Search result: Catalogue data in Autumn Semester 2016

Environmental Sciences Bachelor Information
Specialization in an Environmental System
Human-Environment Systems
NumberTitleTypeECTSHoursLecturers
701-0301-00LApplied Systems EcologyW3 credits2VD. Schröter, A. Gessler
AbstractThis course provides the ecological systems` knowledge needed to question applied solutions to current environmental issues. Our central aim is to balance participants' respect for complexity with a sense of possibility by providing examples from the vast solution space offered by ecological systems, such as e.g. green infrastructure to manage water.
ObjectiveAt the end of the course...
...you know how to structure your inquiry and how to proceed the analysis when faced with a complex environmental issue. You can formulate the relevant questions, find answers (supported by discussions, input from the lecturers and the literature), and you are able to present your conclusions clearly and cautiously.
...you understand the complexity of interactions and structures in ecosystems. You know how ecosystem processes, functions and services interact and feed back across multiple spatio-temporal scales (in general, plus in depth case examples).
...you understand that biodiversity and the interaction between organisms are an integral part of ecosystems. You are aware that the link between biodiversity and process/function/service is rarely fully understood. You know how to honestly deal with this lack of understanding and can nevertheless find, critically analyse and communicate solutions.
...you understand the importance of ecosystem services for society.
...you have an overview of the methods of ecosystem research and have a deeper insight into some of them, e.g. ecosystem observation, manipulation and modelling.
...you have reflected on ecology as a young discipline at the heart of significant applied questions.
ContentThis course provides the ecological systems' knowledge needed to question applied sustainability solutions. We will critically assess the complexity of current environmental issues, illustrating basic ecological concepts and principles. Our central aim is to balance participants' respect for complexity with a sense of possibility by providing examples from the vast solution space offered by ecological systems, such as e.g. green infrastructure to manage water.

The course is structured around four larger topical areas: (1) Integrated Water Management -- Green infrastructure (land management options) as an alternative to engineered solutions (e.g. large reservoirs) in flood and drought management; (2) Fire dynamics, the water cycle and biodiversity -- The surprising dynamics of species life cycles and populations in arid landscapes; (3) Rewilding, e.g. re-introducing apex predators (e.g. wolves), or large ungulates (e.g. bisons) in protected areas -- A nature conservation trend with counterintuitive effects; (4) Coupling of aquatic and terrestrial systems: carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus transfers of global importance on landscape scale.
Lecture notesCase descriptions, commented glossary and a list of literature and further resources per case.
LiteratureIt is not essential to borrow/buy the following books. We will continuously provide excerpts and other literature during the course.

Agren GI and Andersson FO (2012) Principles of Terrestrial Ecosystem Ecology, Cambridge University Press.

Chapin et al. (2011), Principles of Terrestrial Ecosystem Ecology, Springer.

Schulze et al. (2005) Plant Ecology; Springer.
Prerequisites / NoticeThe course combines elements of a classic lecture, group discussions and problem based learning. It is helpful, but not essential to be familiar with the "seven stages" method (see e.g. course 701-0352-00L "Analysis and Assessment of Environmental Sustainability" by Christian Pohl et al.).
701-0651-00LCoevolution between Society and Environment: Analysis and InfluenceW3 credits2VJ. Minsch
AbstractAnalysis of central mechanisms of the anthroposphere: ecological economics, theory of institutions and innovation, development economics.
ObjectiveIntroduction to the theoretical foundations of the analysis of central mechanisms of the anthroposphere – in a sustainable development perspective.

Knowledge of the different scientific and political discussions on sustainable development.

Knowledge of selected analytical tools (Ecological Economics, economic analysis of institutions, innovation theory, “Ordnungstheorie”, Theory of liberal economic policy).

Ability to identify central non sustainable mechanisms and policies, to formulate adequate research questions, to choose and to use adequate analytical tools, and to elaborate solutions.
ContentSustainable development-update: origins, conceptions, state of the discussion. What's left after 25 years of discussion?

Development as Freedom: Foundations of a human-rights-based Society and Economy (Amartya Sen, Daron Acemoglu / James A. Robinson, Ralf Dahrendorf, Friedrich. A. von Hayek, Karl. R. Popper. Walter Eucken).

