Didattica - Università degli Studi di Padova

Syllabus

Prerequisiti:	A basic forest background (both about forest management and forest policy at international level) is strongly advisable.
Conoscenze e abilita' da acquisire:	The student will: understand climate change risks; familiarize with basic concepts of mitigation and adaptation; familiarize with role of forests in addressing climate change issues; understand the Post Kyoto Protocol; understand REDD+ mechanisms and governance; get and overview of voluntary and regional initiatives for the reduction and compensation of GHGs; understand trends, critical aspects and limits of the innovative and experimental voluntary carbon markets; comprehend the importance of shared and credible standards; be able to identify different types of standards; understand best practices and limitation in forest carbon projects. Divided into 2 groups and 2 case-studies (SUTROFOR students focused on tropical forests; SUFONAMA students focused on temperate forests): learn how to organize forest carbon projects; define important aspects for the auditing process; learn how to quantify net GHGs removals; acquire skills for project offset development.
Modalita' di esame:	The evaluation is based on two components: 1. Completion of compulsory e-Modules (see evaluation criteria for details), on the basis of an active participation to discussion fora on-line, by respecting deadlines, and on the basis of quality of posts; 2. Satisfactory and timely completion of the final examination, based on a written report that students have to prepare and post on Moodle according to pre-defined timetable.
Criteri di valutazione:	The course is made of 5 compulsory e-Modules, and each Module is made of a number of e-lessons ranging from 2 to 3. In order to pass the course, the student must complete at least 80% of the e-Modules (4 out of 5 e-Modules). An e-Module is completed when at least 75% of the e-lessons are completed (at least 2 out of 2-3 due e-lessons are completed). An e-lesson is completed when ALL the following conditions are met: a) the student posts at least one message which is addressing the task within the defined deadlines; b) the student adds new contents/perspectives to the discussion; c) the student’s posts contribute and stimulate a dynamic discussion (hence the students are expected to address contributions of fellows concerning the posts). The student has also to gain a positive evaluation on the overall quality of posts, regularity of e-lessons attendance, quality of contents and compliance with deadlines of home assignments. Moreover, the student has to get a positive evaluation on the final written report. A part the respect of deadline and other possible requirements, student's ability to correctly express concepts, to be coherent with the assigned contents, issues and objectives, to be original in ideas, to be accurate in references reporting and citations, to be able to critically analize key-issues and to be synthetic in writing are evaluated. The completion of e-Modules and quality of posts/attendance/respect of deadlines counts for 50% of final score; the final examination (a written report) counts for the other 50% of final score. Scores are assigned according to the international scale A-E, where A is excellent and E is not passed.
Contenuti:	Deforestation is a major contributor to human-induced greenhouse gas emissions. This course introduces participants to the role of forests in regulating the climate, the impacts of deforestation and forest degradation on global atmospheric carbon, the rapidly changing framework of policy and tools for managing forest carbon, and implications for conservation and forest-dependent peoples. The course will look in detail at the negotiations within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) on emission reductions from forests (REDD+) and the various Fast Start mechanisms already operating, such as for example the UN-REDD program. The different options for finance including carbon markets and multilateral investment will be examined. There will also be a discussion of emerging environmental and social safeguards for REDD+ as well as links to agricultural roundtables and forest law-enforcement, governance and trade (FLEGT) initiatives. The course will use case studies to illustrate key topics and create a space for discussion on directions for the future. The course is divided into 5 compulsory e-Modules. The Modules are the following: e-Module 1: “Starting up! Are you climate friendly?”, which includes 4 e-lessons (1. Log in and answer to the welcome letter; 2. Have you ever seen deforestation of forest degradation?; 3. Calculate your carbon footprint!; 4. IPCC forescasts); e-Module 2: “Market snapshot”, which includes 3 e-lessons (1. REDD+; 2. Voluntary carbon market; 3. Domestic initiatives); e-Module 3: “From carbon to ecosystem services”, with 3 e-lessons (1. Key concepts; 2. Exercise 1: compare forest carbon standards; 3. Ecosystem services; 4. Adding value); e-Module 4: "Carbon accounting", with 2 e-lessons (1. Exercise 1: estimate carbon credits; 2. Exercise 2: audit carbon estimations); e-Module 5: Final examination (Final individual assignment)
Attivita' di apprendimento previste e metodologie di insegnamento:	Each e-Module runs for a varying period, from a minimum of 4 days up to a maximum of 15 days, depending on the number and complexity of e-lessons. Each module is divided into 2-4 e-lessons, where specific issues are described and discussed. Objectives, tasks, useful documents and sources of information, suggested organisation of working activity (in group of students or individually, for example) and deadlines are defined for each single e-Module. Students are required to start by firstly reading the e-lesson's introduction, contents and structure and secondly posting comments. E-moderators (course teacher and some experts eventually invited to participate) are continuosly participating by commenting students' posts, stimulating the on-line discussion forum launched for each e-lesson and providing clarifications if necessary. At the end of each e-module, a technical sum-up is made available; students are expected to read through it before moving to the next e-module.
Eventuali indicazioni sui materiali di studio:	The UNFCCC and Kyoto Protocol; Project Design Documents on selected case-studies; web-sites, YouTube videos; and scientific readings suggested for each single e-lesson. Video and Power Point presentations prepared by the teacher are also uploaded on Moodle.
Testi di riferimento: