Robert Hearne, professor of agribusiness and applied economics, has been awarded a six-month Fulbright Scholar grant to conduct research and teach in Costa Rica.
Hearne’s project, titled “Analysis of Surface Water Quality Management in Costa Rica,” is scheduled for January through June 2023.
Hearne is set to work with colleagues at Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (CATIE), an international institute for agricultural development and biological conservation in Central America and the Caribbean.
“Two particular concerns are the quality of drinking water supplied to households and the quality of the water in Costa Rica’s rivers,” Hearne said in his Fulbright proposal, noting previous research identified five sources of surface water contamination: poor sewage systems, unconstrained urban development, spills; untreated industrial discharges and agrichemicals.
Hearne’s research also will examine the wastewater produced by processing coffee, an important export crop for Costa Rica, and how that wastewater impacts upstream waters.
“This proposed research will review point-source pollution into Costa Rica’s surface waters. Point sources are relatively easy to identify and regulate,” Hearne said. “Many of these point sources are residential and industrial wastewater disposal systems. Most of these, including residential wastewater and wastewater from agricultural product processing, are limited to organic waste, which is relatively easy to treat. There are a number of well-established technologies for point-source wastewater treatment, and Costa Rica has a variety of wastewater treatment plant technologies for residential sewage systems.”
Hearne said he expects to obtain data and empirical results suitable for a peer-reviewed publication. In addition, he will teach in CATIE’s Master of Science program in economy, development and climate change, so that he can interact with graduate students. He also hopes to develop relationships with CATIE researchers that could lead to long-term collaborations.
Hearne joined the NDSU faculty in 2002. He earned his bachelor’s degree at Georgetown University, master’s degree in agricultural economics from the University of Kentucky and doctorate in agricultural and applied economics at the University of Minnesota.
In 2009-2010, he was a Fulbright Scholar at Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand. In addition, he previously taught graduate level microeconomics and environmental economics at CATIE from 1998 to 2001.
The Fulbright program is overseen by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The program is the world’s largest and most diverse international educational exchange program. Since its inception in 1946, more than 400,000 Fulbrighters have participated in the program.
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