Mainstreaming Climate Change in Development Planning and Implementation

The climate change debate has confused mostly policy makers, decision makers and programmers on what to prioritise. In Africa and Zimbabwe in particular climate change still remains a myth and an unpopular subject that is viewed as only affecting the developed nations. The few players that are engaging in climate change programming run the risk of "adaptation with little knowledge" due to the scarcity of information on climate change. DRI, in partnership with United Nations Volunteer have launched a virtual school programme on mainstreaming climate change in development planning and implementation. The short-term course is targeted at programme managers, policy makers, planners, community based leaders, opinion leaders, researchers. It gives participants the chance to get the story straight from researchers at one point, just a click away, at: Development Reality Institute.

The introductory on-line course presents Earth's climate system and explores the science and politics of global climate change. This 4 weeks course consists of 4 modules released on the website at a rate of one module per week. Course topics include the Introduction to Climate Change: The Science behind the Phenomenon, the science and politics of global warming, Policy and Regulation, climate change impacts on Africa and Zimbabwe, Climate Risks to Development Projects, Conclusion and Next Steps (way forward). All the reading, course material and assessments are on-line; there are no regularly scheduled class meetings. DRI provides printable lecture notes, a virtual forum for students to engage in discussion groups, weekly group and individual assignments as well as links to additional material. This is an introductory course and there are no prerequisites.

Course Goal
The course aims at capacity building of development partners for interpretation, comprehension and mainstream of climate change in development issues within their communities.

Objectives

• To educate participants on the danger posed by climate change and its implications that call for action.
• To spearhead discussions on adaptation strategies to climate change in Zimbabwe and Southern Africa.
• To allow participants to share experiences on climate change, environment and development and the politics of global climate change.
• To raise awareness on the climate proofing and mainstreaming tools that have been developed for mitigation and adaptation strategies.

Method of Teaching

This is an on-line course: all course materials are available on-line. Learning methods include printable lecture notes, guided discussions, weekly assignments, on-line short quizzes at the end of each chapter, case study and project, group work and links to additional material. Participants also receive a number of electronic mails from our team throughout the duration of the programme of varying subject line that may include: a summary of each new module uploaded on the Virtual School; and important announcement.

Grading:  30% for thoughtful participation in on-line discussions; 40% successful completion of weekly assignments (i.e. writing a short essay or position piece, outside web-based research on class topics, etc); 10% Short quizzes at the end of each chapter short answer; and 20% group work.

Topics Outline
The course is 4 weeks; we introduce a module per week for a total of four (4) modules. Each lesson requires about 2 hours to complete - including reading, a short assignment, discussion and group work.

Week 1: Introduction to Climate Change: The Science behind the Phenomenon

• What is Climate Change
• Impacts of a changing climate
• Greenhouse Gases: An Overview
• The Role of Carbon Dioxide
• The Role of Methane, -Major Uncertainties
• The link between the science, the effects and development
• Key economic impact issues
• Vulnerability and coping with impacts

Week 2: The science and politics of global warming; Policies and Regulations

• Climate change effects on development in Africa: Relevance of climatic hazards to environmental impact assessments and to other economic sectors; Management of climate hazards for projects Liability of emissions - CO2 Emissions; Human Emissions of CO2; How Much Carbon in the Ground?
• International response to climate change UNFCCC: Outline of the treaty; The Kyoto Protocol; 'Post 2012' and the Bali Roadmap'; COP 15.
• Who then is affected most, rich or poor countries?

Week 3: Climate change impacts on Africa and Zimbabwe, Climate Risks to Development Projects

• Case studies
• Mitigation and adaptation practices
• Clean Development Mechanism (CDM): How does it work; CDM project cycle and Players involved, Opportunities and Challenges

Week 4: Living with Climate Change

• Costs associated to reduction of carbon emissions
• Technologies for carbon emission reduction
• Implications of climate change for disaster risk management in africa
• Integrating climate change and risk management

Certificates

Successful e-Course participants receive a certificate from DRI/UNV after successful completion of the course.  

Cost

• US$40 to cover for Learning Materials and Certificate
• Prospective participants can apply for DRI Scholar Grants to cover the Costs. The grant only covers a limited number of participants and DRI reserves the rights to award them to selected applicants.

Method of Payments

Payments can be made by Bank Transfer or Cheques to:
Account Name : Development Reality Institute
Account Number : 8700207797901
Bank : Standard Chartered Bank
Branch : Africa Unity Square

Or

Visit Us at :

Development Reality Institute
Glenara Avenue, South, Eastlea
Harare, Zimbabwe
Cell: 263 773 460 466 / 263 772 484 885
Email: info@driafrica.org

This course is brought to you courtesy of: Development Reality Institute (DRI); United Nations Volunteers (UNV); Youth Empowerment Trust; Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA); African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF), ZERO Regional Environment Organisation and the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education.