Sustainable Water Management

SDG Academy via edX Professional Certificate

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Details

This course may be unavailable.

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Provider

edX Professional Certificate
Pricing

$177.00
Languages

English
Certificate

Certificate Available
Duration & workload

16 weeks, 3-5 hours a week

Found in

Overview

The United Nations General Assembly adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, along with a new set of goals collectively called the Sustainable Development Goals SDGs). This ambitious agenda is a call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity. This course will focus on the key role water plays in the achievement of the SDGs, and particularly SDG6 about sustainable water and sanitation for all.

Through the course you will gain a better understanding of how water influences lives and livelihoods. You will also learn how your own actions can contribute to a more water wise world. It aims to build theoretical knowledge as well as provide exposure to concrete practices from around the world through a series of case studies related to good water governance.

This course presents multiple facets of governance for transboundary freshwater security – from financing mechanisms to negotiation skills – while emphasizing the urgency of sustainable development and cooperation at many levels.

The range of topics covered includes financing, policy development, roles of stakeholders, and more. A comprehensive understanding of the societal transformations needed to achieve the SDGs is conveyed. This course extends from basic building blocks and concepts to advanced thinking about transboundary governance, and applies theory to practice through examples and case studies. Additionally, this course will divide into the fundamentals of transboundary water security to international water law, water diplomacy, negotiations, institutions, management tools, and sustainable finance.

Syllabus

Courses under this program:
Course 1: Water: Addressing the Global Crisis

We are living in a water stressed world. It is a global crisis and therefore we must act now! What can we do to save the planet and ensure availability of water for all by 2030?

Course 2: Governance for Transboundary Freshwater Security

This course provides understandings of transboundary freshwater governance in theory and practice. Topics include transboundary freshwater security, international water law, water diplomacy, negotiations, institutions, management tools, and sustainable finance.

Course 3: Transforming Our World: Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals

What will it take to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030?

Courses

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1 week, 2-4 hours a week, 2-4 hours a week
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In this course, learn all about the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

In September 2015, the world’s leaders signed on to this new agenda, answering the call for a global vision of important social, economic and environmental needs to support the planet and its people in long-term prosperity and survival. The goals include a set of key areas of focus, as well as detailed targets to put our planet on track for this continuing sustainability through 2030 and beyond.

Sustainable development is not just a problem for future generations. It is a shared global responsibility now and forevermore to be thoughtful stewards of our entire world – from developed countries to developing countries, from high-level policymakers to individuals.

This course is for:
- Anyone new to the concept of the Sustainable Development Goals who wants to understand what they are, why they’re important and how to achieve them
- Graduate students and advanced undergraduate students interested in the key concepts and practices of sustainability
- Policymakers and sustainable development practitioners looking for a concise overview of the goals and their targets
- Private-sector actors, such as those who work in corporate sustainability and responsibility or at universities – who want their work to be more sustainable and align with global progress
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9 weeks, 3-5 hours a week, 3-5 hours a week
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Water isthe source of all life. Without it, neither humans nor nature will survive. Yet lack of access to water is a rapidly growing problem and one of the world’s gravest risks. It is a global crisis. The water we have at our disposal is often too little, too much or too dirty.We must learn to manage it more wisely, fairly and sustainably to avoid a serious water crisis.

The SDG Academy and the Stockholm International Water Institute have come together to offer this MOOC on some of the most important water issues. We focus on the key role water plays in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, not least SDG 6, about sustainable water and sanitation for all. The course intends to explain the global water crisis through linkages between water, environment, and societal development, focusing on how to tackle issues such as growing water uncertainty and deteriorating water quality.

It aims to build theoretical knowledge as well as provide exposure to concrete practices from around the world through a series of case studies related to good water governance. It deals with issues of water and sanitation services, the role of ecosystems, the impact ofclimate change,the role of water for food and energy production, as well as shared water resources as a source of conflicts and cooperation.

Through the course you will gain a better understanding of how water influences lives and livelihoods. You will also learn how your own actions can contribute to a more water wise world.
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6 weeks, 4-6 hours a week, 4-6 hours a week
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Freshwater scarcity, stress, and crisis are increasing worldwide. More than a billion people live in water-scarce regions, and 3.5 billion could experience water scarcity by 2025. These pressures disproportionally affect vulnerable and marginalized people, including those living in poverty and displacement. Rising pollution levels accelerate the crisis by reducing water availability for human use and impacting aquatic life in rivers, lakes, aquifers, and the oceans.

Transboundary basins account for roughly 60% of freshwater resources, serving 2.8 billion people, or 42% of the world’s population. Complex shared transboundary freshwater and ecosystems cut across myriad sectoral needs, themes, and political boundaries. Setting effective policy goals, coupled with investments, means working at multiple scales with a range of public and private stakeholders throughout the watershed, from source to sea and beyond.

This course presents multiple facets of governance for transboundary freshwater security – from financing mechanisms to negotiation skills – while emphasizing the urgency of sustainable development and cooperation at many levels. It extends from basic building blocks and concepts to advanced thinking about transboundary governance, and applies theory to practice through examples and case studies. Topics covered in six modules range from the fundamentals of transboundary water security to international water law, water diplomacy, negotiations, institutions, management tools, and sustainable finance.

The course is designed for professionals who manage and make decisions about transboundary waters within line ministries and river basin organizations; managers of transboundary water projects and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) International Waters Portfolio; the GEF IW:LEARN Network; NGOs, academics, and private sector actors working on basin management; development practitioners; young professionals and future leaders in transboundary waters, including undergraduate and graduate students; and anyone else who is keen to learn about the topic.

This MOOC was produced by the Global Water Partnership in collaboration with GEF IW:LEARN and its partners. Over 80 water professionals from around the world brought their experiences to lectures and case studies. Modules are coordinated by United Nations University, Northumbria University, Stockholm International Water Institute, IHE-Delft, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, and the Global Water Partnership.

Taught by

Yumiko Yasuda, Danilo Turk, Jackie King, Aaron Wolf, Alistair Rieu-Clarke, Maria Vink, Sonja Koeppel, Nidhi Nagabhatla, Susanne Schmeier, Astrid Hillers, Barbara Janusz-Pawletta, David Hebart-Coleman, David Grey, Jerome Delli Priscoli, Dr. Therese Sjömander Magnusson, Dr. Stefan Uhlenbrook, Dr. John H. Matthews, Dr. Angela Renata Cordeiro Ortigara, Dr. Marianne Kjellén, Dr. Alejandro Jiménez, Prof. Jan Lundqvist, Dr. Nathanial Matthews and Jeffrey D. Sachs