F1ES 4315 - Global Water Governance: Challenges and Dilemmas of Governing a Global Common Good

The course is organised around 3 clusters of issues:

• Water as a global common good. While water is traditionally conceived a local issue, new scientific evidence argues it should be considered a global common good. How does that contested proposition affect needs and opportunities for water governance globally?
• Global Water Governance. Current water governance at local level is ill-equipped to deal with water as a global common good. How can global water governance be characterised? What are the strengths and limitations of the prevailing arrangements? What alternative options could be considered, building on arrangements in place in other domains?
• Global water governance in relation of other policy domains. The water agenda intersects with multiple other agendas, at different geographical scales. Think of climate mitigation and adaptation, biodiversity and land use, agriculture and food security, poverty eradication, trade… How can such intersections be reflected in global governance, to ensure some sort of consistency?

Learning Outcomes

• A robust understanding of the role of water in the global development, climate and other agendas
• Good grasp of emerging issues in environmental economics, in particular in relation to water.
• Familiarity with a range of arrangements and options for global governance.

Professional Skills:

• Negotiation and mediation
• Writing policy briefs
• Presentation skills

There is no prerequisite for this course. An interest in water and some familiarity with one or several global agendas would help make the best of the substance and sessions.

Pedagogical and feedback format:

• Written feedback on individual papers (thematic paper; position paper) is provided 2 weeks after the submission of the paper. The student has the possibility to reflect feedback received in the final draft, which is the basis for the assessment.
• Feedback on the role play is provided at the session. A written feedback captures the main points and entered into the system.

Assessment:

Students will be assessed on the following basis:

• One thematic paper in relation to the theme of the course. The paper can include a section generated by generative AI, an explanation of the process/prompts used to generate that section, and the student’s reflection on the strengths and limitations of that section.
• Enrollment in a collective role play (collective assessment). The class is divided in 2-3 groups. Each group prepares and presents a situation where stakeholders negotiate a joint agreement / statement in relation to water. 2 grades are based on the role play:

o One collective grade for the group, assessing the quality of the play (understanding of the situation and what is at stake; strategy of each stakeholder; outcome; quality of the interaction in class)

o One individual grade, on a position paper drafted by the student, characterizing the position of the stakeholder s/he represents, the rationale for that position, and the evidence or narrative to support it.

Course workload:

• In Class Presence: 2 hours a week / 24 hours a semester
• Reading and Preparation for Class: 4 hours a week / 48 hours a semester
• Research and Preparation for Group Work: 4 hours a week / 48 hours a semester
• Research and Writing for Individual Assessments: 2 hours a week / 24 hours a semester