International development
Disasters, Environment and Development
Module code: 005DA
Level 6
30 credits in autumn semester
Teaching method: Seminar, Lecture
Assessment modes: Coursework, Report
Environmental change and disaster risk present fundamental threats to sustainable development and the eradication of poverty. Negative impacts of environmental and climatic change and environmentally related disasters threaten to roll back decades of development gains.
This module aims to explore the connections between disasters, the environment and development. Building resilient and sustainable societies means addressing:
- climate and disaster risks
- our understanding of the linkages between these issues and integrating these risks
- potential opportunities into development planning and budgeting.
The module is split into three parts.
The conceptual part explores similarities and differences in concepts, frameworks and terminology used in these different areas.
The problem part examines issues such as:
- droughts, floods and food security
- complex disasters
- environmental migration
- trapped populations
- resource wars.
The solution part looks at some of the possible avenues that may help address these problems including:
- remittance bonds
- serious games
- blended knowledge
- science for humanitarian emergencies and resilience.
Module learning outcomes
- Understand the conceptual links between disaster, environmental change and sustainable development.
- Critically evaluate arguments, assumptions, and concepts around disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation and development.
- Understand the uncertainty, ambiguity and limits of knowledge around planning for future developmental actions in a changing environment.
- Critically discuss and analyse evidence for the role of environmental stresses and shocks on patterns of conflict or migration in the global south.
- Manage their own learning, and to make use of scholarly reviews and primary sources in the three overlapping areas of climate adaptation, disaster risk reduction and development.
- Develop a critical awareness of the application of serious games.