Didattica - Università degli Studi di Padova

Syllabus

Prerequisiti:	No pre-requirements requested.
Conoscenze e abilita' da acquisire:	The aim of the course is to identify and understand the differences between the key concepts of forest policy, forest governance and conflict management and their interconnections, and recognize the conflict situation as a creative opportunity in driving forest policy development and implementation, as well as in forest governance change and reform. A special focus is given to the role of networks and European, Mediterranean and tropical countries. At the end of the course, students will be able to: i) Differentiate, interpret and describe complex concepts, such as “forest policy”, “forest governance” and “conflicts management”; (ii) Explain and discuss how they are interlinked each other and how they are reciprocally affected by changes; iii) Recognize and critically analyse drivers and types of conflicts related to forest resource, at global, national and local level; iv) Apply basic skills for: a) Analysing and assessing forest policy and governance at global, national and local level; b) Identifying and analysing conflicts; c) Acting as a facilitator in negotiation/participatory approaches related to natural resources management in fragile areas.
Modalita' di esame:	The students are required to deal with 3 types of compulsory tasks during the course: 1) Oral presentation and discussions of slides (Power Point file) on selected scientific papers and/or assigned topics related to specific course contents. 2) Assigned exercises, classroom role play and home assignments (e.g. papers' reading, a short written report on the observations made during the planned field trip). 3) Final written examination based on ca. 8-10 open-ended questions and, if needed, an integrative oral discussion with the teacher. Activities 1 and 2 might take place in working groups. Activity 3 is strictly individual.
Criteri di valutazione:	The compulsory tasks required to the students during the course will count for different percentages on the final score: 1) Oral presentations, together with assigned exercises and tasks, discussions, role play and home assignments will count for 50% on the final score; 2) Final examination will count for 50% on the final score. To pass the exam, students must achieve the minimum score 18/30=sufficient/pass in each of these two components (active participation and presentations in class + final written exam). Students will be evaluated on the basis of their active participation into the course (level of lessons attendance, quality of questions and comments, originality of topics brought to discussion, regularity of posting, respect of deadlines, etc.), their personal capacity in terms of new knowledge and skills acquired, capacity in terms of critical analysis, correctedeness, clearness and accuracy in writing/presenting (slides, exercises, home assignments, oral answers to open-ended questions and discussion with the teacher). The final score will be assigned using the Italian University grading system, where 18/30 is sufficient/pass and 30/30 is excellent. Outstanding students can reach the maximum score, which is 30/30 with honor (cum laude).
Contenuti:	The course deepens the concepts of forest policy and governance and how they are connected with conflicts over forest resources use management, which derive from contrasting social demands and deforestation, unsustainable practices, climate and biodiversity crises and other global forest-related challenging processes. Central themes are: (i) forest policy and policy reforms at global, regional, national and local levels; (ii) opposite views on forest resources use/management and examples of conflicts; (iii) "old" vs. "new" modes of governance; (iv) governance and ‘good governance’ concepts as applied to forest sector; (v) how to explore forest governance: the analytical and the normative approach; (vi) multi-actor, multi-sector and multi-level governance: the role of networks; (vii) governance and public participation in conflicting situations, negotiation procedures and participatory approaches and tools; (viii) sustainability, multifunctionality, cross-sectoral impact and integration concepts; (ix) case-studies from European, Mediterranean and tropical areas related to: national forest policy formulation processes, national governance models, human-nature conflicts in the framework of political ecology (e.g. biodiversity protection-timber exploitation conflict); (x) examples of participatory approaches and tools to be used in facilitation and negotiation processes.
Attivita' di apprendimento previste e metodologie di insegnamento:	Frontal lessons; case-study analysis; classroom exercises (workshops in small groups of students, oral presentations based on power point and plenary discussions, role play, specialized seminars on specific topics with the participation of external experts); home assignments (few short exercises, papers reading); field trip (if feasible). If needed and useful, online seminars or other activities will also be proposed.
Eventuali indicazioni sui materiali di studio:	- PPT presentations of the lectures (as PDF files) - Various PDF documents (scientific papers, reports, websites and any other relevant source of information available online) and, when appropriate, other books/articles available in our library and/or online databases - as suggested step-by-step during the course. - Material for exercises distributed in classroom. - Videos. All the documents are available on Moodle.
Testi di riferimento:	PROFOR/FAO, Framework for Assessing and Monitoring Forest Governance.. Rome: WB/FAO, 2011. Available on-line at URL: http://www.fao.org/climatechange/ Rametsteiner, E.,, Governance concepts and their application in forest policy initiatives from global to local levels. Small-Scale Forestry, 8: 143-158.. --: --, 2009. WRI, The governance of forests toolkit (version 2): a framework of indicators for assessing governance of the forest sector.. --: World Resource Institute., 2013. Arts, B., Forests policy analysis and theory use: Overview and trends. Forest Policy and Economics, 16: 7-13. --: Elsevier., 2012. Cubbage, F., Harou, P., Sills, E., Policy instruments to enhance multifunctional forest management. Forest Policy and Economics, 9(7): 833-851. --: Elsevier., 2007. Bardach, E., A Practical Guide for Policy Analysis: The Eightfold Path to More Effective Problem Solving.. New York.: Chatman House Publishers., 2000. Secco, L., et al., Why and how to measure forest governance at local level: A set of indicators. Forest Policy and Economics, 49:57-71.. --: Elsevier., 2014.