About this Course

In order to influence the next generation of policymakers and decision makers, PEDRR is collaborating with the Cologne University of Applied Sciences’ Center for Natural Resources and Development (CNRD) and its global network of universities, in developing a Masters Elective Course on Disasters, Environment and Risk Reduction

Compiled by researchers and practitioners from more than 15 countries and institutions worldwide, the module contains 50 hours of teaching material, divided into approximately 30 sessions (corresponding to 3-5 credits). It is now available in Spanish!

The course is free of charge and available to any universities interested in teaching it.

Eco-DRR Alumni Corner
Since 2011 PEDRR partners have organized a number of training workshops with government officials, civil society organizations, academics and practitioners around the world on Eco-DRR and EbA. There are now 143 trained alumni, many whom are now teaching courses on Eco-DRR / EbA. Attached below is the Eco-DRR Alumni List of Trained Universities and Institutions that can be accessed if you like to get in touch with our Alumni.

Course topics include

  • Understanding disaster risk reduction and resilience
  • Disaster trends analysis
  • Ecosystem management tools for disaster risk reduction
  • Climate change and ecosystem-based adaptation
  • Mainstreaming into development
  • Ecological engineering

PEDRR Virtual Library – available online

The PEDRR Virtual library compiles all types of references on Eco-DRR, drawing from materials featured in PEDRR’s Weekly Eco-DRR Newsletter, as well as from other sources. The references consist of reports, scientific journals, news articles, books and videos. This Virtual Library is yours – please use and share widely.  If you would like to add references to the Virtual Library, please write to pedrr.secretariat@gmail.com or click here.

You can access the Virtual Library here and search for references based in the type of hazard.

Module Content

Block name Teaching hours Content
1 Elements of Disaster Risk Reduction 15
hours
Ten sessions including on group wrok
2 Ecosystem-based Disaster Risk Reduction or Eco-DRR 15
hours
Eight sessions including one group work and one case study or field trip
3 Eco-DRR instruments and approaches 15
hours
Nine sessions including one case of study or field trip
4 Mainstreaming Environment and DRR 5 hours Four sessions including one role play

Course topics include understanding disaster risk and resilience, disaster trends analysis, ecosystem management tools for disaster risk reduction, climate change and ecosystem-based adaptation, mainstreaming into development, ecological engineering, among others.

The Course is proposed as an elective course to existing Masters degrees such as in geography, natural resources management, water resources management and IWRM, coastal zone management, agricultural sciences, urban planning, environmental sciences, climate change studies and international development studies.

The main guiding philosophy of this Course is “learning by doing”, combining theory with a lot of practice, whether through examples and case study analysis, learning games, field trips, student presentations, role play exercises, individual research, group assignments and other interactive teaching methods.

Course developers:

CNRD Network

Universidade Federal Fluminense, Brazil
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Chile
Ain Shams University, Egypt
Cologne University of Applied Sciences, Germany
Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia
University of Jordan, Jordan
Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, Mexico
Universidade Eduardo Mondlane, Mozambique
Tribhuvan University, Nepal
Vietnam Academy for Water Resources, Vietnam

PEDRR Partner Institutions

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
United Nations University, Institute for Environment
and Human Security (UNU-EHS)
World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)

Other Partners

University of Innsbruck, Austria
University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Hue University, Vietnam
University of Lausanne / Centre of Research on Terrestrial Environment

Delivering the Masters Course

Launched at the World Environmental Education Congress (WEEC) in June 2013 in Morocco, PEDRR and CNRD are now working to roll-out and share the Masters Course to interested universities and university networks around the world.

Because the Masters Course must be accredited through a university, PEDRR partners are not involved in course delivery or teaching. You must be affiliated with a collaborating university to avail of the Masters Course. If you are a university lecturer and are interested in teaching the Masters Course, contact: pedrr.secretariat@gmail.com

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