Costa Rica: 1st Annual Environment and Human Rights Course & Field Visit in Costa Rica

HREA and the University for Peace Human Rights Center annually organise a blended learning and field experience on the increasingly important field of environment and human rights:

E-learning Course Environment and Human Rights (30 September-10 November 2015)
Field Experience in Costa Rica (7-12 December 2015)

1. E-learning Course: Environment and Human Rights (30 September-10 November 2015)

This six-week certificate course jointly organised by HREA and the Human Rights Centre of the UN-mandated University for Peace looks at the linkages between the environment and human rights and examines how these linkages may assist efforts to protect both the environment and human rights. The course uses an interdisciplinary approach and focuses on the educational, legal and social aspects of this relationship. The course will address climate change, environmental degradation, mitigation and adaptation, migration, human rights based approaches to the environment, loss and damage, and the environment and human rights in the light of the post-2015 development agenda. Under the umbrella of international law and environmental sciences, the course will pay special attention to hybrid legal approaches on the environment and human rights, including as a potential strengthening and dispersing method to address the nexus of environment, human rights and migration.

This e-learning course involves approximately 30 hours of reading, interaction with students and instructor on discussion boards, quizzes, a written assignment and webinars. The course is based on a participatory, active learning approach, with an emphasis on critical reflection and peer-to-peer learning.

Outline

Week 1: Introduction to Environment and Human Rights Linkages
Week 2: Legal Approaches: Concepts, Mechanisms and Implementation
Week 3: Environmental Law Principles and Environmental Rights Responses to Global, Regional and Local Issues
Week 4: Climate Change and Human Rights Based Approaches
Week 5: New Emerging Legal Nexus: Environment, Human Rights and Migration
Week 6: Addressing Human Rights and the Environment in the Post-2015 Agenda

2. Field Visit in Costa Rica (7-12 December 2015)

The field visit will include an orientation and workshop at the UPEACE main campus (7 December), and a five day field trip to various parts of Costa Rica including a night at the Pacific beach town of Tamarindo (8-12 December).

Please plan to arrive in Costa Rica no later than Sunday, 6 December and depart from Costa Rica on Sunday, 13 December. If participants wish to extend their stay, they may do so at one’s own expense.

Location: UPEACE campus and various parts of Costa Rica.

Language: English (Spanish skills are desirable, but not required)

Format: The field visit will include a one-day introductory workshop at the UPEACE main campus followed by a field trip to various parts of Costa Rica, where participants will visit different projects and meet varied stakeholders on issues related to the environment, human rights and sustainable development. The field experience is intense and there will be a debriefing session every day. A wrap-up session will be held in Tamarindo on the morning of 12 December before the group returns to San José/Ciudad Colon.

For further details and online registration: www.hrea.org/EHR