University of Geneva
Ecosystem Services: a Method for Sustainable Development
University of Geneva

Ecosystem Services: a Method for Sustainable Development

Martin Schlaepfer
Anthony Lehmann
Juliet Jane Fall

Instructors: Martin Schlaepfer

44,894 already enrolled

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Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.
4.8

(677 reviews)

Intermediate level
Some related experience required
Flexible schedule
Approx. 19 hours
Learn at your own pace
98%
Most learners liked this course
Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.
4.8

(677 reviews)

Intermediate level
Some related experience required
Flexible schedule
Approx. 19 hours
Learn at your own pace
98%
Most learners liked this course

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Assessments

5 assignments

Taught in English

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There are 6 modules in this course

Play the TRADE-OFF game (online), meet the primary instructors of this course, and discover the key questions that we will be revisiting throughout this course in this introductory module.

What's included

15 videos7 readings1 assignment2 discussion prompts

Here you learn about what is valuation, the difference between a price and a value, and various ways to derive a monetary estimate for different ecosystem services. You will also learn about world views that differ radically from the anglo-saxon model with respect to concepts such as "nature" and "biodiversity".

What's included

18 videos1 assignment1 peer review4 discussion prompts

Valuing ecosystem services is a new way of thinking about nature and the environment. Such a change reflects contemporary norms and values, and speaks to contemporary trends in social, cultural, political and economic policies. In this module, you will learn about how the idea of ecosystem services was born, and get a grasp of the specific historical events, places and people who were behind it. You will also understand why it is useful to understand how this approach fits into global trends such as neoliberalism, learn to evalute how you position yourself within these normative and critical perspectives. You will reflect on whether it matters to think about the big picture, and become away of how such an approach can unexpectedly serve to perpetuate unethical or practices

What's included

11 videos1 assignment1 discussion prompt

Now that you have learned what are Ecosystem Services, as well as their strengths and limitations to be used in the environment policy arena, you should be curious to know how we can in fact monitor, model and predict their values in space and time. In this module, we will explore how existing data (e.g. elevation, climate, land use, remote sensing) can be used to assess Ecosystem Services through mapping and models. We will then see that once we have a model we can predict the outcomes of different scenarios on the value of Ecosystem Services. Scenarios are themselves particularly useful when interacting with various stakeholders, policy and decision makers. In order to illustrate this process, we present four case studies at various spatial scales: global, European, national and local.

What's included

14 videos1 assignment

The ecosystem service approach is based on the premise (and promise?) that more sustainable use of natural ressources can be identified through a scientific and social process (Modules 1-4). But how does one get governments (international, national, local) to adopt such practices and then to implement the policy recommendations? This is the challenge of "mainstreaming" a new idea. In this module, you will learn about the challenges and some tips for mainstreaming ecosystem services.

What's included

15 videos1 assignment1 peer review1 discussion prompt

With this last optional module, we would like to give you the opportunity to move from theory to practice by encouraging you to assess a water related ecosystem services (water yield). The aim is to help you discover where you can find useful data to assess ES; how you have to prepare this geospatial data in Geographic information System (here QGIS); how you can use this data to run a simple hydrological model to assess water yield with a dedicated tool with the InVEST package; how you can explore plausible futures of this water resource through scenarios; and finally how you can interpret the outputs of your model as maps in QGIS. Data for a case study is provided with the Tana River basin in Kenya, but you are encouraged to reproduce similar results with your own case study from anywhere in the World. If it will be easier to complete this exercise if you already are somewhat familiar with GIS.

What's included

2 videos5 readings

Instructors

Instructor ratings
4.8 (205 ratings)
Martin Schlaepfer
University of Geneva
1 Course44,894 learners
Anthony Lehmann
University of Geneva
1 Course44,894 learners
Juliet Jane Fall
University of Geneva
2 Courses48,330 learners

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Recommended if you're interested in Environmental Science and Sustainability

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