| ACADEMIC PROGRAMMES
Academic Course Calendar 2008-2009
|
MA in Natural Resources and Peace
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| April 2008 | |||
| First Term | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| COURSES | PROFESSOR | CREDITS # Weeks |
DATE |
| Orientation | AA | 3 days | 20 Aug - 22 Aug. 2008 |
| PCS-6000
Foundation Course in Peace and Conflict Studies M |
UPEACE Resident Faculty | 3 credits 3 Weeks |
25 Aug - 12 Sep. 2008 |
| ESP 6010
Introduction to environmental security O |
TBD | 3 credits 3 Weeks |
17 Sept - 7 Oct. 2008 |
| NRD 6075
Forestry, forests and poverty R |
Jan Breitling Germany |
3 credits 3 Weeks |
17 Sept - 7 Oct. 2008 |
| ESP 6021
Research methods I M |
Mahmoud Hamid Sudan |
2 credits 2 Weeks |
13 Oct. - 24 Oct. 2008 |
| NRD 6081
San José environmental seminar O |
Jan Breitling Germany |
1 credit 1 Week |
27 Oct. - 31st Oct. 2008 |
| NRD 6091
Conservation and development M |
Robert Fletcher USA |
3 credits 3 Weeks |
5 Nov. - 25 Nov. 2008 |
| Code
Fundraising O |
Jurgen Carls Germany |
1 credit |
16 - 17 Feb. and 11 - 13 Mar. 2008 |
| NRD 6070
Environmental impact assessment O |
Carlos Dengo Costa Rica |
2 credits 2 Weeks |
1 Dec. - 12 Dec. 2008 |
| NRD 6045
Skills for non profit leadership O |
Mohit Mukherjee India |
1 credit 1 Week |
15 Dec. - 19 Dec. 2008 |
| NRD 6050
Agriculture, natural resources and sustainable development M |
Jan Breitling Germany Guntra Aistara Latvia - USA |
2 credits 2 Weeks |
2 Feb. - 11 Feb. 2009 |
| Code
Fundraising O |
Jurgen Carls Germany |
1 credit |
16 - 17 Feb. and 11 - 13 Mar. 2008 |
| NRD 6040
Ecological bases for sustainable landuse R |
TBD | 3 credits 3 Weeks |
18 Feb. - 10 Mar. 2009 |
| ESP 6070
Disaster risk reduction at the local level O |
Rolain Borel Switzerland Xavier Castellanos Ecuador Julio García Perú Allan Lavell Great Britain |
3 credits 3 Weeks |
18 Feb. - 10 Mar. 2009 |
| ESP 6120
Human vulnerability and climate change O |
Michael Brklacich Canada |
2 credits 2 Weeks |
16 Feb. - 26 Feb. 2009 |
| GPB 6090
A gender analysis of the environment and sustainable development O |
Lorena Aguilar Costa Rica |
3 credits 3 Weeks |
18 Feb. - 10 Mar. 2009 |
| NRD 6051
Measuring sustainability O |
Guntra Aistara Latvia - USA |
1 credit 1 Week |
30 Mar. - 3 Apr. 2009 |
| NRD 6093
Sustainable tourism R |
Robert Fletcher USA |
3 credits 3 Weeks |
16 Mar. - 3 Apr. 2009 | ESP 6071
Urban environmental security O |
Mahmoud Hamid Sudan |
3 credits 3 Weeks |
16 Mar. - 27 Mar. 2009 | ESP 6021
Research methods II M |
IC or Internship supervisor | 3 credits 3 Weeks |
13 Apr. 2009 (deadline) |
| NRD 6020
System thinking O |
Rolain Borel Switzerland |
1 credit 1 Week |
27 Apr. - 30 Apr. 2009 |
| ESP 6151
Environmental governance II R |
Peter Stoett Canada |
2 credits 2 Weeks |
13 Apr - 24 Apr 2009 |
| ESP 6150
Environmental governance I R |
Mirian Vilela Brazil |
1 credit 1 Week |
27 Apr. - 30 Apr. 2009 |
| NRD 6083
Central American field trip O |
Jan Breitling Germany |
4 credits 3 Weeks |
6 May - 26 May 2009 |
| ESP 6140
Environmental conflict management R |
Rolain Borel Switzerland |
3 credits 3 Weeks |
6 May - 26 May 2009 |
| NRD 6024
Strategic planning and project cycle O |
Juergen Carls Germany Guntra Aistara Latvia - USA Robert Fletcher USA |
3 credits 3 Weeks |
6 May - 26 May 2009 |
| NRP |
||
|---|---|---|
| M = Mandatory (min.) | M | 11 |
| R = Recommended (min.) | R | 12 |
| O = Optional | O | |
| Total (Min.) | 33 | |
ESP 6010
Introduction to Environmental Security
3 credits
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 analyze 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. Back to top
ESP 6021
Research methods
3 credits
See NRD 6021. Back to top
ESP 6040
Demographic change, migration and conflict
2 credits
This course will analyze the relationship between natural resources, demographic change, and human security. It will provide an overview of population dynamics and the demographic transition in relation to development trajectories and environmental stress. Students will be introduced to Malthusian and Cornucopian perspectives on the impact of population growth on resource scarcity and ecological sustainability as well as critiques of linkages between demographic change and resource scarcity. The course will then critically consider the relationship between demographic change, environmental stress and migration by investigating cases in which environmental degradation has contributed to migratory movements, particularly cases in which these population movements have resulted in conflict or other insecurity. Students will also explore the impacts of HIV-AIDS on rural development and environmental management. Back to top
NRD 6045
Skills for non-profit leadership
1 credit
This course is designed for practicing and future nonprofit leaders keen on engaging in topical 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 21st 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 changing mindsets. Back to top
ESP 6070
Disaster risk reduction at the local level
3 credits
