Natural Resources and Sustainable Development

Description

This two year program is offered by the University for Peace, in Costa Rica, within the framework of a Dual Graduate Programme at the Master’s level, from which successful students receive a MA in International Affairs from American University in Washington D.C. and an MA in Natural Resources and Sustainable Development from the University for Peace. It is a unique graduate degree programme in which students can learn about environmental and development policies and practices from the perspectives of both the South and the North and within the framework of both a local and global perspectives. American University's School of International Service in Washington, D.C. contributes with its strengths in international relations, environmental policy, and economics, while the University for Peace provides unparalleled opportunities to offer courses and practical experience in sustainable development and natural resources management.

Educational objectives
This programme equips students with the knowledge and skills necessary for managing environment and development issues in a global context and provides them with opportunities to establish ties that bridge the North-South divide. These foundations enable graduates to formulate policies to advance sustainable development at local, regional and global levels, to facilitate international cooperation in the formulation of sustainable development and environment policy, and to generate strategies for environmental conflict management.

Entry profile and admission procedure
Applicants must hold an accredited bachelor's degree or equivalent, with a cumulative grade point average of at least at 3.3 on a 4.0 scale. Applicants should have substantive social science and natural resources coursework/experience relevant to international studies. Basic Spanish conversational skills are required. International experience is considered an advantage.

Admission is handled by American University. Accordingly, all candidates, must follow the procedures listed at: http://www.american.edu/sis/admissions/graduate/requirements.htm. Once the admission applications are complete, applicants are evaluated by faculty at both universities. The admission letter is sent to successful applicants by both universities.

To apply on-line, click at: http://www.american.edu/sis/admissions/graduate/process.htm.

To receive additional information about the admission process, send a request to:
School of International Service
American University
4400 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C., 20016-8071
Fax: 202-885-2494
Tel: 202-885-1646
Email: sisgrad@american.edu

American University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action university. The University for Peace accepts students from all parts of the world, regardless of sex, creed, race, political affiliation or nationality.

Plan of Studies
Students spend their first semester at American University learning the foundations of sustainable development policy both inside the classroom and within the Washington, D.C. policy community. They spend the next two semesters at the University for Peace studying concrete sustainable development practices with visits to many examples in Costa Rica and learning essential skills in project design and evaluation, environmental assessment and conflict management. For their final semester, they return to American University to write a substantial research paper, participate in an integrative seminar that exposes students to professional policymaking opportunities in D.C., and complete their final courses.
The programme may include some of the following courses, all of them taught in English:

Fall Semester (AU) (9 credit hours)

• SIS-660 Environment and Politics (3)
• Environmental Economics (or an approved economics course) (3)
• SIS-637 International Development (3)
• Spanish Language (non-credit)

Spring Semester (UPEACE) (minimum of 12 credit hours)

• NRD 6040 Ecological Basis of Sustainable Landuse (3)
• NRD 6021 Research Methods (2)
• NRD 6080 Internship (3)
• Spanish Language (non-credit)

Electives may include: Strategic Hunger, Famine, and Food Security (3); Environmental Security Assessment (3); Planning and Project Life Cycle (3); Practicum (2 credits); San José Environmental Seminar (1); System Thinking (1); Sustainable Tourism (3); Human Vulnerability and Climate Change (2); Local and International Governance for Environmental Security (3); or Central American Field trip (3)
Fall Semester (UPEACE) (minimum of 12 credit hours)

• CPS 6000 International Peace and Conflict Studies (3)
• Research Methods (1)

Electives may include: Introduction to Environmental Security (3); Conservation and Development (3); Forests, Forestry and Poverty (3); Conflict Management and Natural Resources (3); Measuring Sustainability (1); Agriculture, Natural Resources and Sustainable Development (2); Environmental Assessment (2); Management of Coastal Areas (3); or Water, Security and Peace (3).
Spring Semester (AU) (12 credit hours)

• SIS-795 Substantial Research Paper (3)
• Three electives (3 credits each)

Electives may include: Washington Environmental Workshop, Global Environmental Politics and Policy, Environment and Development, International Environmental Law, Comparative Environmental Law, Global Information Systems, Systems Dynamics, etc.

