University of Algarve (UAlg) links research to teaching in the study and intervention on the water heritage system in the Portuguese pilot side of the WatHer project.
On 19 February 2026, as part of the Cultural Landscape Design course in the first year of the Master’s Degree in Landscape Architecture, students (from Portugal, Brazil, Belgium, and Slovakia) were challenged to reflect on the role and importance of the Water Heritage System (WHS) in the historical process of construction and transformation of the Barrocal cultural landscape and to develop proposals to restore natural heritage and traditional agrosystems.
This initiative has two goals: (i) study of the ecology and culture of the Algarve inland´s karst landscape in its interrelation with the process of humanization of the territory; and (ii) development of projects for the recovery of the WHS to reaffirm its cultural identity, mitigate climate change, and play a leading role in the sustainable development of the Barrocal region.
The work developed (posters) by the students will be exhibited in June at the Water Museum in the village of Querença, an associate partner of UAlg in the WatHer project.
