Ecological Economics
Objectives
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- Understand the vision, approach and central concepts of ecological economics - Understand the differences to the approach of environmental economics and integrate it withother approaches - Understand the fundamentals and implications of different sustainability paradigms - Interpret and evaluate indicators and pathways for economic growth and sustainability - Explore the concept of ecosystem services, methodologies for their evaluation and its potentialfor the definition and implementation of public policies - Develop processes of evaluation and sustainable management of natural resources - Understand the relationship between environment, international trade and competitiveness - Consolidate and strengthen capacities for the definition and implementation of environmentalpolicy instruments |
General characterization
Code
10395
Credits
6.0
Responsible teacher
Rui Jorge Fernandes Ferreira Santos
Hours
Weekly - 4
Total - 56
Teaching language
Português
Prerequisites
No requirements.
Bibliography
Costanza, R., Hart, M., Posner, S., Talberth, J., 2009, Beyond GDP: the need for new measures of progress, Pardee papers, N.º4, Boston University, Massachusetts, USA.
Daly, H, Farley, J., 2011, Ecological Economics – Principles and Applications, Island Press, Washington.
Healy, H., Martinez-Alier, J., Temper, L., Walter, M. and Gerber J.F. (eds), 2013, Ecological Economics from the Ground Up, Earthscan, London.
Spash, C.L. (editor), 2017, Routledge Handbook of Ecological Economics: Nature and Society, Abingdon, Routledge
Victor, P. (ed.), 2013, The costs of economic growth. The International Library of Critical Writings in Economics series, Edward Elgar Publishing
Articles in the Journals:
Ecological Economics
Land Use Policy
Journal of Cleaner Production
Sustainability
Ecosystem Services
Environmental Policy and Governance
Teaching method
The teaching methods are adjusted to the format of theoretical-practical classes adopted in the course. Thetheoretical framework, where the fundamental principles and concepts are introduced, is articulated with thediscussion of cases of practical and real studies. Students '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' participation in the discussion of themes, as well asresearch and autonomous study is encouraged.
Evaluation method
Grading in the Ecological Economics UC is carried out through the following elements:
- Development of group work that integrates different topics from the UC program. In addition to the topics covered in the course classes, other topics relevant to ecological economics chosen by students may be included. The work must focus on an area of the territory (e.g. municipality, region, protected area), on a private or public organization or on a community, which allows the integration of the different topics covered in the UC (e.g. construction of a vision of sustainability, application of approaches to sustainability assessment, identification and assessment of the contribution to the provision of ecosystem services and/or conservation of natural capital and biodiversity). It is desirable that it also includes a relevant component dedicated to public policies in the area of the environment and sustainability. Each group will prepare a report and make a final presentation of the work. The work must be delivered by December 11, 2023 (including a brief oral presentation). A proposal for the focus of the work and methodological approach must be submitted for validation by teachers by September 22nd. Groups of 3 students must be formed (can be 4 students if justified, with corresponding effort expected). This work contributes 40% to the final classification.
- Three Essays, carried out individually and remotely. A statement will be distributed and submission of the response will be required by a date and time to be agreed (e.g. up to 24 hours after the statement is made available). The originality and technical quality of the approach to the proposed problem will be particularly valued. These evaluation elements contribute 60% to the final classification. Rehearsals will be held on the following dates:
- Essay 1, October 27th (tentative date) (25%): Sustainability Sciences - historical evolution and concepts + sustainability paths; Sustainability Assessment – Biophysical perspective; Sustainability Assessment – Economic perspective, composite indicators and sustainability dashboards.
- Essay 2, December 2nd (attempt date) (25%): Natural Capital and ES - concepts and mapping; Natural Capital and ES Assessment – ACB and non-monetary methods.
- Essay 3, December 13 (10%): Natural resource management.
- Attendance to the UC is ensured by carrying out the group work.
- To get approval in the “continuous assessment” phase, a classification above 9.5 is required in two of the three Tests.
- The appeal exam will have a weighting in the final classification equivalent to that of the Essays as a whole (60%) and will cover all the material taught in the discipline.
Subject matter
Vision of ecological economics: scale, efficiency and equity
Sustainability science – historical evolution and concepts; Sustainability pathways - Green Growth, Steady-State Economy andDegrowth
Sustainability assessment. Economic-based indicators;composite indicators and dashboards; biophysical perspective
Evaluation of natural capital and ecosystem services (ES) - concepts and mapping of ES; cost-benefit assessment; non-monetary assessment;multicriteria evaluation
Natural resource management – Fish Banks game, models. Challenges in the governance of common resources (Elinor Ostrom''''s approach)
Environmental policy - integrating ecological economics, environmental economics and sustainable governance