Worldwide, landscapes are changing rapidly due to social-economic development and globalization. While such modifications have often brought prosperity for humans and societies, many adverse effects can be observed. Diverse ecological and cultural landscapes are disappearing at a rapid pace around the world, while local cultures and biodiversity have become threatened. Yet, we do know that affected landscapes can be restored. Many landscapes around the world – including in China, Brazil and the Netherlands – have successfully been restored. This restoration has however not been realised without facing governance challenges, particularly related to stakeholder involvement, multi-sector collaboration, choosing the right instruments, project implementation, and the development of landscape governance capacities at all levels and scales.
This Summer course is the second in a series of Summer courses exploring the contours of landscape governance, organised by Beijing Forestry University, Renmin University of China, Yunnan Forestry University and Wageningen University. This summer we will address the landscape governance challenges faced by China. China has experienced dramatic landscape changes over last a century, leading to large-scale deforestation, water and soil erosion, and lose of biodiversity. But over the past few decades, the country has been able to successfully reforest and restore landscapes at an impressive scale. In order to learn most effectively from China’s experience, the Summer course will deploy a combination of learning methods including lectures, academic reflections, practical games, field visits. and case studies. This combination of activities will allow the participants to not only acquire novel knowledge, but also the practical skills and new attitudes to successfully address landscape restoration and its governance in China.
for more information, contact Dr. Lingchao (ytlilingchao@126.com) and Prof. Dr. Liu Jinlong (liujinlong_jl@hotmail.com)