The course purpose is to equip student practitioners in environment, peace and security with enhanced knowledge, skills, resources and technical abilities in disaster risk reduction and human health resilience. It will therefore provide the tools either to prevent such disasters, to mitigate their impacts or to resolve conflicts between different social groups that occur as a result of disasters. Some of the main topics developed will be: Nature of risks, especially for the most vulnerable populations; links between disaster risk, health and development particularly vulnerability reduction, human coping, trauma management, and the theoretical and practical ways in which resilience to disaster is established at the local level; DRR and its mainstreaming into sustainable development policy and planning; DRR processes and structures; introduction to varied social survey techniques, people-centered monitoring and evaluation, environmental analyses, and the application of appropriate methodologies to people-centered development issues; skills in conducting educational and training workshops. The course will be a mix of lectures by invited experts and student involvement in the learning process, by sharing their experiences, investigating about difficult concepts, preparing and delivering seminars, and participating in simulation and field exercises and web interactions. Back to top
ESP 6071
Urban environmental security
2 credits
This course will comparatively addresses the environmental impact of cities both in developed and developing countries. It will examine human and ecological security problems stemming from trends towards increasing urbanization, including contaminated drinking water supplies, poor air quality, land subsidence, 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). How these perceptions have most often resulted in environmental insecurity both 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. Back to top
ESP 6100
Environmental security assessment
3 credits
This course focuses on the principles and practices that underlie environmental security assessments. Environmental security assessments combine field research and analysis of secondary data in order to identify environmental risks and vulnerabilities that have the potential for adversely affecting security or promoting instability and conflict. They provide tools that enable policymakers to develop more effective strategies for crisis prevention and mitigation. Back to top
ESP 6090
Hunger, famine and food security
3 credits
In this course, students will be encouraged to explore from a household and community perspective the causative agents of hunger, starvation, malnutrition, and famine and their subsequent impact on people's ability to survive and thrive. Students will examine the underlying issues that shape rural and urban food systems in terms of food supply and food entitlement (i.e. access to food and distribution of food). This will include not only looking at the dependence of household and community food supply on agricultural production and population growth etc, but also on the policy and institutional environment that constrain people's options for dealing with periodic food shortages, and fluctuations in food prices and food entitlements etc. The course will also explore the importance and synergy of rural-urban links in enabling households to achieve sustainable livelihoods and an acceptable level of food security and well-being. Back to top
ESP 6120
Human vulnerability and climate change
2 credits
The course commences with a set of foundation seminars (Seminars 1 to 4) which will clarify contemporary understanding of climatic change, explore social science dimensions of climatic change, and review and appraise recent debates about the relationships amongst environmental stress, human vulnerability and human security. This initial set of seminars will be lead by the course instructor and multiple teaching approaches will be employed to both engage the class and to illustrate various teaching formats. The second component of the course (Seminars 5 to 10) involves a transition from fundamental questions underpinning human security and climatic change to an examination and appraisal of advanced topics. Three to four students 2 will work together on each of these seminars with about 1.5 hours allocated to a seminar. An overview of each seminar's purpose and reading list is provided but it is up to each team to refine the objectives for the seminar, interpret the readings and marshal the available information into a coherent seminar which engages the class and addresses the stated purpose and objectives. The final two seminars will be led by the instructor and will explore future challenges facing human security and climatic change research as well consolidate themes which were examined Back to top
ESP 6140
Environmental conflict management
3 credits
See NRD6060. Back to top
ESP 6150
Environmental governance 1
1 credit