Market Economy:
Its Critics, Reforms and new Developments.

An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of ...Non-Sustainability:
Selected mechanisms and trends. The “neo-mercantilism-syndrom”

New Trends in the Growth Debate:
The Growth-spiral” (Hans Chr. Binswanger), Prosperity without growth? (T. Jackson), Intelligent Growth (R. Fücks)

The Internet of Things and Collaborative Commons - on the road to "The Zero Marginal Cost Society"?

Sufficiency: Perspectives of a resource-light society

Corporation 2020 - Transforming Business for Tomorrow's World (Remarks on Pavan Sukhdev's bestseller)

Finance Crash and Debt Crisis - new challenges for Democracy & Market Economy

Resourcecurse: Resources, democracy, and economic development

Globalization: Facts and elements of a fair globalization

It`s the software! Institutional Innovations for Sustainable Development. Let's continue writing The Federalist Papers!

On the way to the second "Great Transformation"

Perspectives for further, deeper analysis
Lecture notesskript and additional texts are distributed in the cource
LiteratureA first selection:
- Daron Acemoglu / James A. Robinson (2012): Why Nations Fail. The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty, New York
- Hans Christoph Binswanger (2006): Die Wachstumsspirale. Geld, Energie und Imagination in der Dynamik des Marksprozesses, Marburg
- Ralf Dahrendorf ( 2003): Auf der Suche nach einer neuen Ordnung, München
- Jared Diamond (2005): Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed, New York
- Ralf Fücks (2013): Intelligent wachsten, Die grüne Revolution, München
- Friedrich A. von Hayek (1991): Die Verfassung der Freiheit, 3. Auflage, Tübingen
- Friedrich A. von Hayek (1972): Theorie komplexer Phänomene, Tübingen
- Tim Jackson (2009): Prosperity without Growth. Economics for a Finite Planet, London
- Jürg Minsch / Peter H. Feindt / Hans. P. Meister / Uwe Schneidewind / Tobias Schulz (1998): Institutionelle Reformen für eine Politik der Nachhaltigkeit, Berlin / Heidelberg / New York
- J. Minsch / A. Eberle / B. Meier / U. Schneidewind (1996). Mut zum ökologischen Umbau. Innovationsstrategien für Unternehmen, Politik und Akteurnetze, Birkhäuser, Basel / Boston / Berlin
- Elinor Ostrom (1990): Governing the Commons, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge / New York / Melbourne
- oekom e.V., Hrsg. (2013): Baustelle Zukunft. die Grosse Trasformation von Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft, oekom Verlag, München
- Karl Polanyi (1944): The Great Transformation
- Karl. R. Popper (1980): Die offene Gesellschaft und ihre Feinde, Bde. I und II, 6. Auflage, Tübingen
Jeremy Rifkin (2014): The Zero Mrginal Cost Society: The Internet of things, the Collaborative Commons, and the Eclipse of Capitalism, palgrave macmillan
- Uwe Schneidewind / Angelika Zahrnt (2013): Damit gutes Leben einfacher wird. Perspektiven einer Suffizienzpolitik, München
- Pavan Sukhdev (2012): Corporation 2020. Transforming Business for Tomorrow's World, Washington D.C.
- Tomas Sedlacek (2012): Die Ökonomie von Gut und Böse, München
- Amartya Sen (1999): Development as Freedom, New York 1999)
- Daniel Spreng /Thomas Flüeler /David Goldblatt /Jürg Minsch (2012): Tackling Long Term Global Energy Problems: The Contribution of Social Science, Dortrecht / Heidelberg / New York
- Joseph Stiglitz (2006): Making Globalization Work, New York 2006)
- Peter Ulrich (2005): Zivilisierte Marktwirtschaft, 2. Aufl., Freiburg
- WBGU Wissenschaftlicher Beirat der Bundesregierung Globale Umweltveränderungen (2011): Welt im Wandel. Gesellschaftsvertrag für eine Grosse Transformation, Zusammenfassung für Entscheidungsträger, WBGU, Berlin, Link

