Environmental Collaboration and Conflict Resolution

The course will address environmental and natural resource conflicts that are familiar and topical for the course participants. These cases provide a real-world context for the course contents and the development of practical skills. The themes include natural resource conflicts for example in the fields of forestry, nature conservation, mining and land use conflicts more generally. Students are expected to work with concrete conflict cases along the course program. The course is constructed around a framework of environmental collaboration and conflict resolution. It starts with the introduction of collaborative management and participatory methods and continues with the theory and practice of collaboration, mediation and consensus building. It includes elements of interest-based negotiation theory at its core and builds on the collaborative model of consensus building. Pre-course reading materials and tasks, lectures, group work, presentations, and an excursion during the course as well as reports/essays after the course. To complete the course and get the ECTS credits Master’s student needs to participate in 80% of course sessions as well as actively carry out group work and reading outside of course sessions.

Course leader

Denis Dobrynin (denis.dobrynin@uef.fi)

Target group

Bachelor level basic studies e.g. in field of environmental politics, forest policy and economics, environmental issues, natural resources governance, sociology or political science. Or studies/practical experience in environmental conflict situations.