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TIAS
Summer School
2004 - Osnabrück, Germany 25 - 31 July, 2004
Integrated
Assessment for Environmental Management:
Concepts, methods and
tools for managing complex environmental problems
Extended Deadline for Applications:
14
May, 2004
(applications may be sent by fax)
Co-ordinators
The
week-long session is
co-ordinated by:
Background
Current
problems in
environmental management are becoming more complex. Society is facing
widespread changes such as increasing demand for diminishing natural
resources, transitions in agriculture and land use generally, declining
species diversity, and chemical pollution. More recently increasing
weather extremes and climate change are becoming major concerns for a
wide range of institutions as well as commercial interests. To deal
with this complexity and uncertainty, Integrated Assessment (IA) is
increasingly accepted as the appropriate framework for understanding
these environmental management problems. Moreover, IA plays an
increasingly important role in environmental management by providing
integrated knowledge, management tools and processes for solving
complex environmental problems. As a part of the problem-solving
process, integrated participatory approaches involving relevant
science, policy and stakeholder groups, are considered to be essential
to the problem-solving process.
Aims and Objectives
Starting with the theme
of "Integrated Assessment for Environmental Management",
the summer school will train young scientists in the state-of-the-art
concepts, methods and tools for managing
complex environmental problems. The purpose is to engage PhD
candidates as well as a few post-doctoral researchers and Master’s
level students involved in Integrated Assessment studies in a forum
where they can gain valuable knowledge about current issues and
practices, as well as a number of analytical skills in Integrated
Assessment for Environmental Management. Participants will be immersed
in these topics through lectures, readings, practical work sessions,
problem-solving exercises and preparation of presentations. The
programme will focus on existing case studies involving complex
problem-solving. Specifically, participants in this course will have
the opportunity to:
- obtain a
comprehensive state-of-the–art knowledge of a variety of key concepts,
tools and practices that are used within the field of Integrated
Assessment for application to current environmental management issues;
- improve their
ability to analyse, assess and solve complex environmental problems
from an integrated systems perspective;
- improve their
ability to judge the appropriate concepts, methods and tools for a
specific problem context; and
- work actively
with key scientists in the field of Integrated Assessment.
The summer school
will examine complex environmental issues from the regional to the
global scaling levels, but with particular emphasis on current European
case studies with attention to policy, institutions, law and economy.
European experts with the relevant backgrounds in the key topics will
lead the sessions. In addition to imparting knowledge, participants
will, under the guidance of these experts, analyse complex problems
using a range of tools and methods. Practical exercises will be
undertaken to develop integrated solutions to complex problems.
Students will observe first-hand how Integrated Assessment works in
practice not only through the lectures given by practitioners but also
through team-based project work on actual European cases and simulation
games. In addition, participants will take part in an on-site visit to
a utility and/or government bodies involved in a complex environmental
problem/project involving Integrated Assessment analysis and tools.
Topics and Application
Areas
There are a broad range of IA methodologies that can be applied to
environmental issues. The focus of the Summer School will be on several
key integrated assessment methods as they relate to a number of
important environmental management issues. These are:
- Uncertainty
Analysis: systematic analysis, documentation and communication
of
uncertainty
- Risk
assessment: to analyse and measure potential risks posed by
complex
problems
- Modelling
and participatory processes for scenario development: Scenarios
that
represent the linkages in human-environment interactions allow the
exploration of possible futures. Scenarios can be developed with the
support of modelling (where knowledge can be integrated) and
participatory processes (for knowledge input and dialogue)
- Economic
valuation: valuation of ecological resources contributes to
cost-benefit analysis and supports decision-making particularly in the
public domain.
- Scale of
intervention: addressing complex problems at multiple time and
space
scale levels
The above
methodologies can be applied to a multitude of complex environmental
problems. For the purposes of the summer school the focus will be
limited to the following three environmental
management issues that are
considered to be highly topical at regional, national and international
levels.:
- Coastal
Zone Management
- Biodiversity
in floodplains
- Chemicals
in the environment
However,
participants are encouraged to apply the above methods and tools to
their own areas of interest within the practical sessions and in
discussions.
