On 25-29 June 2018, Oregon State University is holding a course on "Climate-Resilient Resource Management".
How do we sustain natural resources given a dynamic climate and an uncertain future?
The serious practice of climate adaptation is little more than a decade old, with many elements that are controversial and rapidly evolving. The science of climate impacts, in most cases, does not provide effective guidance about how to define sustainable resource management.
Each day will include working through a series of case studies. Using a set of global examples as well as US issues and cases, we will approach climate adaptation from several perspectives:
- How the eco-hydrological landscape responds to climate shifts
- How built and managed aspects of the landscape, such as infrastructure, interact with climate impacts
- How ecosystems have special problems and opportunities with sustainability and resilience
- How a variety of institutions engage with non-stationary management
- How governance frameworks and management agreements encompass dynamic institutional and hydrological relationships.
Climate adaptation is inherently interdisciplinary, and we will draw from scientific, engineering, economic and finance, and governance and legal viewpoints about topics such as assessing vulnerability, defining performance indicators and developing adaptation plans. This course will draw from an international set of expertise. Throughout the course, students will hear from daily guest lecturers (via video conferencing or in person) representing each of the course’s major topics. Speakers will be determined as the course approaches. Past speakers have included engineers from the US Army Corps, economists with the World Bank, and community adaptation specialists from Nepal.
Dates of Course
This course will run from 25-29 June, 2018. Class meets daily from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. with breaks throughout. More detailed information on the full OSU Summer Session schedule can be found at http://summer.oregonstate.edu/courses/credit/.
Location
This course is offered through Oregon State University's main campus in Corvallis, Oregon, USA.