This course focuses on the capacity of local communities and society to develop creative practical solutions to environmental problems. The course provides an overview of developments in thinking regarding effective local governance for environmental security particularly since the Rio Earth Summit, i.e. the role of democracy, public awareness, participation and partnerships in advancing environmental responsibility and security. 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 Earth Charter creation process; the role of new actors in governance; the global governance fora, alternative forums. The course will offer the opportunity to be familiar with a number of local governance cases. Back to top
ESP 6151
Environmental governance 2
2 credits
This course will present students with varying understandings of international environmental security, and the associated conceptual and governance dilemmas they raise. We will transverse the theoretical realm and enter the empirical with case studies of environmental stresses and conflicts and potential solutions. Emphasis is placed on classroom discussion and student presentations. Related concepts include state sovereignty, global governance, human and indigenous rights, ecocide, military preparations, transnational solidarity, international trade flows, civil society, taxation and sanctions, and others. The most important thing to learn about environmental security is that its multi-dimensionality is not an inconvenient analytic obstacle but an inherent aspect of its pursuit, and as policy analysts we must embrace this complexity with interdisciplinarian enthusiasm. One of the key questions facing analysts of governance pertains to the proper level of governance: must some problems be approached at a global, or regional, as opposed to local, level? This course will focus exclusively (as far as that is possible) on the global level. What impact do international ecogovernance efforts have on traditional institutions, such as state sovereignty? Can we speak of an emergent post-state level of global environmental governance? Does international law provide a framework for governance efforts? Ultimately, should we be discussing something best labeled "glocal governance"? Back to top
GPB 6090
A gender analysis of the environment and sustainable development
3 credits
The three-week 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 three 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 from a gender perspective (coastal zones, forest, watersheds, semiarid and arid zones, protected areas and biodiversity) and elaboration of gender policies for the environmental sector. Back to top
NRD6020
System thinking
1 credit
This intensive, face-to-face, course is offered at the very beginning of the program, in order to familiarize the students with mental models and systems thinking methodologies. The main issues are: mental models; systems thinking and analysis; archetypes and system diagramming tools. The classes will be a mix of quick sequences of games and exercises followed by debriefing sessions and theoretical discussions. Each student, in addition to attending at least 80% of the activities, will prepare a case of a system, where s/he can apply system analysis (diagramming) tools and will prepare and facilitate, together with the instructor, as well as analyze the result of one of the games. Back to top
NRD 6021
Research methods
3 credits
The central goal of this seminar is to provide an introduction of a variety of research approaches and methods in the social sciences with a particular focus on issues and examples from the field of environmental security. This course provides students with a foundational knowledge of qualitative and quantitative 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. Back to top
NRD 6024
Strategic planning and project cycle
3 credits
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 natural resource and community 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 natural resources management, 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. Back to top
NRD 6040
Ecological bases for sustainable land use
3 credits
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. Back to top
NRD 6050
Agriculture, natural resources and sustainable development
2 credits
A duality still persists in the discussions around globalization and sustainable development. While the sustainable development is emphasized in its three (ecological, economic and social) dimensions, the free market / globalization is imposing its rules all over the world, without giving due consideration to the sustainability issues, especially in its social and environmental dimensions. The actual globalization and free market trends, without denying some positive impacts, might not only increase some of the negative "development" impacts on the environment and on the natural resources, but also the social impacts on the marginalized sectors of the world population especially in developing countries. In the dominant economic framework, development decisions benefit many people and organizations, but have also huge economic, social, environmental and cultural impacts or externalities (both positive and negative). Back to top
