BLUM - Milestones and Measures
Three lines of action have been identified around the pressing topics of biodiversity and ecosystem science: climate and climate impact research, integrated land use and coastal management and the societal needs of sustainable development and adaptation to climate change. Line A links up postgraduate programmes, particularly Master´s Programmes. Line B contributes to the interdisciplinary PhD initiative of the network. Line C fosters comparative research for scientific decision-making-support for sustainable management and governance focussing Tanzania and in the Western Indian Ocean Region Countries, the Republic of South Africa while bridging these regional systems with parts of Central America.
Line A: The trans-regional collaboration uses the instruments lecturer/student mobility, teach-the-teacher schemes, joint curricula improvement/quality assurance, e-learning on core modules/topics. The following degree programmes are involved
- University of Oldenburg: Master´s Programmes Water and Coastal Management, Biology, Landscape Ecology and Marine Environmental Sciences
- University of Dar-es-Saalam: Master´s Programme Marine and Coastal Sciences/Resource Management
- Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University: Master´s Programmes on Biology and Geosciences (3 programmes).
In a second phase, the network shall be expanded optionally including the launch of a degree programme on Coastal Science and Sustainable Management at the University of Quintana Roo, Mexico. Additionally, while one momentum is designed to shape a strong alliance of topical Master’s Programmes on an international level of excellence, the other momentum will further this alliance by focussing on research activities involving Master students and their supervising researchers in international teams. This shall also include initiatives (i) to explore whether other partners can be integrated in a subsequent generation of the partnership and (ii) to build co-operation of scientists and decision makers.
Line B: The Network fosters the qualification of researchers and transdisciplinary research on environmental sustainability most prominently. Gradually an international PhD course/programme ‘Sustainability Sciences’ with a coherent research plan and joint supervision of PhD students will be established. The following instruments will be applied in that respect: researcher/student mobility, guest researcher schemes, joint PhD curricula development, participation in summer schools and conferences. Tandem research with partner students at all the participating universities and partially co-supervision is in the focus of the cooperation. The research carried out will be used to design and refine teaching modules for the PhD and Master´s programmes.
Line C: The members of the BLUM group want to initiate international collaboration on common objects using their regional ecosystems for complementary studies and aiming to substantiate further application of joint research programmes to be funded by EU or others. Two thematic foci have been identified:
- climate impact on ecosystems and their biodiversity and
- sustainable alternative livelihoods for coastal communities incl. regional development energized by renewable energies.
Mangroves constitute the type of ecosystem for South-South collaboration. This trans-disciplinary work also aims to let stakeholders participate in climate adaptation/mitigation strategies/schemes and to support participative sustainable land use management. The annual project meeting of the network in October 2011 focused on Mangroves, Biodiversity and Climate Change, Biogeochemical cycling, hydromorphological aspects of coastal zones and Coastal Zone Management, esp. Sustainable Tourism, Renewable Energy and Development. This workshop with took place at the Institute of Marine Sciences, Zanzibar, strengthened the development of the research collaboration and will the results to be published will contribute significantly to the network´s success.