Reading Circles & Contact Sessions
The idea of the course is to discuss and ponder together what governance is and how it relates to water management - and your own experience and interests.
In order to facilitate such discussion, an important part of the course will be preparatory Reading Circles done in groups. In this way, the course makes use of both flipped learning and peer learning.
Reading Circles are always related to a certain Contact Session and must take place before the contact session; your group must agree the exact time and place. For more information on Reading Circles, see information page below.
Contact Sessions are held on Tuesdays, starting at 9.15 at Lecture Hall 286 at Tietotie 1E (except for first time on Jan 3rd when we start at 10.00 sharp). The Contact Sessions focus on specific weekly theme described in this page: see below.
The group work during this course thus consists of two parallel processes: weekly Reading Circles as well as preparation of your specific Case Study Session (SDGs/Mekong/Finland-WFD/Talvivaara) and crosscutting politics session (10.2): see figure below.
As an Individual Assignment, all students are required write a Personal Reflection after each Contact Session. For more information, see below.
Instructions on Preparatory Reading Circles (incl. roles + Brief): read carefully!
Tue 3.1 at 10.00-11.30: Introductory Lecture (Marko & Juho)
Introduction to the course and its assignments + dividing students into the groups. It is thus important to be present!
NOTE: If you cannot make it, send a note about it (and your possible preference of your group) already beforehand to course email: wat-e2080 (at) aalto.fi
Before the lecture, check out the following governance presentation from our WAT-E1010 Course: https://prezi.com/gd-ul5z8lgar/
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WAT-E2080 Intro.pdf3.9MB
Tue 10.1 at 9-11.30: Governance & related analysis methods (Juho & co)
Introduction to the key concept of governance as well as key methods for framing and analysing governance.
Note that already before the Contact Session, you must read independently the given Reading Material (see below) and meet with your group in a preparatory Reading Circle! For more information, see Reading Circle instructions.
Reading Material
To prepare for the Reading Circle, everyone must read the Reading Material i.e. attached three publications numbered 1, 2 and 3. In addition, you are encouraged to read Additional Reading (marked with AR#) available: at least browse through the first, OECD report.
Guiding Questions:
- How would you define governance? What differentiates 'good' governance from 'bad' governance?
- How you would start to analyse a governance context of your given case? What kind of frameworks and methods to use?
- What are the special characteristics of water as a focus of governance? How would you define water governance and what are its basic elements?
Tue 17.1 at 9-11:30: Transboundary cooperation (Seppo Rekolainen)
The principles of transboundary water cooperation, with Finland-Russia cooperation as a case study. Key information regarding international water agreements (UN Water Convention 1997 + UNECE Water Convention), including Finland's key contribution in both. The basic principles of science-policy-stakeholder interaction.
Reading Material
To prepare for the Reading Circle, everyone must read the Reading Material i.e. attached three publications numbered 1, 2 and 3. In addition, you are encouraged to read Additional Reading (marked with AR#) available.
Guiding questions
- Why is transboundary cooperation on water needed? What are its key drivers?
- What are the main reasons for countries not to engage in transboundary cooperation?
- How do the different legal mechanisms (laws, conventions, agreements) promote transboundary cooperation? How do they ensure (or not) science-policy-stakeholder interaction?
Tue 24.1 at 9-11.30: EU and Finnish legislation (Tiina Paloniitty)
Introduction to EU and Finnish legislation related to water and environment. Trias Politica principle and its application in Finland.
Reading Material
To prepare for the Reading Circle, everyone must read the Reading Material i.e. attached three publications numbered 1, 2 and 3. In addition, you are encouraged to read Additional Reading (marked with AR#) available.
Guiding Questions:
1) Evidently, science and law entail different epistemologicy. Which components in the Union water governance obstruct optimal function of ‘the science and law interface’?
2) How adaptive water management in general challenges trias politica, or separation of powers? Can political or legal power bestowed upon experts or scientist be constrained—or should it be restrained at all?
3) European Court of Justice employed strict legal formalism when it interpreted the pivotal questions of the Water Framework Directive. Does combining the two—legal formalism and adaptive water management—inevitably lead to ’bad’ governance (as explained at lectures on 17th January)?
- Tue 31.1 at 9-11.30: Environmental permits and EIA (Janne Kekkonen)
The principles of environmental and water permitting system in Finland, and its implications to water
and environmental engineering field. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and other related processes.
Guiding questions:
- What are the primary objectives of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) procedures?
- How are EIA and environmental permit applications linked administratively and chronologically?
- What extera value does EIAs bring to environmental permit processes
- You operate a mine in Finland and wish to build a new discharge pipeline to a new waterway through privately owned land. What permits are required? In which cases is EIA required and when should it be conducted?