Instructors
Guest
instructors who are experts in the topics
listed above will lead the sessions. They have been drawn from a
community of
individuals with extensive, on-the-ground experience in
integrated assessment
and environmental management as both researchers and practitioners.
Prof. Dr. Joseph
Alcamo
Executive Director, Environmental Systems Engineering, Centre for
Environmental Systems Engineering, Kasel University. Expertise: Applied systems
analysis; computer modelling; integrated environmental modelling; other
innovative approaches to analyze environmental problems.
Dr. Rudolf de Groot
Associate Professor, Environmental Sciences, Environmental Systems
Analysis
Group, Wageningen University Expertise:
Integrated assessment tools for regional environmental
management, focussing on ecosystem function-analysis and
(ecological and economic) valuation, and integrated cost-benefit
analysis of ecosystem- and climate change on human wellbeing.
Dr. Kasper Kok
Research Scientist, Land Use and Cover Change, Department of
Environmental Sciences, Wageningen University. Expertise: Land use modelling;
scaling issues; GIS and remote sensing; desertification; participatory
scenario development.
Prof. Dr. Michael Matthies
Director
of the Institute of
Environmental
Systems Research and Professor of
Applied
Systems Science, University of Osnabrück. Expertise: risk assessment;
environmental systems science; systems ecology and biogeochemical
cycles; transport modelling of pollutants in soil and water;
ecotoxicology; and sustainable agriculture.
Mr. Lars Mortensen
Manager of integrated environmental assessment with the Policy Analysis
Group, European Environment Agency (EEA) Expertise: evaluation of
environmental policies in Europe; sustainable household consumption;
indicators of sustainable development and of waste and material flows;
and state of the environment reporting.
Prof. Dr. Claudia
Pahl-Wostl
Professor of "Management of Resource Flows", Institute of Environmental
Systems Research, University of Osnabrück. Expertise: Participatory
IA; participatory model development and management
strategies; managing transformation processes towards
sustainability; and evolutionary dynamics of socio-economic systems.
Dr.
Philippe Polomé
Researcher, Rural Economics Unit, Faculty of Agricultural and
Environmental Biology, Catholic University of Leuvain, Belgium. Expertise: Environmental
economics; valuation of environmental goods and services; coastal
resources economics; agricultural economics; mathematical programming.
Dr. Dale Rothman
Senior Researcher, Macaulay Land Use Research Institute, Aberdeen,
United Kingdom. Expertise:
Scenario development and analysis; impacts of climate change;
participatory processes; agent-based modeling and
sustainability indicators.
Dr. Jeroen van der
Sluijs
Manager and Researcher, Environmental Risk Management Group, Department
of Science Technology and Society, Utrecht University, Netherlands.
Expertise:
uncertainty assessment and management; uncertainties and value
diversity in climate risk assessment; uncertainty management in
environmental assessment; science for policy.
Summer
School Programme
- Participants arrive by Sunday
evening.
- Sessions run Monday – Saturday lunchtime.
- Instructors will introduce topics in lecture sessions
.
- Working sessions will follow the lectures in order to
carry
out practical exercises in which the concepts, methods and tools are
applied to the selected environmental management issues.
- Participants will be divided into 3-4 groups for
the
workings sessions that will be led by the lecturers themselves with
support from the staff from the three co-ordinating institutes.
- There will be one half–day excursion to demonstrate
first-hand Integrated Assessment for environmental management.
- Open, informal discussion sessions in the evening:
groups convene to share insights, discuss outcomes of exercises,
address outstanding questions, and identify areas for further research.
Sun.
July 25
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Dinner
at 18.15 - Welcome
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Mon.
July 26
AM
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Introduction:
IA for Environmental Management
Mr. Lars Mortensen, European Environment Agency
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Mon.,
July 27
PM
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Understanding
Uncertainty in Environmental Management
Dr. Jeroen van der Sluis, Environmental Risk Management
Group, Utrecht University |
Tues.
July 27
AM
|
Scales
of intervention in Environmental Management
Dr. Kasper Kok, Department of
Environmental Sciences, Wageningen University |
Tues.
July 27
PM
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Excursion
- Emscher River - near Essen - IA in action |
Weds.
July 28
|
Risk
Assessment for Environmental Management
Prof. Dr. Michael Matthies, Institute of Environmental Systems
Research, University of Osnabrück |
Thurs.
