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.
Main content
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 鈥渞esearch users鈥.
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鈥 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) 鈥楾he Structure and Evolution of Sustainability Science鈥, Santa Fe Institute Working Paper 2011-02-004. 6pp
Clark, W.C. and N. M. Dickson (2003) 鈥楽ustainability Science: The emerging research program鈥 in PNAS, Vol. 100, No. 14, p. 8059鈥8061. 3pp
Hirsch Hadorn, G. et al., (2008) 鈥楾he Emergence of Transdisciplinarity as a Form of Research鈥 in Hirsch Hadorn, G. et al. (eds) Handbook of Transdisciplinary Research. New York: Springer. 21pp
Pohl, C. and G. Hirsch Hadorn (2008) 鈥楥ore Terms in Transdisciplinary Research鈥 in Hirsch Hadorn, G. et.al. (eds) Handbook of Transdisciplinary Research. New York: Springer. 6pp
Wiesmann, U. et al. (2008) 鈥楨nhancing Transdisciplinary Research: A Synthesis in Fifteen Propositions鈥 in Hirsch Hadorn, G. et al. (eds) Handbook of Transdisciplinary Research. New York: Springer. 9pp
Recommended reading
Bergmann, M. and T. Jahn (2008) 鈥楥ITY:mobil: A Model for Integration in Sustainability Research鈥 in Hirsch Hadorn, G. et al. (eds) Handbook of Transdisciplinary Research. New York: Springer.
Brandt, P. et al. (2013) 鈥楢 review of transdisciplinary research in sustainability science鈥 in Ecological Economics 92 (2013) p. 1鈥15.
Cimadamore A.D. et al (2016) 鈥楧evelopment and Sustainability Science: Transdisciplinary Knowledge for Positive Social Change鈥 in Cimadamore, A.D. et al. (eds) Development and Sustainability. The Challenge of Social Change. London: Zed Books.
Lie, G.T. et al. (2016) 鈥楽ustainability and Transdisciplinary Knowledge: Experience Gained and Challenges Ahead鈥 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"
, Dublin City University
"Gender Inequality and Poverty Reduction"
, National University of Ireland
Required reading
Sundaram, J.K. (2016) 鈥楾he MDGs and Poverty Reduction鈥 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) 鈥Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development鈥, Res. A/70/L.1, 25 September. 35pp
Milanovic, B. 鈥楪lobal inequality: what it is and why it matters鈥 11pp
Kabeer, N. and C. Sweetman (2015) 鈥業ntroductions: Gender and Inequalities鈥 in Gender and Development Vol. 23 (2) p.185-188. 4pp
Holmelin, N. and T.H. Aase (2013) 鈥楩lexibility of Scope, Type and Temporality in Mustang, Nepal. Opportunities for Adaptation in a Farming System Facing Climatic and Market Uncertainty鈥 in Sustainability 2013, Vol. 5, Issue 4, p. 1387-1405; DOI:10.3390/SU5041387 15pp
Recommended reading
Boltvinik, J. and A. Damian (2016) 鈥業rrelevance of the MDGs and a real solution to poverty: Universal Citizen鈥檚 Income鈥 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) 鈥楶overty and the Millennium Development Goals: A Critical Look Forward鈥 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.
Kabeer, N. (2015) 鈥楪ender, poverty, and inequality: A brief history of feminist contributions in the field of international development鈥 in Gender & Development, Vol. 23, Issue 2, p. 189-205, DOI: 10.1080/13552074.2015.1062300 requ
Adams, W.M. and M.J. Mortimore (1997) 鈥楢gricultural Intensification and Flexibility in the Nigerian Sahel鈥 in The Geographical Journal, Vol. 163, No. 2, Environmental聽 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 听听听听
"Managing small scale fisheries in an era of climate change"
, Christian-Albrechts-Universit盲t Zu Kiel
Required reading
IPCC (2013) 鈥楽ummary for Policymakers鈥 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) 鈥楪reenhouse gas, upwelling-favorable winds, and the future of coastal ocean upwelling ecosystems鈥 in Global Change Biology Vol. 16, Issue 4, p. 1213-1228. 16pp
Rykaczewski, R.R. and D.M. Checkley (2008) 鈥業nfluence of ocean winds on the pelagic ecosystem in upwelling regions鈥 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) 鈥榁ulnerability of national economies to the impacts of climate change on fisheries鈥 in Fish and Fisheries Vol. 10, p. 173鈥196. 24pp
Sumaila, U.R., Cheung, W.W.L., Lam, V.W.Y., Pauly, D., and S. Herrick (2011) 鈥楥limate change impacts on the biophysics and economics of world fisheries鈥 in Nature Climate Change Vol. 1, p. 449鈥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) 鈥楾owards predictive understanding of regional climate change鈥 in Nature Climate Change Vol. 5, p. 921-930.
Hawkins, E. and R. Sutton (2009) 鈥楾he Potential to Narrow Uncertainty in Regional Climate Predictions鈥 in Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society Vol. 90, p. 1095-1107.
