310088 Global Environmental Governance

Details
Forest & Landscape
Sub Courses310088 Global Environmental Governance
Earliest Possible YearMSc. 1 year to MSc. 2 year
DurationOne block
 
Credits10 (ECTS)
Course LevelMSc
 
ExaminationFinal Examination

oral examination


All aids allowed

Description of Examination: 30 minutes oral examination including assessment. The exams take departure in a brief presentation by the individual student of the obligatory written assignment, and relate to the curriculum.

7-point scale, internal examiner
 
Requirement For Attending ExamA written assignment has been submitted and passed previous to exams
 
Organisation of TeachingCombined lectures, theoretical exercises, project work, supervision.
 
Block PlacementBlock 3
Week Structure: C
 
Teaching LanguageEnglish
 
Mandatory PrerequisitesBachelor passed
 
RestrictionsNone
 
Course Contents
GEG is an interdisciplinary, project oriented course organised in close cooperation between the involved departments around an environmental theme, which may change from year to year. The course concludes with an oral examination.

The course consists of four main components: (1) An introduction to the general field of "global environmental governance" (2) Examination of a common environmental theme (3) A project assignment (4) Self-study

Re 1. General introduction
The course will introduce key concepts and issues of relevance for global environmental governance as seen from various professional perspectives (political science, geography, law and life science). Moreover, the course will introduce the most important of those governmental and non-governmental international institutions that regulate the interaction between society and environment. The students will obtain a basic understanding of how these international institutions interact with institutions at regional and national levels. It is intended to provide insights in the global and international character of environmental problems, and in those mechanisms of governance and regulation that have special significance for the solution of environmental problems.

The aim of the introduction is to create a common conceptual framework for the subsequent work.

Re. 2. Examination of a common environmental theme
The second component is an examination of a common environmental theme in the light of global environmental governance, again drawing on the various professional approaches, research traditions, analytical frameworks, etc.

Examples of possible environmental themes are: biodiversity, water, forest, climate change.

Focus is on the global and international levels of governance, but also with a view to how these levels interact with the regional and local levels.

Re 3. Project reports
The students will prepare a written assignment. They will be encouraged to work in interdisciplinary teams.

Re 4. Self-study
In total, the curriculum will add up to approximately 1200 pages. The individual students will have to compose part of their own curriculum (approximately 600 pages). They must submit their proposed curriculum to the course coordinator for approval no later than three weeks before oral exams, and familiarise themselves with this part of the literature by self-study.
 
Teaching And Learning Methods
As a rule, the lectures will be based on dialogue between teachers and students. The course includes theoretical exercises, guidance for writing the project assignments, and self-study.
 
Learning Outcome
Background:
The proposed course is part of the cross-faculty Global Environmental Governance education programme, described at www.geg.life.ku.dk. Five departments are involved in the course and programme including: Forest & Landscape Denmark (LIFE), Institute of Food and Resource Economics (LIFE), Department of Political Science (Faculty of Social Science), Faculty of Law, Department of Geography and Geology (Faculty of Science).

Objective:
The objective of the course is to equip the students with interdisciplinary skills, which will assist them in dealing with global environmental governance in an international and/or national context. They will be enabled, moreover, to obtain knowledge about scientific issues of relevance to global environmental problems, and gain understanding of some of the international processes, which bring this knowledge into play.

Knowledge
-Has extensive knowledge about relevant international organisations, how they work, and how they interact in relation to the task of governing the society-nature relationship.
-Has extensive understanding of political and institutional issues in the relationship between global, national and local levels of environmental governance
-Has extensive understanding of natural science aspects of the global environmental problems and their eventual solutions, main focus is on the green environment.
Skills
-Understand and link knowledge and insights from own professional background with corresponding knowledge and insights from other professions including political science, law, life science, and natural sciences
-Is able to critically evaluate information related to social and physical aspects of global environmental problems and their eventual solutions.
-Is able to work in multidisciplinary manner teams when addressing global environmental problems

Competences
-Can take technical, natural science and social science aspects into consideration when working with global environmental issues and problems, consequences and solutions.
-Can bring natural science based knowledge about environmental problems into play in an international political, legal and administrative context.

 
Course Litterature
O'Neil, Kate (2009): The Environment and International Relations, Cambridge University Press

Najam, Adil; M. Papa, N. Taiyab (2006): Global Environmental governance, a reform agenda. IISD. Chapter 1. A primer on the GEG Reform Debate. http://www.iisd.org/pdf/2006/geg.pdf
 
Course Coordinator
Iben Nathan, in@life.ku.dk, Forest & Landscape Denmark/Unit of Forestry, Phone: 353-31736
 
Study Board
Study Committee NSN
 
Course Scope
lectures48
theoretical exercises12
examination2
preparation125
project work85
supervision2

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