Environmental leadership education for tackling water environmental issues in arid regions

Abstract

This chapter introduces one of the APIEL field exercises, the Oasis Unit, which is conducted in northwestern China. To equip the students with a wide knowledge base and practical skills, this unit is strongly field-oriented and applies in its course design the Integral Approach proposed by Ken Wilber. The approach provides a trans-/cross-disciplinary framework for identifying environmental problems of complexity, as well as bringing together methodologies from different fields and leadership qualities. After four years of implementation, the approach is considered successful in educational program design for environmental leadership and for promoting the leadership development of participants.