Reading materials:
1) EIA and environmental permit process descriptions - Permits, notifications and registration (incl. all sub-pages in the left bar):
http://www.ymparisto.fi/en-US/Forms_permits_and_environmental_impact_assessment/Permits_notifications_and_registration
2) EIA and environmental permit process descriptions - EIA (incl. the sub-page in the left bar):
http://www.ymparisto.fi/en-US/Forms_permits_and_environmental_impact_assessment/Environmental_impact_assessment
3) Söderholm et al., 2015 (attached pdf)
4) Guide for EIA Procedure for Mining Projects in Finland - particularly browse through Sections 2 and 3 (attached pdf).
- What are the primary objectives of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) procedures?
Tue 7.2. at 9-11.30: Politics of water (Anja Nygren & Mira Käkönen)
The politics and power relations related to water management.
Guiding questions/tasks:
1) How do power relations shape access to and control over water resources?
2) In relation to this (and earlier sessions in this course), how do the concepts of water management and water governance differ from each other?
3) PRESEMO TASK: At the end of your Reading Circle, discuss how power relations and politics are visible in your Case Study. You can do this for example by discussing following questions: Who has access to and/or control of the water and related resources? Who holds the main power to define and decide over planning and management practices? What are the key power relations influencing those? List three main themes / findings on this to Presemo (http://presemo.aalto.fi/wat/) BEFORE the Tuesday's Contact Session.
Reading materials:
1) Leach et al. 2010. Chapter 6: An Alternative Politics for Sustainability. In: Leach et al. "Dynamic Sustainabilities", Washington DC; Earthscan.
2) Boelens et al. 2016. Hydrosocial territories: a political ecology perspective. Water International.
3) Mehta. 2016. Why Invisible Power and Structural Violence Persists in Water Domain. IDS Bulletin.
Additional reading:
AR1) Molle et al. 2009. Hydraulic Bureaucracies and the Hydraulic Mission: Flows of Water, Flows of Power. Water Alternatives.
AR2) Ribot & Peluso. 2003. A Theory of Access. Rural Sociology.
Tue 14.2 at 9-11.30: Sustainability + Synthesis & Feedback (Meeri Karvinen & Juho Haapala)
Contact Session (60 min): How does water governance promote sustainable development? And what is sustainability anyway?
Synthesis (40 min): What were your key learning points from the course? What kind of methods we now know for governance analysis - and how those link to Juho's metholodogy slides?
Feedback (20 min): Discussing in groups on 1) how the course went (things to improve), and 2) how your group functioned (personal reflection and feedback to your peers). Also remember to fill in the electronic Course Feedback!
Guiding Questions
- What are the key features, rationales, and underlying values of sustainable development?
- How do planetary boundaries and sustainable development link? How planetary boundaries influence governance (actors, mechanisms, laws, policies, laws etc)
- What roles do science and global governance currently play in sustainable development? Are there contradictions between science and governance? What roles should they play?
Sustainability Lecture.pptx3.5MB
Submit your Reading Circle Brief to this Discussion Forum by starting a new discussion with title "Group #: Reading Circle on XXX" and attaching the report to the discussion. Before that, ensure that all group members are content with the report.
Remember to write to your Brief:
1) the time and location of your Reading Circle,
2) who were present and who were absent from the discussion, and
3) names of the chair and secretary.
Note that your Brief is visible for everyone. It is thus highly recommended also to read and comment other groups' Briefs!
Every student must submit a short Personal Reflection (300-500 words) on all six Contact Sessions (not the first one on 3.1). Reflections will not be assessed, but you must do all six of them to pass the course. The aim of the reflection is to synthesise and reflect the themes dealt with during the course, and to put them into a context that is relevant for your own expertise and interests.
Submit your first Personal Reflection to this Discussion Forum by starting a new discussion with title "MY NAME: Personal Reflection" and then including your reflection either as a text or as an attachment. After that, add each new reflection as a reply to your original discussion thread.
Note that your Reflection is visible for everyone. It is thus highly recommended also to read and comment other student's reflections!
In order to pass the course, you must participate in all Contact Sessions and Case Study Sessions as well as preparatory Reading Circles (as they form major part of learning and assessment in the course).
If you are absent from the sessions or Reading Circles, you must compensate it by writing a Personal Synthesis (min. 1000 words) on related topics. The Synthesis should be based on the session material (reading material + presentation), and it must include a summary of the topic as well as your reflection on it from your own view point.
Submit your Personal Synthesis to this Discussion Forum by starting a new discussion with title "MY NAME: Personal Synthesis on (topic)", and then including your reflection either as a text or as an attachment.
Note that your Synthesis is visible to everyone: you can thus also e.g. send its link to your group members.