Natural Resources and Sustainable Development
Courses and Professors
2009 - 2010

COURSE DESCRIPTION

It is designed to engage students in an examination of the major contemporary challenges to peace, sources of conflict and violence, and several key nonviolent mechanisms for conflict transformation and prevention. The course provides a common foundation for UPEACE students from all of the different M.A. programs (as its name suggests). During the course, an understanding of the complex and interconnected challenges to peace will be developed, as will an understanding of the need for multi-faceted approaches to meeting these challenges. Students will also engage critically with theories of conflict, and will develop their understanding of the theoretical resources available in the area of conflict studies. During the course of their studies at UPEACE students will engage in increasingly specialized inquiry into various dimensions and issues in their specific MA areas. The foundation course provides an opportunity to explore connections, sympathies, and synergies between the challenges and approaches identified in all of these areas from a “wide-angle” perspective that will encourage students to continue making such interdisciplinary connections and analyses throughout their tenure at UPEACE and after.

There will be several sessions over the semester, which will be announced in due time.

The central goal of this seminar is to provide an introduction of a variety of research approaches, methodological strategies, methods and techniques in the social sciences, with a particular focus on issues and examples from the field of natural resources and sustainable development. This course provides students with a foundational knowledge of qualitative, quantitative, action research methods, when they are used, how they are used, and the benefits and drawbacks of each method. The aim of the course is to enable students to develop their own research designs as well as be able to critique the research of others.

This graduate seminar will provide an overview of the diverse perspectives in the field of environmental security and peace, and introduce students to the variety of natural and human-induced environmental changes currently affecting humanity. This course will also prepare students for more intensive explorations of aspects of environmental security in other courses in this programme.

The course begins with a thorough review of both the historical dimensions of global environmental change and forecasts for environmental change in the coming decades. We will particularly focus on the way in which humans have altered the world around them and are being affected by their interactions with the natural world. The course will then explore the debates concerning changing conceptions of peace and security, and the debates over integrating environmental considerations into security thinking. Students will also be introduced to alternative interpretations of the concept ‘environmental security’ and the ways in which scholars and policymakers have operationalized environmental security. Students will begin to appreciate and analyse relationships between environmental stress and human and ecological security. Closely related to this, students will explore how the interaction of environmental stress and poverty linkages leaves some groups particularly vulnerable to the effects of natural disasters and disease outbreaks. The concepts of complexity, ingenuity and uncertainty will be introduced, laying the groundwork for the search for solutions to the problems of environmental stress, conflict, and insecurity. As well, the course explores issues around environmental conflict prevention and peacemaking, and the societal changes that may be necessary to both adapt to a world that humans have radically altered, and forestall environmental conflicts.

The focus on linkages between environmental insecurity and conflict will include: typologies of environmental conflict, including differing approaches to considering conflict over renewable vs. non-renewable resources; conditions under which environmental stress may contribute to the emergence or intensification of conflict; factors that influence the intensity and extent of environmentally related conflicts; and livelihood insecurity as a link between poverty, environmental degradation and conflict. Relationships between exploitation of natural resource abundance and conflict, including greed versus grievance debates, will also be introduced. Finally, the potential for environmental insecurity to catalyse peace-building and environmental cooperation will be highlighted.

Throughout the course we will emphasize the practical relevance of the core concepts of environmental security through various case studies of existing and emerging critical environmental security issues, from various geographical regions, and at different scales - from global, (sub-) regional, national, to local. In this way, by the end of this introductory course, students will have been exposed to the scope and diversity of environmental security concerns to be considered in the programme. Thematic issues will include: freshwater scarcity, quality, and variability; climate change; ozone depletion; energy security; land degradation, desertification and deforestation; biodiversity loss; food security; and vulnerability to natural disasters. Cross-cutting concerns include: implications of population growth; health and disease; poverty reduction and livelihood implications; conflict and cooperation; the capabilities, consequences and risks of science and technology; and ethical, legal and institutional factors.
 

This course explores the history of efforts to address poverty and environmental degradation on a global scale. Although in the past these issues were often treated separately—indeed, in many cases they were seen as diametrically opposed—today it is increasingly argued that the two dynamics are intricately intertwined in myriad ways and thus must be addressed simultaneously. We’ll begin by examining the history of international development and conservation interventions, respectively, analyzing the ideology or “discourse” informing their practice, and discussing their contemporary convergence under the rubric of "sustainable development". Then we’ll explore various practical and conceptual issues involved in pursuing economic and ecological sustainability.  We'll finish by reviewing contemporary directions and controversies in the field and brainstorming new possibilities for the future.