Further reading and citations are listed in the skript and mentioned in the course.
Prerequisites / NoticeWillingness to prepare intensively the topics and to participate actively in the course
701-0659-00LTropical Forests, Agroforestry and Complex Socio-Ecological SystemsW3 credits2GC. Garcia, A. Giger Dray
AbstractThe course will focus on integrated landscape approaches for the management of tropical forest landscapes, by addressing the complex interactions between ecological processes, stakeholders´ strategies and public policies. Dedicated tools such as games and simulation models to improve knowledge and foster collective decision-making processes will be explored.
ObjectiveThrough the course the students will learn:
Section 1: Concepts and Methods
1. To master definitions and concepts: SES; Vulnerability; Resilience, Environmentalist Paradox.
2. To gain exposure to methods for assessing stakeholders perceptions/practices/knowledge.

Section 2: Recognising diversity & Interdisciplinarity
1. To understand points of views/normative views and how these shape management objectives and practices.
2. Gain familiarity with major schools of thought on Natural Resources Management - Theory of the commons, Political Ecology, Vulnerability, Resilience.
3. To explore interdisciplinary approaches to natural resources management.

Section 3: Topics and Arenas
1. To understand links between Forest, Trees and Livelihoods - poverty, food security & well-being.
2. Gain familiarity with drivers of deforestation; degradation; reforestation.
3. Knowledge of global arenas affecting the international forest regime, and their impact at the local level.
4. To recognise and understand trade-offs between conservation and development in a forest/agroforest context;

A major objective of the course is to encourage students to develop a critical analysis of existing conservation and development narratives within the frame of agroforestry and forested agricultural landscapes. The course will also provide students with methods and tools to assess stakeholders perceptions/practices and knowledge, that will be of use in their professional life.
ContentThe course will address:

1- Definitions of forests and agroforests, deconstructing the rigid historical divisions between these two, and showing the complexities and implications legal definitions will have on the management systems. We will also address the definitions of Social and Ecological System (SES) and Resilience, useful for the entire course. We will provide insights on how to describe the SES using the ARDI methodology (Actors, Resources, Dynamics and Interactions)
2- Methodological frameworks to understand drivers and coping strategies of stakeholders (Sustainable livelihood framework & Vulnerability; Ecosystem Services & trade-offs; Companion Modelling and Adaptive Management; Surveys and Participatory Appraisals)

Building upon this, and introducing the Forest Transition curve as guiding framework for the course, a series of case studies will be presented, highlighting the different drivers and issues at each stage of the transition curve (Kanninen et al. 2007).

1- Tropical Forestry - including Reduced Impact Logging, Forest Certification, and International Timber Market.
2- Secondary forests and Agroforests - landscape mosaics, forest fragments, non timber forest products, slash and burn systems, small holder production systems.
3- Conversions and Deforestation: Global trends, Biofuel extensions .
4- Reforestation and Agroforestry : Plantations.
5- Conclusion - Future trends; Global Arenas and Local Governance.

