Environmental Policy Group
Educational program and thesis track for MES/MUE/MCL
September 17, 2013, Dr Bas van Vliet
Environmental Policy Group
The research programme of ENP focuses on:
Environmental Governance and Management of…
● Sustainable production and consumption
● Sustainable Natural Resource Use
● Global Environmental Change
 12 lecturing staff and around 40 PhD students
 Yearly, some 35 MSc thesis students
 Network of over 450 graduates
www.studyenvironmentalgovernance.org
Research Program ENP and some related
courses
• Environmental management and industry
• Sustainable technology development
• Governing Sustainable Cities
• Environmental Policy analysis and
evaluation
• Sociological Perspectives on
Environmental Change
• Water Governance
• Environmental
Quality and Governance
• Ocean and Coastal Governance
• International environmental policy
• Climate Governance
• Environment and Development
Sustainable production and consumption
 Peter Oosterveer, Gert
Spaargaren, Simon Bush, Machiel
Lamers, Bas van Vliet
● Sustainable Consumption and
Production: Housing, Food, Mobility
● Smart-Grid configurations for decentral
energy production and consumption of
households
● Sanitary innovations with Modernized
Mixtures in East Africa
● SME’s and cleaner production in Asia
● Environmental governance of cruise
ships in the Antarctic and Caribbean
Sustainable natural resource use
 Jan van Tatenhove, Simon
Bush, Judith van Leeuwen, Kris
van Koppen;
● Innovative governance
arrangements for tuna fisheries in
the Coral Triangle
● FSC- and global forest governance
● Nature protection policies marine
and land based protected areas
Global environmental change
 Aarti Gupta, Jan van
Tatenhove, Judith van
Leeuwen, Arthur Mol
● Emerging Carbon Markes at macro
(ETS) and micro (PCA) levels
● Role of INGO in Global
Environmental Governance
● Changing authority in the
environmental governance of
shipping and oil and gas
production in the North Sea
● Local governments and city
networks in Climate Governance
ENP Courses for MES
 Required Courses MES for thesis ENP (12 credits):
● ENP 34306 Environmental Policy: Analysis and
Evaluation (2 Morning)
+ 6 credits out of:
● ENP 38303/37303 Sustainable Technology
Development (4)
● ENP 30306 International Environmental Policy (4)
● ENP 33306 Environment and Development (5
Morning)
● ENP 32806 Sociological Perspectives on
Environmental Change (5 Morning)
ENP courses for MUE
 Apart from the Restricted Optional course
● ENP 36806 Governing for Sustainable Cities (4)
 Choose 12 credits as requirement for thesis ENP in MUE:
● ENP 20806 Environmental Management and
Industry (1, morning)
● ENP 38306/37303 Sustainable Technology
Development (4)
● ENP 32306 Advanced Environmental Economics and
Policy (5, afternoon)
ENP courses for MCL
 Required Courses MCL for thesis ENP (12 credits):
● ENP 34306 Environmental Policy: Analysis and
Evaluation (2 Morning)
● ENP 36306 Climate Governance (5 morning)
+ One course out of:
● ENP 37306 Water Governance (3)
● ENP 38303/37303 Sustainable Technology
Development (4)
● ENP 30306 International Environmental Policy (4)
● ENP 32306 Advanced Environmental Economics and
Policy (5, afternoon)
Optional ENP courses for MUE and MES and
MCL:
 Political Theory (2, mornings)
 Sustainable Technology Development (4)
 International Environmental Policy (4)
 Governance for Sustainable Cities (4)
 Water Governance (3)
 Sociological Perspectives on Environmental Change (5,
mornings)
 Climate Governance (5, afternoons)
 Environment and Development (5, afternoons)
 Advanced Environmental Economics and Policy (5, afternoons)
 Ocean and Coastal Governance (5, mornings)
Contributions of ENP to other courses:
 Principles of Environmental Sciences (Gert
Spaargaren, Kris van Koppen, Peter Oosterveer,
Bettina Bluemling)
 Principles Urban Environmental Management (Bas
van Vliet)
 European Workshop (Machiel Lamers, Bas van Vliet,
Bettina Bluemling, Astrid Hendriksen)
30 – 35 theses / year
MUE student Renske den Exter wins 2012 National Thesis Award VVM
Looking for ENP thesis subjects?
 Our Thesis Topic Brochure (May
2013), hard copy and PDF
 New thesis topics and internship
vacancies: Facebook ENP
 Other topics related to our
research fields can be discussed
at an intake with Education
Coordinator ENP: Bas van Vliet
Examples of subjects for thesis research
 Sustainable Production and Consumption
● Implementing the Plastic Hero. The implementation of
the new household plastic waste collection system in the
Netherlands
● Energy-wise scan of Rotterdam. A study of domestic
energy consumption according to socio and urban
variables
● The role of mainstream clothing retailers in stimulating
sustainable consumption patterns.
● Environmental flows and the governance of ship
scrapping industry in China
● Waste and Sanitation infrastructures management
Rwanda
● Product labels (rice-Vietnam, tomatoes-Spain)
● Palm-oil by-products as biofuel (Malaysia – NL)
Examples of subjects for thesis research
 Sustainable Natural Resource Use
● Negotiations around Westerschelde
● Decentralisation of Wetland Policy in Uganda
● Use of economic instruments in biodiversity conservation
● Sacred forests: a sustainable conservation strategy? The
case of sacred forests in the Ouémé Vally, Benin.
● Agrarian Reform…The pathway to sustainability? The
case of Uzbekistan.
● Towards policy coherence for fish stock conservation in
the EU and beyond? An assessment of the Common
Fisheries Policy and the EU-Pacific tuna relations domain.
Examples of subjects for thesis research
 Global Environmental Change
● The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). An
analysis of the state of play in Uganda.
● A World/United Nations Environment Organisation?
An explanation of the non-decisions on the reform
of the international environmental governance
system.
● Influence of institutional interplay in developing and
implementing adaptation policy to climate change
● EU’s role in international environmental politics,
does it help?
List of Theses at ENP website
 Have a look at our MSc theses and hard copies in library
Leeuwenborch:
Applying for major thesis research
 Keep an open eye for subjects during the year!
 Check major requirements (see MSc thesis Guide at
ENP website)
 Browse topics (journals, fellow students, ENP theses
in Leeuwenborch Library)
 Contact education coordinator to discuss topics,
requirements (Bas van Vliet)
 Talk to lecturers during courses
 Attend ENP thesis colloquia announced at our
website
 Focus your research proposal (together with
supervisor)
Internships and career perspectives
You can find ENP internship students as well as
alumni in...
 Academic and other research / education institutes
● WUR institutes, Leuven University, Wisconsin University
 Consultancy (national and international)
● Grontmij, Haskoning, Arcadis, DHV, EcoSecurity, Ecofys
 Policy and politics (various levels)
● UNEP Nairobi, Dutch / European Parliament, European
Commission, Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, Municipalities
 Industry and industry-related organizations
● E-on, Shell, KWR (water industry)
 NGOs (international, environmental, consumer)
● European Council for Nature Conservation, European
Environmental Bureau, Friends of the Earth NL, or
Curaçao or…
www.wageningenur.nl/enp
bas.vanvliet@wur.nl