Reflecting both the newfound recognition within policy circles of the importance of the complex human dynamics involved in addressing poverty and environmental degradation and the relative neglect of such considerations in the past, this class will emphasize the social scientific study of conservation/development practice, exploring the political, economic, social, cultural, and logistical issues involved in implementing successful measures. Rather than focusing on specific themes or topics within conservation/development (i.e., forestry, ecotourism, bioregional conservation, etc.), we'll emphasize the core conceptual issues that cross-cut and underlie all specific foci. We'll try to push our understanding of these issues as deep as possible, probing their philosophical roots and cultural consequences.  In this effort, we'll also reflect critically of our own beliefs, values, and assumptions in order to develop sensitivity to the types of cultural differences likely to influence interventions’ success in diverse parts of the world.

This follow up workshop will focus on the personal skills of peace building. 

There are two main interrelated goals for this workshop:
i. To further develop the capacities of students for working within a diverse and multicultural population
ii. To provide students with an opportunity to continue learning and reflecting with their seminar groups during the first term, and thereby supporting each other as a learning community

The workshop will be structured to be highly interactive and include team-building activities, dialogue, and other participatory methodologies. The same seminar groups that were formed in the Foundation Course will be facilitated by the same facilitators and will take place in the same rooms as previously allocated. This workshop will be held on October 7th 2009, for Groups #1 to #5 will be from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and for Groups #6 to #10 will be  from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (Please notice that this date may be changed in some of the Foundation seminar groups, your facilitator will inform you).

This 2 credit course is essentially oriented towards the practice and application of environmental conflict management processes that involve local actors amidst a wide array of other stakeholders. Environmental conflict analysis (context, history, and stakeholder analysis) is discussed extensively and practiced with real cases using Social Analysis Systems (SAS) tools. The development of conflict management strategies, power levelling interventions and process design are another important part of the course. Students also have the opportunity to practice basic negotiation, mediation and facilitation skills in the context of environmental conflicts. In addition to lectures and case study presentations, the course includes several simulation games and a field trip, where a conflictive situation can be observed and analyzed in real time.

The course is oriented to enable students to understand the organizations and institutions and their agendas in Costa Rica, related to the Environment and Natural Resources. Special emphasis is given on the role, strategies, policies and actions of these institutions.

The Seminar consists of visiting the institutions, and discussing their objectives and roles in the sphere of the environmental management and sustainable development and corresponding policies. The students will also have the opportunity to discuss internship possibilities with some of the organizations.

Forests play an important role in many aspects of life. Mitigation of global climate change, conservation of soil and water resources, enhancement of agricultural systems, conservation of biological diversity, improvement of urban and rural living conditions, protection of natural and cultural heritage, provision of timber and other non timber forest products, and the generation of employment are some of the important uses of forests.

This course looks at the links between forests, forestry, and poverty with a special focus on tropical forests. Specifically, it looks at the links between poverty and deforestation, some of the possible strategies to reduce poverty through forest-based activities, and analyzes and discusses economic and policy instruments for the conservation of forests while assuring economic and social sustainability. It also analyzes the importance of forests for humans in rural populations of countries and regions in the “developing world”, different values of forests, the threats they are facing, and the challenges faced by those who try to manage them sustainably.

Some of the strategies and tools to possibly reduce poverty through forests and forestry are: Payment for Environmental Services, Community Based Forestry, certification, and secure property rights. The course also presents the conflicting viewpoints and ideas related to Sustainable Management and Preservation of forests, and will explore the direct and underlying causes of deforestation and the often-unintended effects of other non forest policies and incentives (development, tourism, agriculture, etc) on forests and the forestry sector.

This course will provide a brief introduction to the particularities of coastal and oceanic resources and ecologies. Second, we will investigate the unique attributes of the human economic, social, and cultural systems (i.e. fishing, fisherman and fishing cultures) that are most directly dependent upon them. Among the many topics within this section, the course will specifically focus on understanding artisanal fisheries, large-scale/industrial fishing, and aquaculture, as well as the differences and conflicts that exist between these methods of resource extraction. Third, a broad overview of the development of the current resource crises and conflicts will be presented and examined via case studies from throughout the globe. Fourth, the evolution of and trends in coastal and marine management over the last century will also be a central aspect of this course.

