Contents: The main emphasis has been placed on models and theories for explaining socio-economic, land use and environmental as well as specific forest-related development processes. The explanatory concepts also involve historical, sociological, economic and cultural aspects, with the special focus on tropical regions. Based on this, development-oriented control potentials are identified. The development models form the framework for policy and process analyses in tropical countries which are oriented by forest, landscape and environment, which are dealing with forest and conservation-political instruments such as international conventions, financing instruments land reforms, soil law, environmental low and forest law, taxes and other transfer services, state resources benefits, loan systems and decentralization. One emphasis has been put on the explanation of processes of institutional changes and the participation of various stakeholders as well as the calculation of consequences. The political and institutional framework of the development is illustrated on the different scale levels. Selected forest and conservation-political instruments are allocated to the levels, being discussed on the basis of examples.

Goals  of qualification: The student learns to diagnose and assess the development of social systems in their interlinking with the ecosystems and in their historical dimension. The student is able to independently use sociological analysis instruments as well as explanatory models. The student recognizes political structures and their mode of functioning at the different scale levels and in their interlinking in the fields of politics, development, land use, forestry, environment protection and nature conservation. The student is able to plan the application of political instruments and assess their effectiveness.

The module examination consists of a seminar paper (30 hours) and the oral examination performance (20 minutes).