Sustainable Devel in L.A

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Juris Doctor, Undergraduate

This course examines the concept of sustainable development, applied to Latin America. Structured in an interactive seminar format, it examines a number of factors in a holistic way: the influence of factors such as physical setting (climate, land characteristics, topography, natural resources, location), settlement and human interactions (historical and current relationships to natural environments) and the impacts of institutions, economic models, globalization, trade patterns, politics and policies on sustainable development in Latin America. It poses a number of key questions: What explains the historical and ongoing divide in Latin American society along many fault lines? What is the social and environmental impact of historical and current resource extraction and settlement patterns? What conflicts with indigenous and local communities have emerged due to the extractive export economy and land/forest/marine degradation? What natural resource management and climate change challenges does Latin America face? What is Latin America’s commitment to sustainable development/Paris Accord pledges, and what challenges/opportunities do countries face in this regard, in a post-COVID pandemic and economic contraction world? How can communities, stakeholders, civil society be engaged in such efforts?As part of this inquiry, we analyze concepts of carrying capacity and sustainable development – and their application in Latin America. We seek to uncover connections between poverty, the commodity export model/globalization/natural resource use/degradation/conflicts/refugee streams – and climate change. And we assess Latin America’s policy options, progress on Paris Accord pledges, climate change adaptation strategies and opportunities for increased use of renewable energy and greening the economy. We combine theory with practice through analyses of specific case studies and programs in Latin America. Given that Latin America is the highest urbanized continent in the world, we also examine the impact of urbanization and migration/out-migration patterns, especially in Central America. We review cases of environmental hot spots such as: mega-cities, the Amazon Basin, the Panatanal, the Peten, mining conflicts (tailings dams, gold, future lithium), cattle ranching, water resources, tourism management (Galapagos etc.) from a multi-disciplinary point of view. The aim is to understand how growth without equity, socio-spatial polarization, and the unequal access of communities to crucial goods and services undermine sustainable development as well. Structure of Course: The first part deals with conceptual and theoretical issues pertaining to sustainability and its definition, an overview of Latin America’s key geographical/historical features and variables of socio-economic and environmental change. The second part includes analyses of regional source documents, country policies and practices and case studies, supplemented by a range of examples and case studies of natural resource management conflicts and climate change challenges. The third part looks at issues of demographic change, social exclusion, migration, urbanization, crime and violence, impact of drug cartels, refugee flows, and their linkages to unsustainable development and poverty, integrating these elements into the overall analyses. The course content is underpinned by the structure and interactive nature of the seminar, with emphasis placed on participation, individual/group discussions and presentations, and the development of critical analysis and problem solving skills to support learning outcomes.