Poverty, climate change and water in the context of SDGs
The ambitious new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aim to ensure the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all (SDG #6). They aim to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources (SDG #14), at the same time as eradicating poverty (SDG#1) and reducing inequality (SDG#10). The defined targets are equally ambitious and represent a challenge for an international community striving for sustainability and development at a time dominated by massive global challenges.
Hovedinnhold
Course description
The main objective of the proposed course is to analyse these challenges within an integrated scientific framework and to provide students with tools to address these and other major global challenges (e.g. climate change). Transdisciplinary research (TDR) and more specifically, Sustainability Science, offer the possibility to address urgent societal problems focusing on the transition to sustainability and the quest for integrated research and teaching. This integrated approach refers to the co-design and co-production of knowledge across scientific borders and national boundaries, with the involvement of the “research users”.
The course will start by presenting Sustainability Science as a special case of TDR and an emerging field that spans academic disciplines and brings together scholarship and practice with global and local perspectives from the North and South.
The course will include research and educational modules based on a Sustainability Science approach and with a focus on the water-related aspects of three global challenges at the top of the United Nations’ agenda: poverty, climate change, and sustainable development. These modules will be co-ordinated and taught by specialists in each field. A final module will contribute to the integration of knowledge and collective evaluation of the ideas and research proposals developed during the course.
Course co-ordinators
Alberto D. Cimadamore
CROP/UiB-ISSC
Noel Keenlyside
Bjerknes Center / Department of Geophysics, UiB
Course modules
Module 1
Sustainability Science and Transdisciplinary Research (TDR)
Four lectures coordinated & taught by: Alberto D. Cimadamore & Noel Keenlyside
This module will look at sustainability from a TDR point of view: Can TDR provide a tool kit to address sustainable development and the greatest challenges of our time (poverty, inequality, climate change, and water for all) with a focus on the dynamic interactions between nature and society? The module will also consider the co-production of knowledge and problem-driven science as instruments to address these challenges and feed the decision-making process. To conclude the module, an investigation will be made into the evolution and potential of Sustainability Science.
Required reading
Bettencourt, L.M.A. and J. Kaur (2011) ‘The Structure and Evolution of Sustainability Science’, Santa Fe Institute Working Paper 2011-02-004. 6pp
Clark, W.C. and N. M. Dickson (2003) ‘Sustainability Science: The emerging research program’ in PNAS, Vol. 100, No. 14, p. 8059–8061. 3pp
Hirsch Hadorn, G. et al., (2008) ‘The Emergence of Transdisciplinarity as a Form of Research’ in Hirsch Hadorn, G. et al. (eds) Handbook of Transdisciplinary Research. New York: Springer. 21pp
Pohl, C. and G. Hirsch Hadorn (2008) ‘Core Terms in Transdisciplinary Research’ in Hirsch Hadorn, G. et.al. (eds) Handbook of Transdisciplinary Research. New York: Springer. 6pp
Wiesmann, U. et al. (2008) ‘Enhancing Transdisciplinary Research: A Synthesis in Fifteen Propositions’ in Hirsch Hadorn, G. et al. (eds) Handbook of Transdisciplinary Research. New York: Springer. 9pp
Recommended reading
Bergmann, M. and T. Jahn (2008) ‘CITY:mobil: A Model for Integration in Sustainability Research’ in Hirsch Hadorn, G. et al. (eds) Handbook of Transdisciplinary Research. New York: Springer.
Brandt, P. et al. (2013) ‘A review of transdisciplinary research in sustainability science’ in Ecological Economics 92 (2013) p. 1–15.
Cimadamore A.D. et al (2016) ‘Development and Sustainability Science: Transdisciplinary Knowledge for Positive Social Change’ in Cimadamore, A.D. et al. (eds) Development and Sustainability. The Challenge of Social Change. London: Zed Books.
Lie, G.T. et al. (2016) ‘Sustainability and Transdisciplinary Knowledge: Experience Gained and Challenges Ahead’ in Cimadamore, A.D. et al. (eds) Development and Sustainability. The Challenge of Social Change. London: Zed Books.
Habermann, B. (ed.) (2013) Inter- and Transdisciplinary Research Methods in Rural Transformation. Case studies in Northern Ethiopia. Vienna: Austrian Partnership Programme in Higher Education & Research for Development.
Module 2
Poverty eradication in the MDG/SDG era
Seven lectures coordinated by: Alberto D. Cimadamore
This module will take a closer look at the MDGs and SDGs processes, including international discourses and global realities. It will critically evaluate the challenges posed by poverty, water and sustainable development at the beginning of the 21st Century, before looking forward to the prospects ahead. Particular attention will be paid to global poverty in an age of insecurity and inequality, identifying systemic problems and biases as obstacles to eradicating poverty and diminishing inequality. The module will also consider local effects of global changes and policies, as well as the issue of food security.