NRD 6020 System Thinking

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.

NRD 6021 Introduction to Research Methods

This course will develop students’ theoretical knowledge and applied skills in conducting qualitative, quantitative and participatory research in the social sciences. This component of the course will address, inter alia : epistemology; critical theory; research ethics; and project development and grant writing. The course will also serve to prepare students for the design and writing of the major research project required by their degree through the development of their abilities to formulate research problems and proposals and to conduct research. Students will explore quantitative and qualitative techniques for undertaking baseline scientific assessments of the state of the environment at different scales, including the development and interpretation of indicators, the use of relevant meta-databases and useful statistical tools.

NRD 6081 San Jose Environmental Seminar

The course enables students to understand the natural resources management and policy environment for natural resources issues in a developing country, in particular with respect to the role of the government, other national and international stakeholders, as well as the international and national NGOs. The Seminar visits the government, national, bilateral, regional and international organizations and NGO’s, discussing their objectives and roles in the sphere of the natural resources management and policymaking. The Seminar also provides a first point of comparison between the attitude, objectives, procedures at local/ regional offices based in San José, as compared with the headquarters of the same and similar organizations in Washington. The students will also have the opportunity to discuss about internship possibilities with some of the organizations.

NRD 6082 Practicum

This activity promotes the problem solving ability of the students. The Problem Solving Learning approach induces the students to actively search for, and organize, the theoretical foundations necessary and the practical aspects for solving a particular problem while attempting to solve it.  The basic concept is to give the students the opportunity to investigate and solve problems, behaving as if they were working in a NGO, for a consultant company or in a government agency. In that framework, the students need to get a closer look at the proposed problem and to define more precise and concrete questions and terms of reference. A fundamental step in this process leads the students to improve their theoretical knowledge, use their imagination and innovation capacities on the subject at hand and to investigate the local situation. They also need to organize themselves individually or as a team, in order to carry out the task, e.g. define an activity schedule, assign roles of "sub-project managers" and elaborate terms of reference and other responsibilities. Eventually they have to sum up their results, in several cycles of consultation with the interested parties, if any, and to present a final report that may take the form of a project proposal and or of a finished product.

NRD 6040 Ecological bases for Sustainable Landuse

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 land use capacity, climate, soil management, life zones, watersheds, and main tropical bio-regions 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. Case studies of successful land use schemes, as well as failures, and the resulting conflicts will be presented, including the economic and social factors that often are the root causes of conflict. The different perceptions of proper land use of indigenous people from different tropical parts of the world will be highlighted.

NRD 6024 Strategic Planning and Project Design and Evaluation

The course enables students to prepare a strategic plan, prepare, implement, monitor, evaluate and systematize the lessons learned in natural resource and community oriented projects. The emphasis will be put on strategic planning for community development and natural resources management, adapting the “business” 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 course components include: the concept and process for strategic planning, as well as scenario generation and trend analysis, project culture, project cycle, fundraising strategies, project design, management and implementation, project monitoring and evaluation, phasing out and transference of projects. Throughout the course, the students are confronted with a complete set of documentations from existing projects through all the phases of their project cycle. The projects are selected from the portfolios of the World Bank, the regional development banks and the bilateral cooperation agencies and international NGO’s.

CSP-6000 Introduction to Peace Studies (3 credits)

This course is the common element of all courses of study in the UPEACE academic programme. It establishes the core issues, insights, and debates within peace studies as an integrated field of research offering a challenging and useful perspective on issues of peace and conflict. The course allows students to explore the various perceptions of the changing nature of contemporary conflicts and their resolution, as well as the underlying issues that influence them. It includes a review of the history and theories of non-violent struggle, issues of governance, development, global institutions, human rights, gender issues, culture, and security. Students will develop an integrated understanding of the potential for and challenges to peace – a theme that they will explore further through the other courses in the MA programme. Predominant contemporary and future threats to peace will also be analyzed. Through this process, students will develop an understanding of the various theoretical and methodological options available in peace research and conflict resolution and will be encouraged to understand the systemic nature of the issues.