Thus, we will explore the evolution from traditional top-down models to the implementation of stakeholder inclusion participation, and comanagment. We will also thoroughly review the role of marine parks, protected areas, and no-take reserves in the management and conservation of coastal resources. Finally, through practical exercises, guest lectures, and field visits, students will be able to explore the complex nexus of relations between humans and coastal/marine resources as it applies to Latin America and the case of Costa Rica.

In sum, students in this course will gain insight into and knowledge of how we have moved from the naïve perspectives of Mare Liberum and the inexhaustibility of oceanic resources, which were predominant in the 19^th century, to the increasingly complex layers of marine tenure systems, marine protected areas, and precautionary approaches that characterize contemporary 21st century marine and coastal resource management regimes.

This course explores recent struggles over natural resources as culturally specific contests over human rights and environmental justice in the context of globalization. The class will investigate environmental conflicts from a variety of geographic regions and sectors, such as those between indigenous people and extractive industries, farmers and landless peasants in their struggle for access to land and productive resources, and “anti-globalization” protesters that unite environmentalists, farmers, and labor unions that may traditionally have had conflicting agendas. Each of the case studies will examine how human rights and environmental justice are defined in culturally specific ways by communities, activists, social movements, governments, and private sector actors. Students will study how negotiations that occur among stakeholders often go much beyond simple calculations of compensation to definitions of justice and fundamental understandings of personhood, property, community, or democracy. Readings will draw upon the fields of anthropology, sociology, geography and political ecology, as well as accounts from the media and popular press. Students will learn to critically analyze environmental conflicts and social movement strategies through a broader cultural lens, and to consider the complexity of perspectives, politics, and power dynamics that influence outcomes.

This course explores conflict, insecurity and collaboration in relation to scarcity, poor quality, and variability of freshwater resources. Students will examine disputes and conflict over access to fresh water resources and rivers, including dam construction.

A special focus will be on how conflict over transboundary freshwater resources has fostered peace building through cooperative co-management. Throughout the course, mechanisms and instruments will be introduced to assist the resolution and prevention of water-related conflict and insecurity including: international law; institutional arrangements; governance and policy reform; and involvement of civil society organizations.

This course is designed for practicing and future nonprofit leaders keen on engaging in nonprofit leadership issues, especially in light of the rapidly changing pace of their working environment.

 This course is designed to be hands-on and practical in nature. It will briefly explore the challenges of nonprofit management and fundraising in the 21^st century in the 1st two sessions, and then focus on the "soft" skills relevant to the nonprofit leader on topics that include creating high-performance teams, reflecting on leadership styles, understanding interpersonal differences, and managing workflow.

During a three-week period, in January, students have the opportunity of choosing courses to complete three credits as elective. –This period coincides with the UPEACE Institute where non-UPEACE students are accepted for being enrolled in the regular UPEACE students.

All of the courses are taught by international academicians and professionals with extensive expertise in each of these areas.

The course addresses the basic ecological factors that need to be taken into account for the production of goods and services and to ensure that the land use systems are in harmony with ecological foundations based on climate, soils, and other features that are difficult, costly, and often impossible to change. The key objective is to understand what it takes to move towards sustainable land use patterns that are environmentally desirable, biologically sound, socially and culturally acceptable, and economically viable and equitable.

The concepts of climate (and climate change), soil management, life zones, ecological interactions, sustainable development and conservation, will be paramount to understanding successful land use practices, and their limitations, in relation to agricultural production, agroforestry systems, urban use, and the conservation of natural ecosystems, biodiversity, water, and other resources. An overview of recent scientific literature will be presented.

This course provides an introduction to various research methods used by social scientists when conducting studies of conservation and/or development practices. The skills we will address underlie not merely formal research but many aspects of planning and policy work as well – including writing proposals, collecting information and “fact finding,” planning interventions, engaging in community development, pursuing cross-cultural communication, and preparing reports – and thus are imperative for anyone involved in the human dimension of natural resource management, particularly those working internationally.

Our emphasis will be on qualitative methods, although we’ll explore quantitative methods to a degree as well with respect to administering and analyzing structured surveys. We’ll discuss the strengths and weaknesses of different methods and how to determine which methods are most appropriate for a given context. We’ll also explore issues involved in the interpretation and representation of findings in written form and the various practical and ethical problems inherent in conducting research with human subjects.

Since all of our research methods, ultimately, are framed in relation to the scientific method, we’ll undertake some study in the epistemology and philosophy of science as well, exploring such questions as “What is science?”, “How does it work?”, “Why is it considered such a powerful method”, and “Does it really deserve the reputation it has?” This inquiry is intended not to undermine or denigrate scientific method but to develop a deeper understanding of why we employ this method and what exactly we are doing when we do so.
 

