Master's Degree in Disaster Risk Management and Climate Governance

Why pursue a Master's Degree in Disaster Risk Management and Climate Governance?

This Master’s degree has been designed to provide professionals from different disciplines with the necessary knowledge and skills for applied research and for the management of means and tools that can be used in the fields of Disaster Risk Management and climate governance. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), climate governance is related to mechanisms and voluntary measures destined to run social systems towards prevention, mitigation, or adaptation to the risks caused by climate change (Jagers and Steripple, IPCC glossary). Therefore, acquiring knowledge and skills in this subject is highly relevant in a world more and more exposed to climate-related phenomena. The main groups of interest include engineers, architects, experts on Earth science, economic science, social science, environmental science, ecologists, sociologists, biologists, hydrologists, educators, geographers, and other professionals interested in developing their competencies in risk management and climate governance.

Module I Disaster Risk Management and Climate Change. Concepts and Context

• Unit 1: Risk Management and Climate Change Management
• Unit 2: Disaster Risk and Climate Change
• Unit 3: A Systemic Approach to Risk Management and Climate Change Management
• Unit 4: Approach to Actions and Strategies for Comprehensive Disaster Risk and Climate Change Management

Module II Prospective and Corrective Risk Management

• Unit 1: Context and Conceptualization of Risk Awareness towards Its Prospective and Corrective Management
• Unit 2: Prospective and Corrective Management. Risk Assessment
• Unit 3: Reducing Risks through Prospective Interventions
• Unit 4: Reducing Risks through Corrective Interventions

Module III Climate Variability and Climate Change

• Unit 1: The Climate System
• Unit 2: Weather, Climate and Climate Change
• Unit 3: Climate Change
• Unit 4: Vulnerability Analysis and Climate Change Risk (CCR)

Module IV ICT and GIS Applications in Disaster Risk Management and Climate Change

• Unit 1: Introduction to IT, GIS, GPS, DB, and Telecom
• Unit 2: Basic Tools to Collect Geolocalized Data in a Database
• Unit 3: QGIS Desktop Tool and the Creation of Web Geoservices with GeoServer
• Unit 4: Creating Maps. Layers, Cartography, Cadastre, Census, and GIS Analysis to Obtain Hazard, Vulnerability, and Risk Maps

Module V Disaster Risk Financial Protection and Climate Finance

• Unit 1: Context and Conceptualization of Disaster Risk Financial Protection and Climate Finance
• Unit 2: Disaster Risk Financial Protection in Public Investment
• Unit 3: Disaster Risk Financial Protection in Private Investment
• Unit 4: Climate Finance

Module VI Disaster Management and Recovery

• Unit 1: Context and Concepts of Development-oriented Disaster Management and Recovery
• Unit 2: Disaster Management and Recovery Planning
• Unit 3: Information Management and Response and Recovery Assessments
• Unit 4: Disaster Management and Development Oriented Recovery Strategies and Instruments

Module VII Climate Governance

• Unit 1: Why Is Climate Governance Necessary?
• Unit 2: Governance: Countries, Cities, and Communities
• Unit 3: Strategic Sector Governance
• Unit 4: Capacities and Challenges of Climate Governance

Module VIII Global Warming Mitigation Tools

• Unit 1: The Close Link between Greenhouse Gas (GHG) and Global Warming (GW)
• Unit 2: International Mitigation Mechanisms
• Unit 3: Sectoral Mitigation Strategies
• Unit 4: Mitigation Benefit and Opportunities

Module IX Climate Change Adaptation Tools

• Unit 1: Climate Change Foreseeable Risks. Analysis and Vulnerability
• Unit 2: Climate Change Adaptation
• Unit 3: International Adaptation Experience
• Unit 4: Adaptive Sectoral Strategies

Module X Master’s Final Project (MFP)

The program is subject to possible content updates and upgrades.