Water and Land Management for Sustainable Development (30 credits)

Scope

This module provides an opportunity to study and understand fundamental theories, concepts and tools relevant to the management of water and land resources. Management of water, land and the linkages between are key for sustainable development, and affect both the developed and developing world. The themes of climate change, poverty, gender, equity, development and sustainability are treated as cross-cutting in this module. It has long been recognised that water and land management are not simply technical problems requiring technical solutions, in fact, on the contrary, experience has shown that water and land-use decisions are based on social and economic criteria and it is here that governments potentially have most influence. Therefore, in addition to considering technical measures for sustainable management in a variety of contexts, this module considers the policy options open to governments to encourage the sustainable use of water and land resources.

Objectives and learning outcomes of the module

• show critical appreciation of the global drivers and pressures on water availability and aquatic ecosystems health
• demonstrate knowledge and critical understanding of the complexity of the water resource in its physical, ecological, social, economic and governance dimensions
• show critical appreciation of the role and management of water throughout the continuum of rainfed to irrigated agriculture, from community to basin scales, across potentially competing sectors, and of past, present and future prospective outcomes
• demonstrate ability to understand and critically assess water–energy nexus issues and their implications for management and governance
• demonstrate ability to critically apply a range of assessment approaches and analytical methods for use in the planning and implementation of improved water resources management
• demonstrate ability to explain critically the rationale for an integrated approach to water governance, policy and politics
• describe important land degradation processes (erosion, nutrient depletion, and salinisation) and critically discuss relevance and importance to sustainable development
• explain and critically assess how multiple factors may lead to unsustainable land management practices and to identify possible points of intervention for tackling land degradation problems
• give selective examples of successful strategies for sustainable land management in different ecological zones and farming systems and identify the biophysical and socioeconomic factors related to their success with critical interpretation of importance and priority
• discuss and critically assess the complex relationship between poverty and land degradation
• critically examine the role of government intervention and policy in creating conditions for sustainable land management
• show critical awareness and understanding of challenges for future professionals.

Workload

Students are advised to dedicate 10–15 hours study time per week for this module.

Syllabus

Topics include (indicative): 

Water, Land and the Planetary Boundaries

Water, Land and Climate Change

Social and Economic Characteristics of Water and Land Resources

Water, Land and Sustainable Development

The Political Economy of Water and Land Governance

Water, Land and Justice

Land-Water-Energy-Food nexus

Sustainable Development, Land and Water Management

Suggested reading

• Falkenmark , M. & Rockström, J. (2006) The new blue and green water paradigm: Breaking new ground for water resources planning and management. Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management, 132 (3), 129–132.

Disclaimer

Important notice regarding changes to programmes and modules