Course Coordinators
Prof. Maoz Fine, The Interuniversity Institute for Marine Sciences in Eilat .
Dr. Rina Kedem, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Arava Institute for Environmental Studies.
Lecturers
Prof. Maoz Fine, The Interuniversity Institute for Marine Sciences in Eilat .
Dr. Rina Kedem, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Arava Institute for Environmental Studies.
Prof. Amatzia Genin, The Interuniversity Institute for Marine Sciences in Eilat .
Dr. Tareq Abu Hamed, Arava Institute for Environmental.
Prof. Oren Levy, Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University .
Prof. Michelle Portman, Faculty for Architecture and Town Planning, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology.
Prof. Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, University of Queensland.
Dr. Suleiman Halasah, Arava Institute for Environmental Studies, Oxford University.
Assaf Admon, Eilat Eilot Environmental Unit.
Course Brief Description
Course Structure
This intensive 6-day course will be taught in the waters of the Gulf of Aqaba and in the laboratory and will incorporate lectures given by experts in the field, short-term guided research projects, and instructor-led tours. Course will be open to Israeli, Palestinian, Jordanian, and international students from the Arava institute and other institutes, generating cross-cultural learning and collaboration. All instruction and course activities will be exclusively in English.
Text: Students will be provided with selected readings from various marine biology and environmental cooperation texts as well as a series of recent peer-reviewed articles.
Course Aims
Coral reefs around the world are on the brink of collapse, with only 10% expected to survive past mid-century. Many of the coral reefs of the world are shared by more than one nation-state. One of such is the Gulf of Aqaba (GoA), shared by Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Israel. This unique ecosystem consists of thermally resilient corals which are considered a climate change refuge for corals. Since this is a common pool resource, any unilateral conservation efforts can reach limited results. Transboundary conservation efforts are often hampered by political conflict and instability in the region and hence require an interdisciplinary approach, integrating ecology and policy. This course aims to understand the biotic and abiotic key features of the GoA considering global climate change. The course will analyze existing collaboration and explore open science as a mechanism for transboundary environmental cooperation.
Key Topics covered in the course
This course has two areas of focus
1. Marine and environmental science- Teach students ecosystem functioning under environmental change (climate change and local stressors). The biology of corals will be examined under different conditions exploring a variety of experimental methods commonly used in research in this field. Special emphasis is given to environmental changes and their impact on the physiology of the coral under chronic and acute stress conditions, including responses to ocean acidification and both increases and decrease in seawater temperature.
2. Environmental cooperation and policy- Teach students about existing and emerging strategies and policy considerations for regional approaches to reef conservation. Explore concepts and case studies of transboundary environmental cooperation (TEC). Analyze policy and projects from around the world. The geopolitical and economic challenges that can affect coral research and conservation will be highlighted.
Topics included in the course
-Key ecosystems in the GoA (coral reefs, mangroves, sea grass, pelagic).
-Ecosystems services of the Gulf and threats to ecosystems.
-Global (e.g., Climate change) and local (e.g., coastal development) processes in the GoA region and how it is likely to affect coral reefs.
-Transboundary environmental cooperation – frameworks and premises.
-Introduction to environmental policy.
-The history of cooperation in the gulf, legal frameworks, and projects.
-Current case studies of collaboration (i.e., monitoring, ICZM) successes and failures.
-Open science as a method to promote transboundary collaboration – the course assignment will analyze the existing data collection frameworks (from satellite to national monitoring programs), identify gaps and provide recommendations.
Grade Structure
We will use multiple mechanisms to evaluate this program. During the class, students will be assessed through a written exam, presentation of a group project, and introduction of a species. Three weeks after completion of class, students will submit final project reports that present their findings and analyses in the context of current literature.
Species ID (10%)
Written exam (35%)
Presentation of group project (25%)
Individual discussion (30%). The written discussion is submitted 4 weeks after the end of the course.
The project will include analyzing a certain aspect- the mechanism of TB scientific-environmental cooperation and providing input- integrating the course topics and reading materials.
Audience
This course is open to graduate students from the following disciplines: natural sciences, and environmental studies, geography, law, and peace and conflict studies. 3rd – 4th year undergraduate students will be admitted based on available places. The course is limited to 24 students.