(Washington, DC): Yesterday, the Environmental Law Institute, U.N. Environment, and partner organizations launched a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on Environmental Security & Sustaining Peace, providing an in-depth introduction to the multiple roles that natural resources and the environment play in the onset, escalation, and resolution of, and recovery from violent conflicts. Many of the considerations and approaches in this course are also relevant to understanding and addressing social conflicts around natural resources and the environment.
Over 8,500 people from around the world—including presidential advisors, journalists, security advisors, and peacekeeping professionals—have already signed up for this free, eight-week course, but it’s not too late to register. Watch the trailer to learn more.
Geared toward technical experts, field practitioners, and advanced university students, the course addresses three key questions:
- How do natural resources and the environment contribute to or amplify armed conflict and violence?
- How are natural resources and the environment impacted by war and armed conflict?
- How can natural resources and the environment support post-conflict peacebuilding and reconstruction?
Offered on the SDG Academy platform, the MOOC synthesizes 100,000 pages of material and 225 case studies from over 60 post-conflict countries into seven hours of film—at no cost! The course includes eight weeks of lectures and two additional weeks for catch-up, so it will remain open until May 10th, 2018. Students can enroll anytime. After May 10th, 2018, the course content will no longer be available.
Join us to learn how we can make natural resources a source of cooperation, rather than conflict.
Additional Details
- General information: http://www.epmooc.org.
- Trailer: https://youtu.be/pqsLlzz9l28
- To register: https://courses.sdgacademy.org/learn/environmental-security-and-sustaining-peace-march-2018
- Partners: UN Environment, Environmental Law Institute, UN Development Programme, UC-Irvine Blum Center for Poverty Alleviation, Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment, The Earth Institute at Columbia University
- Core Faculty: Carl Bruch (Environmental Law Institute), David Jensen (U.N. Environment), Richard Matthew (UC-Irvine), Marc Levy (Columbia University), and Erika Weinthal (Duke University)