University of Leeds Online Course - Environmental Challenges: Scarcity and Conflict in the Natural Environment

Environmental Challenges: Scarcity and Conflict in the Natural Environment

This course explores three basic principles when considering conflict in the natural environment:

1. The economics of the coming spaceship Earth
2. Scarcity and conflict
3. The environment as a weapon of war

Human conflict has both short and long term effects on the natural world. The environment is directly impacted by pollution and explosions; and can be used as a weapon of war through scorched earth military action, poisoning and defoliation. In the longer term, sustainable environmental management is disrupted when conflict destabilises social systems and people are denied access to natural resources.

We will explore how we have utilised the environment of the planet to the point where there are fundamental changes to its biogeochemical cycles. For example: climate change from greenhouse gas emissions; acidification of oceans; and soil erosion. As resources become scarcer, it might be expected that people come into conflict about access to natural resources.

Intrigued? Then sign up for this short course to find out more.

Earn credit from the University of Leeds

This course is part of the Environmental Challenges program from the University of Leeds. When you complete all five courses in the program and buy a Certificate of Achievement for each, you will be eligible to join a final assessment course that leads to the award of 10 credits from the University of Leeds.

Gain a key environmental management skill

Each course in the program includes an exercise and revision material to help you develop a skill that is key to working in environmental management – this course explores how to resolve conflict and negotiate.

This course is currently seeking CPD accreditation and can be used to provide evidence of your continuing professional development.

Choose how you would like to learn

• If you have a general interest in this topic, you can work through the activities in around three hours each week. You will have the opportunity to check your understanding and spend some time joining the discussions.

• If you would like to know more about the topic, you can spend up to an extra two hours a week reading the additional materials and watching the videos provided in the ‘Downloads’ and ‘See also’ sections within some course steps. By doing this, you will have the required knowledge to attempt the end of course test.

• If you have more time to study, you can also complete the optional revision activity and join a live Q&A session in the second week of the course – this will help you when you attempt the end of course test. You will need to allow a further two hours a week to cover the revision tasks.

REQUIREMENTS

No previous knowledge or experience is required, just an interest in environmental management and natural resource management.