Introduction to course

Lecturer: Dr. Gertjan Geerling

Duration: 2x 45 mins

Summary

The lecture introduces the students to the topic “water, health and development”. The course structure will be explained, the time schedule, overall learning goals and expected tasks for the student.

Student learning goals

• Understand the scope of the course.
• Understand the structure and content overview of the course.
• Understand the overall learning goals
• Can explain definitions of health.
• Can explain water in the course title (what forms of water).
• Can explain what is meant with Development.
• To be able to give and explain examples of direct, ecosystem mediated and indirect impacts of water related ecosystem alteration on human health.
• To understand how ecosystems in general are linked to health.
• To be able to describe how water in particular is linked to health.

Contributions to course goals

Is linked to the following goal: to know and understand the relations between water and water related diseases as an example of a socio-ecological problems.

Literature for self study

Obligatory:

• Myers, S. S., Gaffikin, L., Golden, C. D., Ostfeld, R. S., Redford, K. H., Ricketts, T. H., … Osofsky, S. a. (2013). Human health impacts of ecosystem alteration. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 110, 18753–60. http://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.121865611
• Summary for Decision-makers (page 1-24): Ecosystems and human well-being : health synthesis : a report of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment / Core writing team: Carlos Corvalan, Simon Hales, Anthony McMichael ; extended writing team: Colin Butler ... [et al.] ; review editors: José Sarukhán ... [et al.]. https://www.millenniumassessment.org/documents/document.356.aspx.pdf