NRD 6051
Measuring sustainability
1 credit
The course is oriented to the measurement of sustainability of natural resources systems at the production system level and its application is explained and discussed. Special attention will be given to the creation of standards, principles, criteria and indicators from the economic, social and environmental dimensions of a system. Back to top
NRD 6060
Environmental conflict management
3 credits
This 3 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 Stakeholders Analysis Systems (SAS) tools. The development of conflict management strategies, power leveling interventions and process design is 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 in real time. Back to top
NRD 6070
Environmental impact assessment
2 credits
The course explores the emergence, evolution and current use of Environmental Assessment (EA) as a key planning and management tool whose purpose is to determine, evaluate and mitigate the potential and real impacts on the environment that may arise from the decision to execute a project. The primary objective is to provide students, through the use of lectures, class discussions, individual presentations, research and field trips, with a solid grounding in the EA process by conducting a detailed examination of the various EA stages including screening, scoping, impact prediction, significance assessment, report preparation and review, evaluation and decision making, monitoring and post-auditing, mitigation and compensation, and public participation and consultation. Emphasis is placed on the opportunities, challenges, obstacles, failings and solutions that may be encountered in translating EA theory into practice. Back to top
NRD 6075
Forestry, forests and poverty
3 credits
This course deals with forestry as a scientific discipline and forests in general as one important land based natural resource. Focusing on the tropics, we will look at the importance and the different values of forests for humans with a special focus on rural populations of countries and regions in the "developing world". Related to this issue, a substantial part of the course will be dedicated to the Costa Rican system of payments for environmental services. This course will also analyze the concept of forest certification and present the conflicting viewpoints and ideas related to sustainable management and preservation of forests, and the use of plantation forestry to supply the growing demand for timber. In addition, it will explore the direct and underlying causes of deforestation and the often-unintended effects of other policies (agriculture, tourism, development) on forests and the forestry sector. The last part of the course is dedicated to the forest - poverty link, specifically the roles of forestry in poverty reduction and of poverty in deforestation processes. Back to top
NRD 6081
San José environmental seminar
1 credit
The course is oriented to enable students to understand the Environment and Natural Resources related institutions operating in Costa Rica (as an example of a development country) and their agendas, in particular with respect to the role, strategies, policies and actions of the institutions, . The Seminar will consist on visit the institutions, discuss their objectives and roles in the sphere of the environmental management and sustainable development. The seminar will also provide a first point of comparison between the attitudes, objectives, procedures at local/ regional offices based in San José as compared with the headquarters of the same and similar organizations in Washington DC. Back to top
NRD 6083
Natural Resource Management Field Trip
4 credits
The purpose of this course is to obtain critical experience and knowledge of important natural resources management issues in a developing country, through being in direct contact with the social, political, economic and environmental realities of the rural areas of Costa Rica. The Natural Resource Management Field Trip enables students to assess the contextual factors that affect natural resource management. During this field trip, we will visit and be exposed to various themes and specific projects and issues (agriculture, land use change, community development, poverty, forestry, tourism, biodiversity conservation, governance, marine and coastal issues, mining, etc.). We will learn about and discuss with different actors involved in the management of natural resources (local communities, indigenous groups, national and international NGOs, private companies, academics, and the government). Back to top
NRD 6091
Conservation and development
3 credits
Conservation and development are now inextricably linked as is evident from the language employed in the Convention on Biological Diversity, but this has not always been the case. Furthermore, accomplishing these dual goals continues to be a difficult and contentious task. This course will provide students with a broad understanding of the history of conservation and its interrelationship with international development processes. In the most basic sense, the course will trace how both theory and praxis of conservation has evolved over the past few centuries; from exclusionary methods focused on preservation to contemporary thoughts regarding the inclusion of communities and economic development as integral to the process. This course will enable students to be versed in both why and how conservation has become integral to development and vice-versa. Back to top
