Winter School

 The UN Global Sustainable Solutions Winter School is a collaboration of the University of Massachusetts Amherst (USA), McMaster University (Canada) and the United Nations University (UNU) Climate Resilience Initiative (a joint initiative with UNU-CRIS (Belgium), UNU-MERIT (Netherlands), and UNU-EHS (Germany)). 

The Winter School took place in 2020-2021  and in 2022, reaching almost 100 students from partner univerities and about 60 from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The next Winter School will take place in December 2024.

The UN Global Sustainable Solutions Winter School is a knowledge exchange platform, an opportunity to learn practical skills and network with practitioners and scholars. The Winter School will provide an international approach to the following topics: 

• Water Security - enhance understanding of students and professionals on the processes and conditions needed for safe, secure, sustainable and sufficient water for community development 

• Ecosystem-Based Disaster Risk Reduction (ECO-DRR)  

• Ecosystem-based Climate Adaptation

Background

"Ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction (Eco-DRR) is the sustainable management, conservation and restoration of ecosystems to reduce disaster risk, with the aim to achieve sustainable and resilient development (Estrella and Saalismaa, 2013). Well-managed ecosystems, such as wetlands, forests and coastal systems, act as natural infrastructure, reducing physical exposure to many hazards and increasing socio-economic resilience of people and communities by sustaining local livelihoods and providing essential natural resources such as food, water and building materials (Morawetz and Nehren, 2005; Sudmeier-Rieux and Ash, 2009). Ecosystem management not only offers an opportunity to strengthen natural infrastructure and human resilience against hazard impacts, but also generates a range of other social, economic and environmental benefits for multiple stakeholders, which in turn feed back into reduced risk."

CNRD-PEDRR (2013) Disasters, Environment and Risk Reduction – Eco-DRR Master’s Module. Cologne and Geneva: Center for Natural Resources and Development, Partnership on Environment and Disaster Risk Reduction.

Some of our students share their impressions about the Winter School:

2020-2021 Winter School 

Collaborators

• Prof Nancy Doubleday  <doublen@mcmaster.ca>  ( McMaster University, Canada and UNU  INWEH )

Assistant coordinators: 

For questions  about logistics and materials. 

• Angela Gregory <ajgregory@umass.edu> University of Massachusetts Amherst 

• Ajay Dawani <adawani@umass.edu> University of Massachusetts Amherst 

Technical assistance and support during seminars and class discussions:

• Matt Brodeur, Political Science - University of Massachusetts Amherst

• Kyle Compton, Economics - University of Massachusetts Amherst

• Dipa Desai, Geosciences - University of Massachusetts Amherst

• Adam Finke, BDIC Sustainable Social Change - University of Massachusetts Amherst

• Kerry Judge, School of Public Policy - University of Massachusetts Amherst

• Dhiroj Koirala, Resource Economics - University of Massachusetts Amherst

• Emily Laus, Physics and Chemistry -- College of Natural Sciences

• Madeline Leue, School of Public Policy - University of Massachusetts Amherst

• Miranda Vence, School of Public Policy - University of Massachusetts Amherst