Environmental Challenges - Scarcity and Conflict in the Natural Environment FutureLearn

Overview

The Environmental Challenges - Scarcity and Conflict in the Natural Environment at University of Leeds by FutureLearn  explores three aspects of conflict and resource scarcity, and applies these to explore decision making and negotiation skills.

Key facts

• Human conflict has both short and long term effects on the natural world. The environment is directly impacted by pollution and explosions; and can be used as a weapon of war. 

• In the longer term, sustainable environmental management is disrupted when conflict destabilises social systems and people are denied access to natural resources. As resources become scarcer, it might be expected that people come into conflict about access to natural resources.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

• Compare the ‘cowboy’ economy with the circular ‘spaceman’ economy, through technological advances and resource exploitation.

• Discuss the extent that resource demands can lead to conflict between different users.

• Explore the way that conflicting forces subdue populations by denying them access to environmental resources.

• Develop understanding of conflict resolution and negotiation techniques.