Selected lectures
"How to maintain sustainable smallholder farming in the face of climate change?"
Professor Tor Halfdan Aase, Department of Geography, UiB
"Global Poverty, Inequality and the SDGs"
Professor Ronaldo Munck, Dublin City University
"Gender Inequality and Poverty Reduction"
Professor Honor Fagan, National University of Ireland
Required reading
Sundaram, J.K. (2016) ‘The MDGs and Poverty Reduction’ in Cimadamore, A.D. et al. Poverty and the Millennium Development Goals: A Critical Look Forward. London: Zed Books. 19pp
United Nations General Assembly (2015) ‘Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’, Res. A/70/L.1, 25 September. 35pp http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/70/1&Lang=E
Milanovic, B. ‘Global inequality: what it is and why it matters’ 11pp http://www.un.org/esa/desa/papers/2006/wp26_2006.pdf
Kabeer, N. and C. Sweetman (2015) ‘Introductions: Gender and Inequalities’ in Gender and Development Vol. 23 (2) p.185-188. 4pp
Holmelin, N. and T.H. Aase (2013) ‘Flexibility of Scope, Type and Temporality in Mustang, Nepal. Opportunities for Adaptation in a Farming System Facing Climatic and Market Uncertainty’ in Sustainability 2013, Vol. 5, Issue 4, p. 1387-1405; DOI:10.3390/SU5041387 15pp
Recommended reading
Boltvinik, J. and A. Damian (2016) ‘Irrelevance of the MDGs and a real solution to poverty: Universal Citizen’s Income’ in Cimadamore, A.D. et al. Poverty and the Millennium Development Goals: A Critical Look Forward. London: Zed Books
Cimadamore, A.D. et al. (2016) ‘Poverty and the Millennium Development Goals: A Critical Look Forward’ in Cimadamore, A.D. et al. Poverty and the Millennium Development Goals: A Critical Look Forward. London: Zed Books
United Nations (2015) The Millennium Development Goals Report 2015. New York: UN. http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/reports.shtml
Kabeer, N. (2015) ‘Gender, poverty, and inequality: A brief history of feminist contributions in the field of international development’ in Gender & Development, Vol. 23, Issue 2, p. 189-205, DOI: 10.1080/13552074.2015.1062300 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13552074.2015.1062300 requ
Adams, W.M. and M.J. Mortimore (1997) ‘Agricultural Intensification and Flexibility in the Nigerian Sahel’ in The Geographical Journal, Vol. 163, No. 2, Environmental Transformations in Developing Countries (Jul., 1997), p. 150-160
Module 3
Climate change and sustainable management of marine ecosystems
Six lectures coordinated by: Noel Keenlyside
This module aims to provide an understanding of climate change and its impact on the hydrological cycle. It will also investigate the potential impacts of climate change on marine ecosystems, before continuing to discuss the management of small scale fisheries in an era of climate change.
Selected lectures
"Understanding climate change and its impact on the hydrological cycle"
Professor Noel Keenlyside, Department of Geophysics, UiB/Bjerknes Centre
"Potential impacts of climate change on marine ecosystems"
Lecturer from the Institute for Marine Research
"Managing small scale fisheries in an era of climate change"
Professor Jörn Schmidt, Christian-Albrechts-Universität Zu Kiel
Required reading
IPCC (2013) ‘Summary for Policymakers’ in Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change[Stocker, T.F., Qin, D., Plattner G.-K., Tignor, M., Allen, S.K., Boschung, J., Nauels, A., Xia, Y., Bex V. and P.M. Midgley (eds)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA. Sections A, B (excluding B.3, & B.5), C, D, E (excluding E.3, E.5, E.7) 20pp
Bakun, A., Field, D.B., Redondo-Rodriguez, A.N.A., and S.J. Weeks (2010) ‘Greenhouse gas, upwelling-favorable winds, and the future of coastal ocean upwelling ecosystems’ in Global Change Biology Vol. 16, Issue 4, p. 1213-1228. 16pp
Rykaczewski, R.R. and D.M. Checkley (2008) ‘Influence of ocean winds on the pelagic ecosystem in upwelling regions’ in PNAS Vol. 105, No. 6, p. 1965-1970. 16 pp
Allison, E.H., Perry, A.L., Adger, W.N., Badjeck, M.-C., Brown, K., Conway, D., Halls, A., Pilling, G.M., Reynolds, J.D., and N.K. Dulvy (2009) ‘Vulnerability of national economies to the impacts of climate change on fisheries’ in Fish and Fisheries Vol. 10, p. 173–196. 24pp
Sumaila, U.R., Cheung, W.W.L., Lam, V.W.Y., Pauly, D., and S. Herrick (2011) ‘Climate change impacts on the biophysics and economics of world fisheries’ in Nature Climate Change Vol. 1, p. 449–456. 8pp
Recommended reading
Xie, S.-P., Deser, C., Vecchi, G.A., Collins, M., Delworth, T.L., Hall, A., Hawkins, E., Johnson, N.C., Cassou, C., Giannini, A., and M. Watanabe (2015) ‘Towards predictive understanding of regional climate change’ in Nature Climate Change Vol. 5, p. 921-930.
