The lead partner in the Coastman project, Royal Institute of Technology/KTH, Division of Industrial Ecology did in October 2006 start an international course called Conflict Resolution in the Baltic Sea. The course is a pilot web based course about conflict resolution in Coastal Zone Management with focus on Baltic Sea Region.

The course will provide you a deeper knowledge and understanding of conflict resolution in coastal zone conflicts in Baltic Sea Region from a perspective of Sustainable Development.

In the course you will mainly study:

• Background and knowledge about environmental conflicts in general and especially according to Coastal Zone Conflicts.
• Environmental Conflict Resolution (ECR): methods and tools.
• Legislation and agreements important to the BSR and costal zone conflicts.

A virtual case of conflict will be used during the course. The case is the decision to construct and implement a new oil harbour somewhere in Baltic Sea. All participators in the course will be divided in working groups and together analyse the virtual case and choose between 3-4 different locations to place a new oil harbour. The inspiration to the case comes from the COASTMAN projects.

By working with the case you will get in contact with:

• Sustainable Development in the Baltic Sea
• Decision-making process
• Conflict resolutions
• Scenario technique: escalation, de-escalation, threat/coercion
• Stakeholder analyses
• Framing (conflict seen from different perspectives)

And much more………………………………………………………………............

The course consists of two obligatory seminars, a kick of start in Riga and an ending seminar in Stockholm. At the kick of in Riga you will get to know you working group and immediately start dealing with the case and there will also be some lectures about conflict resolution delivered by experts from the universities and the industry.
Between the two obligatory seminars you work with the case in your working group and use the website to keep in contact. On the website methods and leading questions will be handled out and guide you through the course. In the middle of the course there will be a web-discussion, where the groups get feedback on their work.
At the ending seminar in Stockholm the working groups present their work by arranging a Role play, were you as a participant will play a stakeholder role and decide which of the group that has delivered the best alternative for a harbour location. The working groups shall also produce a small report which will be published on the website.

The whole course will be in English and the participants consist of stakeholders with different experiences from coastal zone conflicts, for example politicians, managers/officers from companies, NGO or people from university.

If you are interested in this course please contact the Course Administration, for more information about the course check out the links Course Description and Course Program.