NRD 6093
Sustainable tourism
3 credits
This course is designed to give students both a theoretical and practical understanding of tourism, and its potential for sustainability. We will begin with theoretical and historical analyses that will allow students to answer the following questions: What is tourism? Who are tourists? How is tourism related to global economic, socio-political, and cultural changes?, and What impacts has tourism had on culture, communities, and the environment? Next, the course will assess the recent development of theoretical and practical tools aimed at making tourism sustainable. In this section we will cover ecotourism, tourism and protected areas, tourism for community development, tourism and biodiversity, and the gendered nature of tourism. Finally, the course will introduce students to tools and methods for limiting and assessing the impacts of tourism such as: concessions, value chain analysis, best practice guides, and certification programs. Back to top
PCS 6000
Foundation course in peace and conflict studies
3 credits
The University for Peace Foundation Course in Peace and Conflict Studies 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 is designed to provide 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 Back to top
Faculty
2008-2009
Lorena AGUILAR (Costa Rica), has a 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. Her current position is Global Gender Advisor to the World Conservation Union and Regional Coordinator of the Social Area in Mesoamerica. Back to top
Guntra Aistara (Latvia - USA), is Assistant Professor in the Department of Environment, Peace, and Security at UPEACE. 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.Back to top
Rolain BOREL (Switzerland), 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). Back to top
Jan BREITLING (Germany), is 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. Back to top
Michael BRKLACICH (Canada), is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at Carleton University in Ottawa Canada. His research focuses on human dimensions of global environmental change, human security and global environmental change, vulnerability and adaptability of food systems to global change and food security. He is currently a lead author on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climatic Change, Fourth Assessment Working Group II (www.ipcc.ch/index.html) and Chair of the Inter-American Institute for Global Environmental Change's Scientific Advisory Committee (www.iai.int). He is also a past (2001-05) Director of the Global Environmental Change and Human Security Project (www.gechs.org) and past (2001- 2006) Vice-Chair of the Global Environmental Change and Food Systems Project (www.gecafs.org). Back to top
Juergen CARLS (Germany), Ph.D Graduate International Rural Development. Assistant Professor, Humboldt University of Berlin. Project Manager, GTZ in Latin America. Government advisor, Ministry of Agriculture, Lisbon/Portugal. Preparations with respect to the entrance of Portugal into the Common Market. Freelance consultant, FAO, GTZ, EU, BMZ, World Bank, Governments, IICA, IADB, NGO`s. Back to top
Xavier CASTELLANOS (Ecuador), is Deputy Head for the Americas, at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. He is Social Communicator with a specialization in Communication and Health (University Andina Simon Bolivar in Quito, Ecuador). He has worked in the humanitarian field for more than 25 years, combined as volunteer and pay staff with the Red Cross Movement. In that time he developed an extensive knowledge and experience in the field work of disaster response management and disaster risk reduction. Combining his knowledge in communication developed several trainings and training materials. He has worked is several disaster response operations in Nicaragua, Guatemala, Mexico, Costa Rica, Venezuela, El Salvador, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Panama, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Bahamas, Trinidad and his country of birth, Ecuador. In the field of disaster risk reduction activities, he has significantly contributed to scale up Vulnerability & Capacity Assessment knowledge in different parts of the world as well of several other disaster risk reduction initiatives. Back to top