Deser, C., Knutti, R., Solomon, S., and A. S. Phillips (2012) 鈥楥ommunication of the role of natural variability in future North American climate鈥 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) 鈥楶rojected 21st century decrease in marine productivity: A multi-model analysis鈥 in Biogeosciences Vol. 7, No. 3, p. 979-1005.
P枚rtner, 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) 鈥極cean systems鈥 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) 鈥楾he Ocean鈥 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) 鈥楨valuating social and ecological vulnerability of coral reef fisheries to climate change鈥 in PLoS ONE, 8, e74321.
Weeratunge, N., B茅n茅, C., Siriwardane, R., Charles, A., Johnson, D., Allison, E.H., Nayak, P.K., and M.C. Badjeck (2013) 鈥楽mall-scale fisheries through the wellbeing lens鈥 in Fish and Fisheries, Volume 15, Issue 2, p. 255-279.
Mills, D.J., Westlund, L., de Graaf, G., Kura, Y., Willman, R., and K. Kelleher (2011) 鈥楿nder-reported and undervalued: small-scale fisheries in the developing world鈥 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鈥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"
, Dublin City University
"Gender and Water Governance"
, 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) 鈥楥an IWRM float on a sea of underdevelopment? Reflections on twenty years of 鈥榬eform鈥 in sub Saharan Africa鈥 in Munck et al. Water and Development. Good Governance after Neoliberalism, London: Zed Books, p.60鈥83. 21pp
Munck, R. (2015) 鈥榃ater, development and good governance鈥 in Munck et al. Water and Development. Good Governance after Neoliberalism, London: Zed Books, p. 11鈥29. 17pp
Sultana, F. and A. Loftus (2015) 鈥楾he Human Right to Water: Critiques and Condition of Possibility鈥 in WIREs Water, Vol. 2, p. 97鈥105. doi:10.1002/wat2.1067. 9pp
Asaba, R. and G.H. Fagan (2015) 鈥榃oman Water Keeper? Women鈥檚 Troubled Participation in Water Resource Management鈥 in Munck et al. Water and Development. Good Governance after Neoliberalism, London: Zed Books, p.152-172. 19pp
Denton, F. (2002) 鈥楥limate change vulnerability, impacts, and adaptation: Why does gender matter?鈥 in Gender & Development Vol. 10(2) p. 10-20. 9pp
Ferreira, A.J.M. and C. Rocha (2013) 鈥楪endered waters: the participation of women in the 鈥極ne Million Cisterns鈥 rainwater harvesting program in the Brazilian Semi-Arid region鈥 in Journal of Cleaner Production Vol. 60, p. 163-169. 5pp
Recommended reading
Allan, T. (2003) 鈥業WRM/ IWRAM a new sanctioned discourse鈥, 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鈥檚 Water Supply.聽 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) 鈥樷淕ood鈥 water governance and gender equity: a troubled relationship鈥 in Gender & Development Vol. 18:1, p. 27-41.聽
Conca, K. (2006) Governing Water: Contentious transnational politics and global institution building. Cambridge Mass: MIT Press.
Dagdeviren, H. (2008) 鈥榃aiting for Miracles: The Commercialization of Urban Water Services in Zambia鈥 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.聽 Explorations of the reciprocal relationship.聽 London: Zed Books.
Nicol, A., Mehta, L., and J. Allouche (eds) (2012) 鈥樷淪ome for All?鈥 Politics and Pathways in Water and Sanitation鈥 in IDS Bulletin Vol. 43, No. 2.
Petrella, R. (2001) The Water Manifesto.聽 Arguments for World Water Contract.聽 London: Zed Books.
Showers, K. (2002) 鈥榃ater Scarcity and Urban Africa: An Overview of Urban Rural Water Linkages鈥 in World Development Vol. 30, No. 4, p. 621-48.
Sultana, F. (2015) 鈥楻ethinking Community and Participation in Water Governance鈥 in The Routledge Handbook of Water and Development, p. 261-272.
Swatuk, L. (2008) 鈥楢 Political Economy of Water in Southern Africa鈥 in Water Alternatives Vol. 1(1), p. 24-47.
Therhorst, P., Oliveira, M., and A. Dwinelli (2013) 鈥楽ocial Movements, Left Governments, and the Limits of Water Sector Reform in Latin America鈥檚 Left Turn鈥 in Latin American Perspectives, Vol. 40, p. 55-69.
Wade, J. (2012) 鈥楾he Future of Urban Water Services in Latin America鈥 in Bulletin of Latin American Research Vol. 31, No. 2, p. 207-221.
WWW (World Water Council) (2003) Financing Water for All.聽 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) 鈥楲ooking back and looking forward: the case for a developmental welfare state鈥 in Cimadamore, A.D. et al. Poverty and the Millennium Development Goals: A Critical Look Forward. London: Zed Books