Political Economy of Environment and Development

Course details

This module aims to provide participants with an overview of global environmental change, to facilitate their critical understanding and analysis of the inter-relationships between environment and development issues, and to enable them to apply such understanding to their own experience and work.

Module Objectives

• To investigate the implications that increasing world population and resource scarcity have for development and the environment.
• To critically examine the key global environmental issues currently affecting human livelihoods, with particular focus on the rights and needs of poorer communities.
• To provide in depth understanding of the connections between environmental issues, climate change, and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.
• To critically analyse theories of ‘sustainable development’, and environment – economy relationships.
• To critically reflect on the ‘global food crisis’ and analyse key agricultural and land use models and how they work for poor people and affect the environment.

Module Learning Outcomes

At the end of this module participants:

• will comprehend terminology and key concepts of Environment and Sustainable Development.
• are expected to have a critical understanding of the nature, underlying causes, and consequences of key global environmental concerns – such as climate change, water scarcity, loss of biodiversity –the implications of these issues for the livelihoods of the poor, and to be able to offer a critique of the role of various Multilateral, State and non State actors in working to address these issues.
• will have an in-depth understanding of the linkages between population growth, resource extraction and consumption and wealth generation, poverty, and environmental change.
• will have critically reflected upon different theoretical perspectives on ‘sustainable development’ and the relationships between the economy and the environment.
• will be informed on contemporary debates around the socio-economic and environmental impacts of how land is used and food is produced and distributed globally.

Module Content

• The Impact of Population Growth and Consumption on Development and Environment
• Key Global Environmental Concerns
• Poverty and the Environment
• Climate Change and Development (an overview)
• Climate Change and Development (dealing with the issue)
• Putting Environment into Economics: environmental and ecological economics
• Approaches to ‘Sustainable Development’
• Agriculture, Food Security and Sustainable Development
• Economics, Politics and Natural Resources
• The Blessings and Curses of Natural Resources

Details of assessment and up to date reading lists for this module will be made available to learners following enrollment.