This course focuses on the capacity of local communities and society to develop solutions to environmental problems through participatory processes of decision making. The course provides an overview of developments in thinking regarding effective local governance for environmental security particularly since the Rio Earth Summit. This will include exploring: the implications of commitments to interdisciplinary, integrated and participatory approaches; the differing roles and responsibilities of governments, private sector and civil society in contributing to effective governance. Specific aspects to be analyzed are: alternative future visioning for local community planning and management; the role of new actors in governance; the global governance fora, alternative forums and the Earth Charter creation process. The course will offer the opportunity to be familiar with a number of local governance cases.

This intensive, face-to-face, course familiarizes the students with mental models and system thinking methodologies. The main issues are: mental models; system thinking and analysis; archetypes and system diagramming; and modeling tools. The classes will be a mix of quick sequences of games and exercises followed by debriefing sessions and theoretical discussions.

The term “sustainable development” was coined nearly thirty years ago, and imagined as a way of redirecting development by incorporating social justice, equity, and environmental concerns into conceptions of development that had focused primarily on economic growth. This led to a proliferation in indicators of sustainability, but many would argue that little overall change has taken place. Furthermore, there is much debate about how one can “measure” anything as complex as sustainability, and the politics of who is doing the evaluating.

This class will explore the merits and shortcomings of the idea of sustainability, explore the politics and simplification inherent in measuring, give an overview of mainstream and alternative sets of indicators and other assessment tools. Students will have a chance to propose how the sustainability of the UPeace campus could be assessed.

This course will examine human and ecological security problems stemming from trends towards increasing urbanization, including contaminated drinking water supplies, poor air quality, inadequate housing, transportation and sanitation, and overload of waste management facilities due to accelerated consumption, among others. To overcome such ecological security problems, the course presents a broader perspective, which places urban environmental insecurity problems in the larger context of domestic and international economy. It will address the evolution of urban infrastructure, the city as seat of power, as entity reshaping the landscape, as a contrast to the country, and as economic magnet. It primarily addresses how these characteristics generate specific perceptions about use of resources both in the neighborhood of the city and the wider domain of its influence (or control) and how these most often resulted in environmental insecurity in the country, which ultimately ends up aggravated in the city.

The course will then address how the stark environmental insecurity necessitates creative thinking, the need for going beyond classic environmentalism in its understanding of sustainable cities. This will be particularly linked to processes of “de-nationalization”—the changing status of nation-states—as part of the globalizing world economy, which is very likely to affect the historical status of their national capitals and the relationship of these capitals to the domestic landscape. How this changing status in association with emerging identities, involving rural immigrants/displaced persons as well as from within the urban domain (urban poor), would help advance sustainability agenda in urban environment management? Associated with this, the course will also explore innovative municipal strategies to strengthen environmental security, including programmer aimed at greening transport, building employment skills and opportunities through environmental initiatives, achieving zero waste, minimizing environmental hazards and preserving biodiversity.

Concrete examples of cities will be used to emphasize the interdependence of urban systems and the value of inter-disciplinary and participatory approaches to urban planning and management.

The course “A Gender Analysis of the Environment and Sustainable Development” is designed to provide technical, methodological and practical inputs in order to understand the importance of gender issues for the environmental sector. Throughout the two weeks the students will be exposed to the major trends that have been used for the incorporation of gender in the environmental sector.  Also, practical skills will be gain in order to mainstream gender in the project cycle (elaboration of proposals, planning, monitoring and evaluation, indicators), specific ecosystem analysis and new topics from a gender perspective (coastal zones, forest, energy, climate change, protected areas and water) and elaboration of gender policies for the environmental sector.

The modern industrialized agriculture system that has been spreading worldwide with the Green Revolution since World War II has been blamed for causing social and environmental destruction rather than moving towards sustainability. This course will explore historical and contemporary approaches to agricultural sustainability across cultures. We will cover social, cultural, environmental and political aspects of various farming approaches and rural development strategies, and analyze how best to move towards sustainable systems. Students will analyze current controversies such as genetic modification, the food versus fuel debate surrounding biofuels, and the world food crisis. The course will analyze the opportunities and problems in designing alternative agricultural and food systems, such as organic, local, and slow food movements both locally in Costa Rica, and globally.  The centerpiece of the class will be an in-depth case study of the Costa Rican organic movement, including farm visits and volunteer opportunities and meetings with movement leaders, academics, and officials.

