LDD-32306 Sustainable Land Management Policies

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Studiepunten 6.00

OnderwijstypeContacturen
Lectures16
Practical extensively supervised34
Project learning14
Course coordinator(s)dr. ir. CA Kessler
Lecturer(s)dr. ir. CA Kessler
dr. ir. JHM Peerlings
dr. SISE Karlsson-Vinkhuyzen
Examiner(s)prof. dr. ir. L Stroosnijder
prof. dr. ir. CJAM Termeer
dr. ir. JHM Peerlings

Language of instruction:

English

Contents:

Land degradation is widely recognized as a major threat to local development and food production. Sustainable land management (SLM) deals with the preservation of the productive capabilities of the land, through arresting and reversing land degradation. Farmers' decisions are crucial for safeguarding land productivity for the future. However, decisions at the farm level to invest in SLM and foster spreading of practices towards village level and beyond is strongly influenced by regional, national and global policies. Adequate policies might create an enabling environment for investing in SLM, but institutional factors (governance) often greatly limit the final impact of land related policies. In this course students learn about the reciprocal influence of farmers' land management decisions and land related policies, based on practical case studies from the field (using key-experts). Decision-making at different scales is analyzed in weekly cases, with collaboration between these scales being determent for the final impact of policies on SLM. The course is divided in four blocks, focusing on:
1) European Land Policies (and the impact of agri-environmental measures);
2) UNCCD Policies (and the impact on arresting desertification in selected hotspots);
3) Policy-making in developing countries (and the impact on scaling-up SLM);
4) Land Reform policies (and the impact on land security and farmers' decisions).

Learning outcomes:

After this course students will be able to:
- explain the factors that play a role in policy-making, and that influence how land related policies are formulated under different settings and institutional arrangements;
- assess the impact of land policies on farmers' decision-making and sustainable land management, considering collaboration and tensions between different institutional scales;
- analyze in case studies how land policies and governance limit or enhance sustainable land management, and judge their efficacy based on clear criteria;
- judge the limitations and preconditions for effective and adequate land policies under different conditions, and retrieve concise conclusions from this judgment;
- formulate adequate questionnaires for retrieving information from key-expert interviews, either face-to-face or by means of skype/video conferences;
- write and present short policy-papers in a concise and convincing manner, with clear and policy-sensitive recommendations based on theoretical and practical insights.

Activities:

- weekly lectures with theoretical and background information about the cases;
- group work to make an in-depth analysis of the weekly case;
- interviewing (face-to-face or by video-conference) of key experts;
- write short policy-papers for policy-makers in the different case-study countries;
- give oral presentations and attend group sessions for giving and receiving feedback.

Examination:

Based on demonstrated efforts, and the quality of policy-papers and presentations.

Literature:

Will be provided at the start of each block.

OpleidingFaseSpecialisatiePeriode
Keuze voor: MILInternational Land and Water ManagementMScA: Land Degradation and Development5MO