July 29
|
Environmental
Economics and Valuation
Dr. Rudolf de Groot, Environmental
Sciences, Wageningen Univ.
Dr. Philippe Polomé, Agricultural
and
Environmental Biology, Catholic University of Leuvain |
Fri.
July 30
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Participation
and Modelling for Scenario Development
Dr. Joseph Alcamo, Centre for
Environmental Systems Engineering, Kasel University
Dr. Dale Rothman, Macaulay Land Use Research
Institute, UK |
Sat.
July 31
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Closing Lecture: The week
in review. IA - Where to from here...
Prof. Claudia Pahl-Wostl, Institute of Environmental Systems Research,
University of Osnabrück
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Profile
of Participants
The
summer school
programme is specifically oriented to PhD candidates as well as
post-doctoral researchers who are involved in interdisciplinary studies
and/or research oriented towards addressing complex environmental
problems. This includes researchers in environmental engineering, civil
engineering, environmental science, ecology, regional planning,
regional economics, geography, systems science, and related fields. We are seeking
participation from 25 young
scientists (PhD
candidates, post-doctorate researchers, practioners, and masters-level
students) with a diversity of
academic
backgrounds and nationalities .
Fee
The fee for the week-long session is €
200 per person to cover the cost of the instruction.
Accommodation (based on double-occupancy) and meals are subsidised.
Participants will receive an invoice for payment in June.
Participants are responsible for their own travel costs.
Admissions
Procedure and Selection of
Participants
Space
is
limited to 25 participants. Applicants are asked to
submit the following:
- Completed
Application form (download_pdf) or request by (e)mail.
- Curriculum
vitae including your publications if applicable (note that publications
are not necessary for eligibility)
- English
proficiency certificate - photocopy of TOEFL, IELTS
certificate or equivalent (for those who have not
published in an English language journal or prepared a thesis in
English). Applicants
without this certificate should contact the co-ordinator.
- One letter of
reference from a referee familiar with the applicant's recent
scientific work (preferably
the applicant's supervisor). .
- Typed letter
of motivation outlining reasons for participating in the Summer School
and in which way your participation in this course could benefit your
research/work.
Application deadline is
extended to 14 May 2004. Successful
applicants will be notified by 28 May, 2004. Applicants will be
informed by email and regular mail immediately thereafter. This allows
sufficient time (two months) for those requiring visiting
visas to obtain them.
A
committee from the three
institutes involved and one independent IA
expert/scientist
will review the
applications and make a selection. Participants will be selected on
the basis of relevant education, research, final grades and their
statement of interest reflecting their motivation related to the topic.
Consideration will also be given to ensuring that
the group selected
reflects a diversity of disciplines and nationalities.
For more
information contact: Ms.
Caroline
van Bers Tel. +31 53 489 4135
Applications can be sent to:
TIAS Summer School
Attn. Prof. Claudia Pahl-Wostl
Institute of Environmental Systems Research
Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science
Albrechtstr. 28
University of Osnabrück
49069 Osnabrück
Germany
Applications can also be sent by fax:
++49 (0)541 969 2770
Location
The summer school will be held at Haus
Ohrbeck, an old monastery and seminar facility
near Osnabrück, from
Sunday, 25
July until Saturday, 31 July 2004. Haus
Ohrbeck, located 7 km south of the city of Osnabrück,
offers convenient and comfortable facilities for meetings, conferences
and training sessions in a peaceful and pleasant environment surrounded
by park and forest. Haus Ohrbeck also
offers meals for special dietary needs (vegetarian, diabetic).
The University
city
of Osnabrück has
approximately 160,000
inhabitants and is the third-largest city in Lower Saxony. Although
Osnabrück
is a large city, the city centre has an old town charm.
The location is
convenient to other major cities in northern Europe including
Amsterdam,
Berlin, Brussels Copenhagen and Hamburg. Over
18,000 students contribute to the image of
the city. Many cultural activities, student bars, dining halls,
cafés, cinemas,
and trendy locations enrich life in this 1200-year-old cathedral city.
Participants will be provided with more information on transportation
to Haus
Ohrbeck.
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Updated: 09 May 2004, 17.00
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