LNAK10072U Global Environmental Governance

Volume 2018/2019
Education

MSc Programme in Nature Management
MSc Programme in Forest Ecosystems, Nature and Society SUFONAMA
MSc Programme in Agriculture
MSc Programme in Climate Change
MSc Programme in Forest and Nature Management

Content

Global environmental governance (GEG) is an interdisciplinary course. It provides insights into different types of environmental problems, the ways they are framed, and environmental governance mechanisms that address these problems. The course introduces and applies key concepts and issues seen from professional perspectives of political science, geography, law, and life sciences.

In the course we engage in and work with: 1) Varying global environmental issues, such as climate change, and deforestation; 2) concepts, theories and practices of relevance to global environmental governance and international environmental politics; 3) international actors, organizations and regimes, such as the Paris Agreement, UNEP, and the RIO Convention on Biodiversity.

During the course the students complete and discuss different small assignments within the main topics where they demonstrate the acquired knowledge and their developed skills or competences. The assignments are collected in a portfolio.

Learning Outcome

Objective of the course:
The main objective of the course is to provide interdisciplinary knowledge, skills, and competences for the students that can assist them in dealing with global environmental governance in an international and/or national work context.

Learning outcomes:

Knowledge

At the end of the course, the students can retrieve, recognize and recall knowledge aquired from the course (including lectures, readings, and assignments) on:

  • Global environmental problems and issues,
  • concepts and theories,
  • international organizations and regimes,
  • different types of actors and the roles they play in global environmental governance

 

Skills

Further, the students can:

  • Explain and compare theories and concepts from the course,
  • exemplify and compare environmental problems and the challenges they pose to global governance

 

Competences

Finally, the students can:

  • Apply and discuss concepts and theories from the course in analyses of global environmental problems and solutions, institutions and regimes,
  • Compare and reflect on the (relative) strengths and weaknesses of different concepts and theories in relation to carrying out such analyses
Literature

You can find a good introduction to the topic in:

Harris,P.G. (ed.) 2015. Routledge Handbook Of Global Environmental Politics, Routledge, London. 

O’Neil, Kate (2017): The Environment and International Relations, Cambridge University Press.

 

This course is for graduate students, i.e. students who hold a BSc degree in any field.
As a rule, the lectures will be based on dialogue between teachers and students. During the course there will be different assignments related to the topics introduced. The assignments, subject to feedback from lecturers or fellow students, are collected in a portfolio at the end of the course.
  • Category
  • Hours
  • Guidance
  • 4
  • Lectures
  • 40
  • Preparation
  • 62
  • Project work
  • 90
  • Theory exercises
  • 10
  • Total
  • 206
Credit
7,5 ECTS
Type of assessment
Portfolio
During the course, the students elaborate at least three assignments to be defined by the lecturers. At least two of these assignments are in writing (two pages each). The rest of the assignments may also be in writing or take other forms such as audio/video files, mindmaps, or a poster. At the end of the course, the students collect their revised assignments in portfolios and submit. The lecturers will grade each portfolio as one unit.
Exam registration requirements

All assignments have been submitted within the deadlines given at the course.   

Aid
All aids allowed
Marking scale
7-point grading scale
Censorship form
No external censorship
Internal examiners
Re-exam

Oral exam that lasts 20 -25 minutes. No time for preparation.

In order to qualify for the exam, the student should make a four page essay. The essay must be submitted no later than two weeks before the scheduled oral exam.

The exam will relate to the essay and to the curriculum. 

Criteria for exam assesment

See Learning Outcomes