| Course information | |
|---|---|
| Period | Blocks 1&2 |
| Timeline | November-February |
| Number of ECTS | 10 ECTS |
| Coordinators | Dr Qian Ke and Dr Paul Rabé |
| Methodology | Lectures, workshops, serious games, hands-on exercises, debates, excursion, guest presentations |
Course description
Water and land systems are closely interconnected and continuously co-evolving, even though—in practice as well as in scholarship—they are too often treated and managed as separate systems. Urban expansion and landscape transformation reshape hydrological processes such as infiltration, runoff, evapotranspiration, and groundwater recharge. In turn, altered water dynamics influence infrastructure performance, spatial planning decisions, and the distribution of water-related risks. To address pressing environmental challenges, including floods, droughts, land subsidence and pollution, an integrated and holistic understanding of linked water–land systems is required.
This course integrates hydrology, water engineering, and political ecology to examine water–land systems as integrated socio-technical and socio-ecological systems. From a hydrological perspective, students will explore water cycle processes and analyze how interactions between water, soil, and land operate across spatial and temporal scales. From an engineering perspective, students will examine how land-use patterns reshape hydrological behavior such as runoff generation, storage capacity, and flow pathways, and how these changes influence system performance. From a political ecology perspective, students will learn how and why water and land have traditionally been approached and managed separately—and how policy frameworks, planning decisions, and governance arrangements should ideally guide the transformation of water–land systems and shape long-term environmental outcomes.
In addition to systems analysis, the course will address evaluation schemes and strategic development. Students will assess the feasibility, effectiveness and efficiency of climate adaptation and longer-term mitigation interventions. Through systems mapping and scenario analysis, students will formulate integrated strategies that contribute to sustainable development objectives and support evidence-based decision-making.
By the end of the course, students will be equipped with analytical tools, evaluation frameworks, and systems-thinking skills to diagnose coupled water–land challenges, assess trade-offs and design resilient and sustainable climate adaptation strategies.
Learning objectives
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
- Explain the interactions between water, soil, and land across spatial and temporal scales.
- Analyze water–land systems to identify the key drivers, feedback, and trade-offs that affect floods, droughts, subsidence, and pollution.
- Assess the feasibility, effectiveness, and efficiency of climate adaptation and mitigation interventions for water-land challenges.
- Design evidence-based climate adaptation and mitigation strategies that address both short-term and long-term system challenges.
- Communicate systems-based analyses and recommendations to interdisciplinary and professional audiences.
Key topics
Part 1: Systems analysis
- Introduction: framing water and land in physical and political ecology perspectives
- The water cycle (science point of view)
- Land & soil (science point of view)
- Climate change as drivers (science point of view)
- Political economy of land and water
Part 2: Transformations: pathways to water-land synergies
- The concept of water-land risks (IPCC; engineering point of view)
- Climate adaptation and mitigation approaches (e.g. introduction to NBS, transition to NBS deep course)
- Transformation in value systems (e.g. introduction to climate justice, transition to climate justice deep course)
- Conclusion: prospects for greater water-land synergies