Course contents: The course deepens the concept of forest areas as territories, produced by the historic rela-tionship between society and space. Kernel of the course is the power relationships among ac-tors and resources and the resulting territories. Conflicts and collaboratives policies are the re-sults of power equilibrium or not equilibrium among actors. Conflicts are creative situation in which power relations are discussed with direct effects on territorial organization. The course adopt the perspective of conflict transformation. Central themes are: (i) Territory as mediation structure among stakeholders and environmental resources; (ii) Interests, rights, natural re-sources: cooperation and conflict; (iii) Participatory processes, mainly at sub-national and na-tional scale; (iv) Conflict management approaches: prevention, negotiation, institution building (V) collaborative and conflict managed policies building.

Teaching and learning methods: Frontal lessons, case studies analysis and role plays, cooperative learning and consolidation workshops on theoretical and methodological issues.

Examination: Oral discussion of a written work about the issues developed during the course.

Competences acquired: (i) Knowledge about dynamical relationships among territory, actors, resources; knowl-edge about natural resources right and institutional assets; (ii) knowledge about different theo-retical approaches to conflict interpretation; (iii) knowledge about style and theoretical ap-proaches about conflict management; (iv) ability to evaluate power relationships; (v) ability to recognize the latent dimension of a conflict; (vi) ability to move the approach from conflict reso-lution to conflict transformation; (vii) ability to manage policy creation in conflictive setting.

Course homepage: www.agraria.unipd.it

Teaching material 2007-2008 on Forest Policies and Conflict Management in Tropical Forests by prof. Gérard Buttoud now available!