Max J. CASTRO (United States), is associate director of research and studies at the Foundation for Environmental Security and Sustainability. He is coauthor of This Land Is our Land: Immigrants and Power in Miami (University of California Press, 2003) and editor of Free Markets, Open Societies, Closed Borders? (North-South Center Press, 1999). He has taught and lectured widely and written numerous articles, book chapters, and reviews on international migration, Latin America, and Latinos in the United States. Most recently, he has conducted research on environmental security in Latin America with a focus on the Dominican Republic. Dr. Castro has published columns in major U.S. and Latin American newspapers and has appeared frequently as an expert commentator in the media. From 1994 to 2003, he was senior research associate at the North-South Center of the University of Miami. He received his MA and PhD (sociology) degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Back to top
Carlos DENGO (Costa Rica), MSc Forest Resources Conservation and Natural Resources Management and Economics. President, Environmental consulting firm: CDG Environmental Advisors. Back to top
Rob Fletcher (USA), is 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.Back to top
Julio GARCÍA (Perú), Peruvian architect with expertise in land use planning and formulating regulation plans. Coordinator through the National Development Institute of Peru of Bi-national border development projects within the framework of the Amazonian Cooperation Treaty and of the vulnerability reduction program of 20 public investment projects of about 6 billion dollars (1994/95). He has been a consultant to UNDP and OAS. Coordinator of the component of Vulnerability and Adaptation to Climate Change programme of Peru, leading negotiator on the issue of adaptation in the context of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Today he is regional an officer for the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction-ISDR, Regional Unit for the Americas. Back to top
Mahmoud HAMID (Sudan), 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. Back to top
Allan LAVELL (Great Britain), Ph.D. en Geografía Económica de la London School of Economics and Political Science, Londres. Ha sido profesor-investigador en Universidad de Londres, el Politécnico de Middlesex, El Colegio de México, la Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana- Atzcapotzalco, la Universidad de Costa Rica, el Consejo Superior Universitario Centroamericano. Actualmente es coordinador del programa de investigación sobre riesgo y desastres de la Secretaria General de la Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales- FLACSO-, en San José Costa Rica. Especialista en desarrollo urbano y regional, tiene 20 años de trabajar el tema de riesgos y desastres, ha publicado mas de 100 items incluyendo mas de 40 artículos, capítulos o libros sobre el tema de los riesgos y desastres y ha impartido mas de 130 conferencias internacionales en 35 países de América Latina, Europa, África y Asia. Ha sido consultor para PNUD, BID, Banco Mundial, Cruz Roja Internacional, GTZ Alemania, OFDA-AID, CARE Internacional, ECHO y otros. Fue vicepresidente del Comité de Investigaciones sobre Desastres de la Asociación Internacional de Sociología y miembro del Comité Directivo de la Sociedad Interamericana de Planificación y del Comité de Amenazas de la International Geographical Union. Hoy en día es miembro del Comité de Planificación sobre Amenazas y Desastres Ambientales de la ICSU- the International Council for Science- a nivel mundial y para América Latina y el Caribe. Back to top
Mohit MUKHERJEE (India), is the 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. Back to top
Peter STOETT (Canada), is Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Political Science at Concordia University in Montréal. He obtained his PhD in Political Studies from Queen's University in 1994. His main areas of expertise include international relations and law, human rights and environmental issues, and Canadian foreign policy. Recent books (authored, co-authored, and co-edited) include Bilateral Ecopolitics: Canadian-American Environmental Relations (Ashgate, 2006); International Ecopolitical Theory: Critical Reflections (UBC Press, 2006); Global Politics: Origins, Currents, Directions, Third Edition (ITP Nelson, 2005); Sustainable Development and Canada: National and International Perspectives (Broadview Press, 2001); Human and Global Security: An Exploration of Terms (University of Toronto Press, 2000); International Relations Theory and Ecological Thought: Towards a Synthesis (Routledge, 1999); and The International Politics of Whaling (UBC Press,1997). Professor Stoett has conducted research in Europe (including the Balkans), eastern, southern and western Africa, Central America, and Asia. In March of 2003, he testified before the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Parliament of Canada, Ottawa. Dr. Stoett taught at a variety of Canadian universities, including the University of Guelph, Waterloo, British Columbia, McMaster, and Simon Fraser, before joining Concordia in 1998. He is currently working on a forthcoming book, Global Biosecurity: The International Politics of Denial, Fear, and Injustice, to be published by Broadview Press, 2007. Back to top
Mirian VILELA (Brazil), 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. Back to top