Guidelines on the Case Study Assignment Asia Pacific Initiative Advanced Seminar in International Environmental Studies Course Secretariat,

Keio University
These general guidelines provide background information on the case study assignment for students taking the API Advanced Seminar in International Environmental Studies. The guidelines are not intended to be restrictive, in that some partnering API institutions may have individual criteria for course assignments that they wish to adopt, and they are not intended to enforce one particular approach over others. It is anticipated that each institution will have flexibility to adapt these guidelines according to their own needs and constraints. Case Study Topics: At each participating institution, it is envisaged that the students will take their own location (town, city, region or nation) as the locus of the case study. Working together as one group (or in smaller groups or as individuals), each site shall work to provide the other sites with a briefing on the measures being implemented to respond to the Climate Change and Sustainable Energy challenges, through emission controls, financing of the response to climate change, as well as adaptation measures. This should include a review of the relevant legislative framework as well as reference to specific policy and measures. The case studies should also include an evaluation of the link between climate change and sustainable energy policies at each site. In outlining your sketch of the approach to tackling climate change and promoting sustainable energy in your locality, please look to identify the most likely climatic events to which your locality is vulnerable, and you may give historical examples if they are relevant. In addition, you will want to identify the different groups of stakeholders active in combating climate change and promoting sustainable energy in your locality. Please feel free to use the concept of stakeholders in its broadest sense. Once you have put together an overview of your localitys vulnerability to climate change, and its apparent framework for managing these events, please look up the line and see if you can identify where information, data, and understanding on climate change and energy enters this system. How, for example do local people obtain their information on climate change and energy? In other words, how does the community of scientists who are generating knowledge within the science of climate change deliver its insights to your community? Then, please look down the line. Try to understand, and then communicate, how climate change vulnerability, and awareness of mitigation needs and opportunities, is distributed down to the population at large in your community. By this point you should be able to make some general comments about the sufficiency, or insufficiency, of these structures and methodologies in light of the actual risks present in your community. You may be able to identify gaps, or areas of particular need. Please know that analysis and synthesis are as important as description in this exercise. Expected outputs: 10 15 power point slides Maps, organizational diagrams, or photographs as needed to illustrate A concise briefing paper, 10 15 pages A presentation of your findings.