NRD 6091 Conservation and Development

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. The seemingly oppositional nature of these two mandates, conservation and development, will be examined thoroughly via both theory on and case-studies of conservation initiatives conducted throughout the global South, but with an emphasis on Latin America. The latter part of the course will focus on the political, economic and logistical problems of contemporary conservation. The course will investigate recent attempts to devolve conservation management to communities, as well as critiques of this method. The role that environmental non-government organizations (ENGOs) working at the local, national, and international levels play in influencing both the rhetoric and managerial aspects of conservation projects in areas with weak, under-funded or non-existent State mechanisms of control will also be analyzed. Lastly, the course will investigate impacts of the emerging trend towards private property-based conservation, and its relationship to economic and community development.

NRD 6060 Environmental Conflict Management

This 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. Eventually, the issue of process and impact assessment of environmental conflict management is discussed. 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.

NRD 6051 Measuring Sustainability

The course discusses the concept of sustainability and its measurement in natural resources at the production system level, as well as its application to the creation of standards, principles, criteria and indicators from the economic, social and environmental dimensions of a system.

NRD 6050 Agriculture, Natural Resources and Sustainable Development

The course is oriented to the analysis of production systems and their sustainability. A general framework is discussed that refers to the consideration of the total economic value of a system as an alternative to traditional financial and economic evaluations. The following systems will be analyzed: agricultural systems, transition systems, forestry systems, aquaculture and fisheries, genetically modified organisms, and communities. Certification as a tool for sustainable development in agriculture, protected areas, ecotourism and forestry is analyzed. The issues of globalization, corporate social responsibility and international/national market characteristics in agriculture are discussed.

NRD 6070 Environmental Assessment

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. In addition, key emerging issues in EA practice are addressed including its application to policies, programs and plans (i.e. Strategic Environmental Assessment), use in a developing country context and EA system effectiveness evaluation.

NRD 6092 Management of Coastal Areas

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 19th 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. To begin with, this course will provide a brief introduction to the particularities of coastal and oceanic resources and ecologies. Second, it 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.

NRD 6080 Internship

An internship constitutes an essential part of each student's academic experience for its important role in professional training, contact-building, and the opportunity to apply theoretical understandings to empirical situations. Students typically spend the summer between the second and third semester pursuing an internship in Central America or elsewhere in the “developing” world. Interns work for host organizations from the private, public, non-profit and international sectors. The host organization, particularly the direct supervisors and colleagues, help the student learn their assigned job, develop an understanding of how that job fits into the larger organization and gain knowledge of how the organization, in turn, fits into its larger professional community. Once the students have received training in their internships, host organizations expect that interns contribute in a substantive way to the organization. The supervisors complete a brief evaluation of the student’s performance and review it with the student. This evaluation provides an important learning opportunity for the student. The University assigns an advisor, who reviews the student’s internship position for approval and helps creating a syllabus (learning contract). The program is most successful when students are encouraged and guided to: assess their experience critically; apply concepts analytically; and develop skills and confidence on the job. Students expect to be in close touch with their internship advisor, in order to discuss their work, gain insight into challenges on the job and arrange mutually agreed upon written topics. The advisor evaluates the result of the internship and grades it. The following are just a few of the organizations that offer suitable internship opportunities: United Nations Development Programme, Costa Rica Office, The Nature Conservancy, Costa Rica Office, FUNDECOR, Hojancha Community, ECOTROPICA, Pan-American Woods, U.S. Agency for International Development (national offices in Nicaragua and Guatemala), Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean in Santiago, Chile, CALAS (Guatemala), Interamerican Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture (IICA), Tropical Science Center (CCT), IDB National Office, Organization for Tropical studies (OTS)-Palo Verde Research Station, Environmental Hub for Central America and the Caribbean (U.S. Embassy in San José), the municipalities of San José, Escazú, and Mora (Costa Rica), Tirimbina Reserve, etc.

