ATS3546 - Environmental assessment and decision making - 2018

This unit deals with the processes for assessing the potential environmental consequences of a range of human activities with a focus on development proposals and land use changes. These can be highly contentious because of the conflicting interests, types of knowledge and values of different stakeholders. The unit will examine the nature of the widely-adopted procedure of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), exploring relevant legislative frameworks and understandings of best practice. It will also examine other assessment tools such as social impact assessment, strategic environmental assessments, cost-benefit analysis, and product life cycle assessment.

Students successfully completing this unit should:

1. Understand the different types of environmental assessments and the decision-making contexts in which they are applied.
2. Understand the roles of scientific information, socio-political, economic, legal and participatory processes in different types of environmental assessments.
3. Understand the range of tools and methods, and their strengths and weaknesses, in conducting environmental assessments.
4. Be familiar with Commonwealth and state procedures for environmental impact assessment for projects and plans in Australia.
5. Understand the different stages of environmental impact assessment and identify best principles and practices for preparing environmental impact statements.

Within semester assessment: 100%

Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours per semester typically comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study. A unit requires on average three/four hours of scheduled activities per week. Scheduled activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning and online engagement.

See also Unit timetable information

Environmental science

Geographical science

Human geography