Water and Environmental Law and Institutions

The purpose of this short course is to introduce the students to theoretical and practical aspects of water and environmental resources management from a legal and policy perspective. The course focuses on multi-level governance from global through to local levels and teaches skills needed in order to improve the institutions needed for water and environmental management.

The key objectives of this short course are to understand how water and environmental resources can be managed sustainably, and what the advantages and disadvantages of different instruments and institutional approaches are.

This short course is for top and mid-level decision makers, technical experts and professional trainers and researchers in relevant technical and managerial fields of work in both the public and private sector.

The national component plays an important part in the international part of this short course, and the international component is interwoven into the national dimension. The course uses interactive lectures, practices in stakeholder interviews and analysis, negotiation exercises, role-plays, workshops, case studies, the internet and audio-visual means.

Subjects at the international level

• the UN institutional framework relevant to water and environmental law and management;
• theoretical concepts of multi-level governance, good governance, the rule of law, participatory approaches and international relations theories;
• general principles of international law, and international water and environmental law;
• elaboration and analysis of the UN Law on the Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses and international treaties on climate change, desertification, biodiversity, depletion of the ozone layer and forestry;
• some regional water and environmental agreements;
• major water and environmental disputes and cases;
• negotiation theory, and
• dispute resolution.

Subjects at the national level

• national water and environmental law systems,
• institutional and management arrangements;
• decentralization, decision-making and communication; and
• contract management.

It is possible to take part in the examination of this short course. If you obtain a passing mark for this examination and return to UNESCO-IHE within four years after completion of the short course to follow a full MSc programme, you will receive exemption for this short course/module. The costs for this exam are €250 extra and should be borne by yourself. Taking part in the examination is not compulsory.