The course is of an instrumental type and is oriented to enable students to prepare a strategic plan, prepare, implement, monitor, evaluate and systematize the lessons learned in national and international delopment oriented projects. The tools of strategic planning have arisen in the world of business, are however applicable to other fields. In this course the emphasis will be put on strategic planning for community development and, adapting the concept and methodologies to community sustainable development. The project cycle is a widespread tool that is used at any scale, from big private and public industrial and infrastructure initiatives to community natural resources and sustainable development initiatives. Many development institutions have refined appropriate tools and methodologies that are today considered standard.

The strategic component of the course includes: the concept and process for strategic planning, as well as scenario generation and trend analysis. The project planning and evaluation component includes: project culture, project cycle, fundraising strategies, project design, management and implementation, project monitoring and evaluation, phasing out and transference of projects, as well as systematisation and lessons learned

Throughout the course, the students are confronted with a set of documentations from existing projects through all the phases of their project cycle. The projects are selected from the portfolios of regional development banks and the bilateral cooperation agencies.

This class is an opportunity to explore in-depth how different land-uses and conservation approaches intermingle in one particular region: the South of Costa Rica. The purpose of the field trip is to obtain critical direct experience and knowledge of important natural resources management issues in a developing country, given the real political, economic and resources context of the same.

This course enables students to assess the contextual factors that affect natural resource management. Over the course of the trip, we will visit and be exposed to projects and issues with various resources, different actors involved in the management and different institutional settings. As such it will be a chance for you to integrate ideas form many of the classes you have taken over the course of your program, as well as a chance to learn from some of your peers about the topics to which you were not exposed during your program.

Professor at the Universidad de Costa Rica and for the last ten years has studied the effects of forest fragmentation on the reproductive biology, regeneration capabilities and population genetics of tropical trees in Costa Rica. Eric has also collaborated with Mexican researchers to study effects of climatic conditions on phenological patterns of tree species. Recent work conducted in the Osa Península determined the effects of selective logging on abundance and regeneration of commercially important timber species. Dr. Fuchs is currently monitoring regeneration patterns in permanent plots of an endangered tropical tree species, work which he began as part of his PhD thesis. He is also part of different research projects in the Osa Penisula, studying the effects of forest fragmentation on biodiversity. Eric obtained his BS and MSc. degrees at Universidad de Costa Rica in Biology and Genetics, respectively. His Ph.D. dissertation focused on the ecological genetics of the endangered tropical tree Guaiacum sanctum. Dr. Fuchs has taught various courses for the Organization of Tropical Studies (OTS) and has been involved as a consultant for WWF in topics relating to global warming.

is Assistant Professor in the Department of Environment, Peace, and Security at UPEACE. She is currently on research leave with a post-doctoral fellowshhip at the  Central European Uniiversity in Budapest, Hungary.  She completed her PhD at the University of Michigan in 2008 in Natural Resources and Environment with a focus on environmental anthropology. Her research focuses on the development of organic agriculture movements in the historically, ecologically, and politically diverse contexts of Latvia and Costa Rica, as well as how these movements are changing as these small countries join regional economic trading blocks. She worked for four years with several grassroots environmental NGOs in Latvia and Hungary on the social implications of energy efficiency projects and climate change policies, and has worked as a consultant for the UNDP.

Irene Dankelman was born in Haarlem, the Netherlands, She has a  Master’s degree in biology/ecology from the University of Nijmegen and Wageningen (NL). She has over thirty years of work in the field of environment and sustainable development, with a specialization on gender and environment, in the Netherlands, Europe and globally. Irene Dankelman has been working for and coordinating national and international NGOs, academic programs, and she has been a staff member and consultant to the United Nations and governments.  

Her current position is that of lecturer sustainable development at the Radboud University in Nijmegen (Netherlands) and consultant/director of IRDANA Advice. She has published several books and many articles on gender, environment, and sustainable development, and she is a regular speaker at national and international conferences and events. 

Assistant Professor in the Department of Environment, Peace and Security, University for Peace. MSc. Environmental Sciences, Wageningen University and Research Center, The Netherlands. BSc. Tropical Forestry, Technological Institute of Costa Rica, Cartago, Costa Rica. He teaches Forestry, Agriculture, the San Jose Environmental Seminar and the Natural Resource Management Field Trip. Prior to this, he worked as a Student Research Assistant in Wageningen University and Research Center, WUR, at the Sociology Department, inside the Environmental Policy Group. Research interests: Payments for Environmental Services, Forest Conservation, Sustainable Rural Development, Community Forest Concessions.

