SLM-30806 Land Degradation & Development

Course

Credits 6.00

Language of instruction:

English

Assumed knowledge on:

Relevant BSc, SLM-10306 Land Degradation and Remediation or equivalent course.

Continuation courses:

SLM-31306 Fundamentals of Land Management.

Contents:

Land degradation is a major threat to sustainable development and food security in many parts of the world. Interventions that aim at tackling the root causes of land degradation and at fostering sustainable land management are now more than ever essential. In this course students learn how land managers and policy makers plan and implement interventions for sustainable land management, with a special focus on developing countries and the challenge of achieving widespread sustainable impact. The lectures are divided in four blocks: physical aspects of land degradation, planning for impact in land management interventions, assessing impact of land management, and ways to achieve widespread impact and development.
The course starts with deepening the understanding of land degradation processes, building on existing knowledge obtained in previous courses. Then, emphasis is given to the role of stakeholders in land management interventions- from farmers to policy makers - and how their involvement affects sustainable impact and contributes to (local and global) development. Several practical assignments provide the students with some basic hands-on tools for planning and assessing impact of land management interventions (e.g. adoption factors, cost-benefit analysis). Furthermore, during a practical assignment of 2 weeks students will get acquainted with multi-criteria analysis and the use of GIS for assessing the physical impact of land management practices, and how this knowledge can be used for designing strategies for land management interventions. By the end of the course students will have obtained essential knowledge and skills for land managers or land use planners in any development project.

Learning outcomes:

After successful completion of this course students are expected to be able to:
- explain the physical aspects, drivers and processes related to land degradation;
- explain the main factors that affect adoption and final impact of land management interventions;
- assess physical and socioeconomic impact of land degradation and land management practices;
- judge land management interventions and how these can achieve sustainable impact;
- apply evaluation methods, such as cost-benefit analysis and multi-criteria analysis;
- apply GIS for assessing the physical impact of land management practices;
- debate strategies and policies that foster sustainable land management.

Activities:

- lectures and studying reading material (papers);
- practical sessions for learning hands-on tools for land management;
- GIS practical assignment.

Examination:

- written examination (50%);
- reports of the practical assignments (50%).
All parts need to be passed with at least 5.5.

Literature:

Journal articles and practical guide.