GES3350

Resource evaluation and management

Not included in BSc schedule as an approved science subject but included on schedule for BSc(Env)

Associate Professor David Mercer

12 points
* 3 hours per week (two 1-hour lectures and a 1-hour tutorial)
* First semester
* Clayton
* Prerequisites: 16 points of second-year geography subjects or permission of head of department

Objectives Upon completion of this subject students are expected to be able to demonstrate a satisfactory grasp of the contemporary environmental conflict literature; an understanding of the complexity of environmental problems; an understanding of the richness and variety of `green' thinking and the green movement; a capacity to analyse the rhetoric surrounding the current debate over `sustainable development' and good oral and written communication skills, acknowledging that `technical' considerations may ultimately constitute only a small part of the total issue.

Synopsis This subject focuses on a number of national and international conflicts over the use of natural resources, eg rainforest destruction, land degradation, pressure on water supplies and common property resources such as the world's oceans. The emphasis is strongly on the socio-political aspects of these disputes and on differing attitudes to the environment of various interest groups, rather than strictly on the ecological/natural science component. The problem of the uncertainty of science in environmental management is discussed, as is the interest-group orientation of scientists in environmental disputes. Another focus is a critique of market-based `solutions' to environmental problems. Particular attention is concentrated on the role of the state and international diplomacy in dealing with global and national environmental problems. Discussion is also concentrated upon land capability assessment and other management issues in a small catchment in Victoria.

Assessment Tutorial paper (1500 words): 10%
* Essay (5000 words): 40%
* Examinations (3 hours): 50%

Recommended texts

Aplin G and others (eds) Global environmental crises OUP, 1995
McMichael A J Planetary overload: Global environmental change and the health of the human species CUP, 1993
Mercer D A question of balance: Natural resources conflict issues in Australia 2nd edn, Federation Press, 1995
O'Riordan T (ed.) Environmental science for environmental management Longman, 1995
Walker K J The political economy of environmental policy: An Australian introduction UNSWP, 1994