Hawkins, E. and R. Sutton (2009) ‘The Potential to Narrow Uncertainty in Regional Climate Predictions’ in Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society Vol. 90, p. 1095-1107.
Deser, C., Knutti, R., Solomon, S., and A. S. Phillips (2012) ‘Communication of the role of natural variability in future North American climate’ in Nature Climate Change Vol. 2, p. 775-779.
Steinacher, M., Joos, F., Frolicher, T.L., Bopp, L., Cadule, P., Cocco, V., Doney, S.C., Gehlen, M., Lindsay, K., Moore, J.K., Schneider, B., and J. Segschneider (2010) ‘Projected 21st century decrease in marine productivity: A multi-model analysis’ in Biogeosciences Vol. 7, No. 3, p. 979-1005.
Pörtner, H.-O., Karl, D.M., Boyd, P.W., Cheung, W.W.L., Lluch-Cota, S.E., Nojiri, Y., Schmidt, D.N., and P.O. Zavialov (2014) ‘Ocean systems’ in Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Part A: Global and Sectoral Aspects. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Field, C.B., Barros, V.R., Dokken, D.J., Mach, K.J., Mastrandrea, M.D., Bilir, T.E., Chatterjee, M., Ebi, K.L., Estrada, Y.O., Genova, R.C., Girma, B., Kissel, E.S., Levy, A.N., MacCracken, S., Mastrandrea, P.R., and L.L. White (eds)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA, p. 411-484.
Hoegh-Guldberg, O., Cai, R., Poloczanska, E.S., Brewer, P.G., Sundby, S., Hilmi, K., Fabry, V.J., and S. Jung (2014) ‘The Ocean’ in Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Part B: Regional Aspects. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Barros, V.R., Field, C.B., Dokken, D.J., Mastrandrea, M.D., Mach, K.J., Bilir, T.E., Chatterjee, M., Ebi, K.L., Estrada, Y.O., Genova, R.C., Girma, B., Kissel, E.S., Levy, A.N., MacCracken, S., Mastrandrea, P.R., and L.L. White (eds)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA, p. 1655-1731.
Cinner, J.E., Huchery, C., Darling, E.S., Humphries, A.T., Graham, N.A.J., Hicks, C.C. et al. (2013b) ‘Evaluating social and ecological vulnerability of coral reef fisheries to climate change’ in PLoS ONE, 8, e74321.
Weeratunge, N., Béné, C., Siriwardane, R., Charles, A., Johnson, D., Allison, E.H., Nayak, P.K., and M.C. Badjeck (2013) ‘Small-scale fisheries through the wellbeing lens’ in Fish and Fisheries, Volume 15, Issue 2, p. 255-279. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/faf.12016
Mills, D.J., Westlund, L., de Graaf, G., Kura, Y., Willman, R., and K. Kelleher (2011) ‘Under-reported and undervalued: small-scale fisheries in the developing world’ in Pomeroy, R.S. and N. Andrew (eds) Small-scale fisheries management: frame- works and approaches for the developing world. Oxfordshire: CAB International. p. 1–15.
Module 4
Water, development and governance: Gender and critical perspectives
Six lectures coordinated by: Ronaldo Munck & Honor Fagan
This module will highlight critical perspectives on water governance, including historical lessons and possible ways forward. There will be a particular focus on gender perspectives in relation to development issues and water management.
