and the downstream coastal areas into which it drains, where it sustains biologically-rich and commercially-important coastal ecosystems. It represents a critical driving force for many of the natural cycles that occur on our planet, and links both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

The goal of the Texas State University Aquatic Resources Ph.D. Program is to train professionals capable of addressing the sustainable use of aquatic resources for all human purposes, and for maintaining life-supporting aquatic ecosystems and the myriad of biological communities they contain. This requires the identification, analysis and integration of a range of relevant issues, including not only the scientific, technical and engineering aspects of water, which ultimately define the quantity and quality of available aquatic resources, but also the socioeconomic aspects (economics, law, institutions, demography, politics, etc.), which ultimately define how humans use these resources. In pursuit of this goal, the differing resources and capabilities of developed and developing nations in regard to developing and sustaining these resources also must be recognized and included in the water equation. An additional dimension of complexity is encountered when international aquatic systems are considered.