NRD 6083 Central American Fieldtrip

This field trip exposes the students to Nicaragua’s reality with regard to natural resource management and its general environmental situation. It adds to the students’ ability to analyze the complex situation of natural resource management issues in the in the tropical regions of the “developing” world. The main themes or issues we will experience, analyze and discuss are: conservation; agriculture, forestry and biodiversity conservation; agroforestry; disaster prevention and recovery; poverty; rural development; history; community based natural resource management; development and environment policy design at the national, regional and local levels. This intensive course includes, in addition to the visits and lectures from several key persons/organizations, daily group discussions, where the main issues of the day are reviewed and analyzed.

NRD 6085 Forests, Forestry and Poverty

This course introduces the students to the changing paradigms that have become apparent in the last decades in the field of forestry. Forestry has had to adapt to new social values and perceptions, including economic, social and environmental factors. Concepts like forest governance, deforestation, environmental services, plantation vs. sustainable natural forest management, the role of local communities, forestry concession schemes, certification programs; and forestry’s general role in rural development, will be explored and discussed. The use of field trips, guest lectures and extensive literature is aimed at giving the students an actualized and modern outlook of the changing concept of forestry on a global, regional and local scale, with special emphasis in the tropics of Latin America.

NRD 6093 Sustainable Tourism

This course will be an exploration of the complex relationship between tourism and sustainable development. Many theorists and practitioners deny that sustainable tourism can be achieved. At the same time, much hope is still placed on the shoulders of tourism interventions and promotion as a way to provide sustainable local livelihoods, promote environmental education, create environmental consciousness among tourists, fund conservation, and provide much needed economic growth and foreign currency to developing nations. Thus, we will explore whether and how tourism can actually produce these sustainability results. Coursework will include a thorough review of tourism’s historical roots, including the recent adoption and evolution of ecotourism and sustainable tourism. In addition, field experiences and guest lecturers will provide insight into the laboratory of sustainable tourism that is Costa Rica. Ultimately, the course will provide students with critical insight into both the theory and practice of tourism as a tool for sustainability.

Other course descriptions are available in the ESP Master description  and the School of International Service website

Faculty

Resident faculty

Rolain Borel Head of Department. Doctor of Technical Sciences, Forage Agronomy, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. MSc, Livestock Production, Inter-American Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Costa Rica. Agronomist, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology.

Jan Breitling Instructor. MSc. Environmental Sciences, Wageningen University and Research Centre, The Netherlands. BSc Tropical Forest Engineering, Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica.

Ronnie De Camino Professor. Doctor in Natural Resources, Albert Ludwig University, Germany. Post-Graduate Diploma Agricultural Economics, ESCOLATINA, University of Chile. Forest Engineer, Universtity of Chile. BS Biology, University of Chile.

Tom Deligiannis Assistant Professor. Ph.D. candidate, Department of Political Science at the University of Toronto. Master’s Degree in History, Focus in International Relations History, University of Toronto. B.A. in History, Major Political Science, University of Guelph.

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

David Hoffman Assistant Professor. Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology from the Department of Anthropology. Certificate in Development Studies from the Developing Areas Research and Teaching program at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Visiting faculty

Liana Babbar  Ph.D. in Natural Resources. Consultant.

Michael Brklacich Ph.D. in Geography. Professor, Department of Geography & Environmental Studies. Carleton University.

Carlos Dengo MSc Forest Resources Conservation and Natural Resources Management and Economics. President, Environmental consulting firm: CDG  Environmental Advisors.

Reginald Noble Ph.D. in Ecology. Programme Associate, Knowledge Development Centre, Imagine Canada / Lecturer in Community Development, Livelihoods, and Food Security. Knowledge Development Centre / Ryerson University.