The UN Global Sustainable Solutions Winter School is a collaboration of the:
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University of Massachusetts Amherst (USA)
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McMaster University (Canada)
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United Nations University (UNU) Climate Resilience Initiative -- a joint initiative with UNU-CRIS (Belgium), UNU-MERIT (Netherlands), and UNU-EHS (Germany)
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PEDRR
The Winter School took place in 2020-2021 and in 2022, reaching almost 100 students from partner universities and about 60 from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The next Winter School will take place in January 2025.
The UN Global Sustainable Solutions Winter School is a knowledge exchange platform, an opportunity to learn practical skills and network with practitioners and scholars. The Winter School will provide an international approach to the following topics:
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Nature-based Solutions for Disaster Risk Reduction (ECO-DRR) and Climate Adaptation
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Water Security - enhance understanding of students and professionals on the processes and conditions needed for safe, secure, sustainable, and sufficient water for community development
Background
"Ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction (Eco-DRR) is the sustainable management, conservation, and restoration of ecosystems to reduce disaster risk, to achieve sustainable and resilient development (Estrella and Saalismaa, 2013). Well-managed ecosystems, such as wetlands, forests, and coastal systems, act as natural infrastructure, reducing physical exposure to many hazards and increasing the socio-economic resilience of people and communities by sustaining local livelihoods and providing essential natural resources such as food, water and building materials (Morawetz and Nehren, 2005; Sudmeier-Rieux and Ash, 2009). Ecosystem management not only offers an opportunity to strengthen natural infrastructure and human resilience against hazard impacts, but also generates a range of other social, economic, and environmental benefits for multiple stakeholders, which in turn feed back into reduced risk."
CNRD-PEDRR (2013) Disasters, Environment and Risk Reduction – Eco-DRR Master’s Module. Cologne and Geneva: Center for Natural Resources and Development, Partnership on Environment and Disaster Risk Reduction.
Organizer:
Marta Vicarelli - University of Massachusetts Amherst <mvicarelli@econs.umass.edu>
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Assistant Professor, Department of Economics and School of Public Policy, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Co-coordinator:
Nidhi Nagabhatla - United Nations University and McMaster University
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Senior Fellow and Cluster Coordinator-Climate and Natural Resources UNU CRIS ( Belgium)
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Coordination team: UNU Climate Resilience Initiative
Collaborators:
UNU MERIT (Netherlands) - Dr. Sanae Okamoto
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The United Nations University – Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (UNU-MERIT)
UNU EHS (Germany) - Dr Zita Sebesvari
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The United Nations University – Institute for Environment and Human Security