Selected lectures
"Water, development and emerging paradigms"
Professor Ronaldo Munck, Dublin City University
"Gender and Water Governance"
Professor Honor Fagan, National University of Ireland
"Environmental factors, Water and Gender: The Case of Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, Ecuador)"
Associate Professor Gaby Ortiz Barreda, HEMIL Centre, UiB
Required reading
Swatuk L. (2015) ‘Can IWRM float on a sea of underdevelopment? Reflections on twenty years of ‘reform’ in sub Saharan Africa’ in Munck et al. Water and Development. Good Governance after Neoliberalism, London: Zed Books, p.60–83. 21pp
Munck, R. (2015) ‘Water, development and good governance’ in Munck et al. Water and Development. Good Governance after Neoliberalism, London: Zed Books, p. 11–29. 17pp
Sultana, F. and A. Loftus (2015) ‘The Human Right to Water: Critiques and Condition of Possibility’ in WIREs Water, Vol. 2, p. 97–105. doi:10.1002/wat2.1067. 9pp
Asaba, R. and G.H. Fagan (2015) ‘Woman Water Keeper? Women’s Troubled Participation in Water Resource Management’ in Munck et al. Water and Development. Good Governance after Neoliberalism, London: Zed Books, p.152-172. 19pp
Denton, F. (2002) ‘Climate change vulnerability, impacts, and adaptation: Why does gender matter?’ in Gender & Development Vol. 10(2) p. 10-20. 9pp
Ferreira, A.J.M. and C. Rocha (2013) ‘Gendered waters: the participation of women in the ‘One Million Cisterns’ rainwater harvesting program in the Brazilian Semi-Arid region’ in Journal of Cleaner Production Vol. 60, p. 163-169. 5pp
Recommended reading
Allan, T. (2003) ‘IWRM/ IWRAM a new sanctioned discourse’, SOAS Water Issues Study Group, Occasional Paper No. 50.
Bakker, K., Kooy, M., Shofiani N.E., and E.J. Martijn (2008) 'Governance Failure: Rethinking the Institutional Dimensions of Urban Water Supply to Poor Households' in World Development Vol. 36 (10), p. 1891-1915.
Barlow, M. (2001) Blue Gold: The Global Water Crisis and the Commodification of the World’s Water Supply. San Francisco: Committee on the Globalisation of Water, International Forum on Globalization.
Black, M. (1998) What Works: A 20-Year Retrospective View on International Water and Sanitation Cooperation. Geneva: UNDP.
Cleaver, F. and K. Hamada (2010) ‘“Good” water governance and gender equity: a troubled relationship’ in Gender & Development Vol. 18:1, p. 27-41. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13552071003599996
Conca, K. (2006) Governing Water: Contentious transnational politics and global institution building. Cambridge Mass: MIT Press.
Dagdeviren, H. (2008) ‘Waiting for Miracles: The Commercialization of Urban Water Services in Zambia’ in Development and Change Vol. 39 (1), p. 101-21.
Finger, M. and J. Allouche (2002) Water Privatisation: Transnational Corporations and the Re-regulation of the Global Water Industry. London: Taylor and Francis.
Hemson, D., Kulindwa, K., Lein, H., and A. Mascarenhas (eds) (2008) Poverty and Water. Explorations of the reciprocal relationship. London: Zed Books.
Nicol, A., Mehta, L., and J. Allouche (eds) (2012) ‘“Some for All?” Politics and Pathways in Water and Sanitation’ in IDS Bulletin Vol. 43, No. 2.
Petrella, R. (2001) The Water Manifesto. Arguments for World Water Contract. London: Zed Books.
Showers, K. (2002) ‘Water Scarcity and Urban Africa: An Overview of Urban Rural Water Linkages’ in World Development Vol. 30, No. 4, p. 621-48.
Sultana, F. (2015) ‘Rethinking Community and Participation in Water Governance’ in The Routledge Handbook of Water and Development, p. 261-272.
Swatuk, L. (2008) ‘A Political Economy of Water in Southern Africa’ in Water Alternatives Vol. 1(1), p. 24-47.
Therhorst, P., Oliveira, M., and A. Dwinelli (2013) ‘Social Movements, Left Governments, and the Limits of Water Sector Reform in Latin America’s Left Turn’ in Latin American Perspectives, Vol. 40, p. 55-69.
Wade, J. (2012) ‘The Future of Urban Water Services in Latin America’ in Bulletin of Latin American Research Vol. 31, No. 2, p. 207-221.
WWW (World Water Council) (2003) Financing Water for All. Report of the World Panel on Financing Water Infrastructure.
Module 5
Integrating analysis & perspectives
Four lectures coordinated by: Alberto D. Cimadamore, Noel Keenlyside, Ronaldo Munck & Honor Fagan
This module will be represented by a collective discussion and evaluation of one-page research proposals prepared by the students using the ideas and readings discussed during the course.
Recommended reading
Peet, R. and E. Hartwick (2009) Theories of Development. Contentions, Arguments, Alternatives. New York: The Guilford Press
Rist, G. (2014) The History of Development. From Western Origins to Global Faith. Fourth Edition. London: Zed Books
Koehler, G. (2016) ‘Looking back and looking forward: the case for a developmental welfare state’ in Cimadamore, A.D. et al. Poverty and the Millennium Development Goals: A Critical Look Forward. London: Zed Books
