OBJECTIVE OF STUDY AND COURSE OUTLINE FOR PROFESSIONAL EXECUTIVE DIPLOMA IN ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
The course will provide a critical survey of the contemporary field of environmental policy, planning and management in the international contexts. The course is centrally concerned with understanding deliberate efforts to translate environmental knowledge into action in order to achieve particular outcomes in the way landscapes, societies and/or natural ecosystems are used and managed. It will also consider how the objectives for land and resource use are shaped, fashioned and contested in democratic and non-democratic settings.
The course will introduce students to the dominant management models that have been applied historically.
This work will set the scene for an analysis of contemporary approaches to environmental policy making, planning and management.
The course will critically examine contemporary thinking on these environmental themes including: sustainable use practices, political-ecology, decentralized environmental management, NGO and community-based approaches, social learning, and regional and urban planning. A feature of the course’s examination of contemporary approaches will be in-depth critical analyses of prominent cases of environmental management, including Regional Forest.
The emerging international environmental challenges for climate change adaptation, agro-ecosystems, biodiversity conservation and megacities.
COURSE CONTENT
WEEK 1
Introduction
Week 2
Introduction to environmental management systems and related standards (EMS)
Definitions
Validation
Key practices
Week 3
The benefits of implementing an EMS
Trends and future developments
EMS and natural heritage gains
Week 4
Biodiversity
What is biodiversity
Genetic biodiversity
Some biodiversity facts
The importance of biodiversity
Threats to biodiversity
How to help biodiversity
Week 5
The precautionary principle and environmental risk management
Abstract
Introduction
The advantages and limitations of the models
Practice to consider precautionary decision making
Week 6
Sustainable development
Meaning
Sustainability and history of sustainability
Definitions
The sustainable development goals (SDG)
Week 7
Sustainable agriculture
Ecological economics
Environmental economics
Week 8
Energy
Smart grid and sustainable energy
Manufacturing: green manufacturing and distributed manufacturing and technology
Environmental technology
Sustainable transport
Week 9
Business
Corporate sustainability
Income
Week 10
Architecture
Sustainable architecture
Politics: environmental politics
Culture
Week 11
More on sustainable development goals
Ecological footprint and sustainability measurement
Natural capital
Business as usual
Week 12
Education
Education and sustainable development
Week 13
Natural resources
Classification
Extracting or mining
Depletion of resources
Environmental protection
Week 14
Natural resources management
Week 15
Environmental management and social equity
Introduction
Environmental management
Social equity
Week 16
The political – economic context of contemporary environmental management
The global – regional context
National – local context
Social equity and environmental management – some examples
Week 17
Pastoralism and wildlife conservation
The population question
Urban poverty
The way forward
Week 18
Ecological modernization
Week 19
Risk society
Definition
Background
Implication
Week 20
Human population growth and climate change
Carbon emission by country
Climate change and international relations
Week 21
Political ecology
Overview
Scope and influence
Political ecology and anthropology
Political ecology and conservation
Week 22
Ecological crises
Abiotic factors
Biodiversity extinction
Overpopulation (species)
Ozone layer depletion
Week 23
Social ecology
History
Environmental movement
Early awareness
Week 24
Conservation movement
Formation of environmental formation societies
The 20th century
Week 25
Environmental movement and the United States
Timeline of the US environmental history
Week 26
Environmental movement in the Latin America
Environmental issues in Brazil, solutions and policies