The course will tackle new and emerging topics such as the role of forests and trees in adaptation to climate change, the links between forest, poverty and food security, and the need to mainstream conservation of biodiversity outside protected areas. The course will draw from diverse disciplines, from ecology, economy, sociology, political sciences and legal studies as the most preeminent ones.
The course will enlarge the scope of the students from the ecological process to the social and political components of tropical social and ecological systems. It will address topics and case studies that the students will have little opportunity to address elsewhere, linking them to issues of global relevance in environmental sciences.
LiteratureAssunçao, J., C. C. e Gandour, and R. Rocha. 2012. Deforestation Slowdown in the Legal Amazon: Prices or Policies? Climate Policy Initiative Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro.
CGIAR Research Program 6. 2011. Forest, Trees and Agroforestry: Livelihoods, Landscapes and Governance. Page 338. CGIAR Research Program 6. CIFOR, ICRAF, CIAT, Bioversity, Bogor.
Costanza, R., R. d'Arge, R. De Groot, S. Farber, M. Grasso, B. Hannon, K. Limburg, S. Naeem, R. V. O'Neill, and J. Paruelo. 1997. The value of the world's ecosystem services and natural capital. Nature 387:253-260.
FAO. 2010. Global Forest Resource Assessment 2010. Page 342. FAO, Rome.
Kanninen, M., D. Murdiyarso, F. Seymour, A. Angelsen, S. Wunder, and L. German. 2007. Do trees grow on money: The implications of deforestation research for policies to promote REDD. Forest Perspectives. Forest Perspectives. CIFOR, Bogor.
Lescuyer, G., P. O. Cerutti, E. E. Mendoula, R. Ebaa-Atyi, and R. Nasi. 2010. Chainsaw milling in the Congo Basin. ETFRN News 52:121-128.
Torquebiau, E. F. 2000. A renewed perspective on agroforestry concepts and classification. Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences-Series III-Sciences de la Vie 323:1009-1017.
World Bank. 2004. Sustaining Forests: a development strategy. Page 81, Washington, DC.
701-0791-00LEnvironmental History - Introduction and Overview Restricted registration - show details
Number of participants limited to 100.
W2 credits2VD. Speich Chassé
AbstractOur society faces a serious ecological crisis. Of what historical dimension is this crisis? How have human societies already in earlier times changed their environment, and, consequently, perhaps also ours? What were the main ecological challenges for societies and how did they change over time? And how did societies adapt to changing environmental conditions?
ObjectiveIntroduction into environmental history; survey of long-term development of human-nature-interrelations; discussion of selected problems. Improved ability to assess current problems from a historical perspective and to critically interrogate one's own standpoint.
Lecture notesCourse material is provided on OLAT.
LiteratureMcNeill, John R. 2000. Something new under the sun: An environmental history of the twentieth-century world, New York: Norton.

Uekötter, Frank (Ed.) 2010. The turning points of environmental history, Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press.

Winiwarter, Verena und Martin Knoll 2007. Umweltgeschichte: Eine Einführung, Köln: Böhlau.
Prerequisites / NoticeStudents are asked to write an exam during the second last session (11.12.2015).
701-0963-00LEnergy and Mobility Information W3 credits2GP. J. de Haan van der Weg, M.  Müller
AbstractThe lecture ‘Energy and Mobility’ imparts profound knowledge on how to reduce energy in mobility systems. Both Engineering science and social science aspects are integrated, as technological potentials, policy tools, and human decision making behaviour are combined in order to assess how to reduce energy demand for transport.
ObjectiveThe main objectives of this lecture are:
(i) Students gain profound knowledge on how to frame problems related to the reduction of energy demand (or greenhouse gas emissions) of mobility (sub-)systems.
(ii) Students have an overview on the most relevant technological potentials (fuel-based and vehicle-based).
(iii) Students can assess whether a given reduction goal is ambitious or not, and whether given policy tools are adequate to reach the defined reduction goal.
ContentThe lecture Energy and Mobility deals with the intersection of energy and transportation with focus on motorized individual transport.
The lecture deals with the question, how the energy demand, or greenhouse gas emissions, of mobility can be reduced. A five step approach provides a common framework:
a) Status quo and Scope: Definition of the system boundary (whole transport system, or only road transport) and of the status quo of that system (energy demand and energy carrier mix for this system, current technology mix, transportation services provided);
b) Trends and Targets: Analysis of trend development of the mobility system under consideration, establishment of a trend scenario (baseline scenario). Definition of the reduction targets (expressed in terms of energy demand or greenhouse gas emissions; base year and target year; absolute or relative reduction target)
c) Potential Analysis: Analysis of currently employed technologies and of upcoming technologies. Identification of the reduction potential of current, conventional technologies and of future, alternative technologies. Technologies cover both the fuel and the vehicle side.
d) Policy Measures: Possible policy measures, direct, indirect and macro-level effects of policies, psychological aspects of decision making, elements of behavioral economics and prospect theory, combination of policies into policy mixes.
e) Effects and Side Effects: Forecasting the effects of policy measures, differentiation between effects that can be quantified and those that cannot. Identification of unintended (side) counter-effects like rebound effects and perverse incentives.
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