Efficient management of groundwater resources is essential for environmental sustainability. This study introduces the development and application of a digital twin (DT) for confined aquifers to optimise water extraction and ensure long-term sustainability. A resilience-based control model was implemented to manage the Morroa Aquifer (Colombia). This model integrated historical, hydrogeological, and climatic data acquired from in-situ sensors and satellite remote sensing. Several heuristic methods were employed to optimise the parameters of the objective function, which focused on managing water extraction in aquifer wells: grid search, genetic algorithms (GA), and particle swarm optimisation (PSO). The results indicated that the PSO algorithm yielded the lowest root mean square error (RMSE), achieving an optimal extraction rate of 8.3 l/s to maintain a target dynamic water level of 58.5 m. Furthermore, the model demonstrated the unsustainability of current extraction rates, even under high-rainfall conditions, highlighting the necessity for revising existing water extraction strategies to safeguard aquifer sustainability. To showcase its practical functionality, a DT prototype was deployed in a well within the Morroa piezometric network (Sucre, Colombia). This prototype utilised an ESP32 microcontroller and various sensors (DS18B20, SKU-SEN0161, SKU-DFR0300, SEN0237-A) to monitor water level, pH, dissolved oxygen, and temperature. The implementation of this DT proved to be a crucial tool for the efficient management of water resources. The proposed methodology provided key information to support decision-making by environmental management entities, thereby optimising monitoring and control processes.

Insular communities in Colombia have had significant lags in human development. As a strategy to help overcome these shortcomings, this paper proposes the use of technological tools such as Snap Circuits and Arduino boards. The results obtained in the first phase of the research show that this type of technology succeeds in attracting secondary school students and contributes to the generation of capacities. It should also be noted that, in order to positively impact the human development indices of these populations, a long-term effort is required that also addresses different dimensions and strategies..