Born in San José, Costa Rica, in 1960.  Master’s degree in anthropology; cultural ecology major from the University of Kansas.  Nine years of work in the field of development and design of public policy projects in Central America, and eight years actively engaged in the incorporation of social and gender aspects into the use and conservation of natural resources in Mesoamerica, account for part of her experience in the field of sustainable and equitable human development.

She is an international advisor to various organizations, governments and universities in topics related to water, environmental health, and gender and community participation.

Her current position is Senior Gender Advisor to the World Conservation Union and Regional Coordinator of the Social Area in Mesoamerica. She has published 20 books and several publications about gender and environment, environmental health, and public policy involving equity issues.

Ph.D., Institute of Social Studies, The Netherlands, 2007. EPU Certificate for Advanced International Study Programme in Peace and Conflict Transformation, European University Centre for Peace Studies (EPU), Austria, 1997. MA Politics of Alternative Development Strategies, Institute of Social Studies, The Hague, The Netherlands, 1996. M.Sc. Political Science, Graduate College, University of Khartoum, 1995. B.Sc. (Honours) Department of Political Science, Faculty of Economic and Social Studies, University of Khartoum, 1988.

M.Sc. in Marine Biology, Universidad de Costa Rica.  Ph.D. candidate, Marine Affairs Department, University of Rhode Island. Coordinator, Southern Central America Marine Program, Conservation International. Member of the Costa Rican Ocean Commission, in representation of Conservation International and of the Costa Rican Marine resources sub-commission, within the Presidential “Peace with Nature” Initiative. Appointed to Costa Rica’s technical working group for the South Pacific, for the assessment of the viability of establishing a new marine protected area in Costa Rica’s south Pacific. As a member of Costa Rica’s EEZ Commission, active participation in the elaboration of Costa Rica’s National Marine Strategy. Professor, Introduction to Fisheries Management (B-0681), School of Biology, University of Costa Rica.

She is the Executive Director of the Earth Charter Internacional Secretariat. Mirian has been promoting the Initiative internationally since 1996, which has involved working with NGOs, Universities, Local Communities and Government officials. The project was originally done in collaboration with the National Councils for Sustainable Development initiative. She has lead and facilitated numerous international workshops and seminars on values and principles for sustainability. She has also participated in several annual meetings of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development, as well as Preparatory Conferences to the World Summit on Sustainable Development and the Johannesburg Summit itself. In that process she dealt with a number of governments' officials and non-state actors participating in such events. Prior to her work with the Earth Charter, Mirian worked for the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) for two years in preparation of the 1992 UN Earth Summit and a year in UNCTAD - United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. She moved from Geneva to Costa Rica in 1993 to join in the establishment of the Earth Council, an NGO established to follow up the Earth Summit agreements and promote the establishments of National Councils for Sustainable Development. Mirian holds a Master Degree in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, where she was an Edward Mason Fellow and a B.Sc. with focus on International Trade.

Director of the UPEACE Centre for Executive and Professional Education and a faculty member at UPEACE. Prior to this position, he served as Education Programme Manager of the Earth Charter Initiative, an international nonprofit organization. Before his 4-years in the non-profit sector, he worked both in the private sector and also as a high school teacher in Ecuador. He has a Bachelor's degree from Stanford University and his Master's from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Assistant Professor of Natural Resources and Sustainable Development in the Department of Environment, Peace and Security at UPEACE. He holds a Ph.D. in Sociocultural Anthropology from the University of California at Santa Barbara with an emphasis in Global Studies. Dr. Fletcher has conducted ethnographic research in Chile and Costa Rica concerning the cultural dimensions of ecotourism as a strategy for environmentally-sustainable economic development. In addition, he has worked for many years as a professional ecotourism guide and planner in a variety of locations

heads the Department of Environment Peace and Security at UPEACE. He worked for 12 years in international research centres in Africa and Central America in the development of livestock and agroforestry production systems and for another 12 years as an international consultant for bilateral cooperation agencies on subjects of rural development, social forestry, institutional strengthening and environmental conflict management. In the last 10 years, he has coordinated research and training activities in environmental conflict management involving local communities and he is being involved in mediation between environmental organizations. Dr. Borel was trained as an agronomist (Dipl. Ing. Agr. ETH, Zurich), with a specialization in livestock farming (Mag. Sci. IICA, Turrialba, Costa Rica) and further specialization in pasture agronomy (Dr. sc. Tech. ETH, Zurich).