Postgraduate
MSc, Postgraduate Diploma/Certificate in Biodiversity Conservation and Management
Syllabus
C191
Assessing and understanding biological diversity
This course presents the backbones of conservation genetics, approaches
to assessing and measuring biological diversity, and applied taxonomy.
It explains the general principles of genetic diversity, outlining the
main theories of population genetics, quantitative genetics and
cytogenetics. Methods of measuring genetic, species and ecosystem
diversity are discussed. An overview of the variety of life forms is
provided, and the main elements of taxonomy are outlined. The major
types of classification and means of identifying biological diversity
are reviewed.
C198
Biodiversity utilisation
This course describes and assesses how biodiversity is utilised. The
main thrust of the course is the use of biodiversity for agricultural
purposes. However, other ways of utilisation are also considered for
example, the assessment of total economic value of genetic resources for
their direct use, optional use and existence values. The course opens
with a treatment of the ways in which conservation and utilisation are
linked and a discussion of the benefits from maintaining animal and
plant resources together. Part I also deals with the sustainable use of
wild species for different purposes, and the emerging methodologies for
the use of environmental economic tools to value different components of
biodiversity. Parts II and III are concerned with the sustainable
utilisation of plant and animal genetic resources respectively.
C118
Conservation and society
This module is designed to take a
cross-disciplinary look at some of the key challenges that face
societies in trying to achieve effective biodiversity conservation and
management. The module deals with the following themes: biodiversity
conservation legislation and the Convention for Biological Diversity,
sustainable utilisation of biological resources, the importance of local
and indigenous knowledge, particularly in relation to management of
biodiversity and sustainable livelihoods, genetic resource ownership,
genetic engineering and genetically modified organisms (GMOs),
bioprospecting and biopiracy, the policy options available for enabling
environmental diversity , and the needs, challenges and alternatives for
the future.
Introduction to biodiversity and
conservation management
This course provides a broad introduction
to the conservation of biological diversity with an emphasis on
conservation within ecosystems. It provides an outline of the major
elements of global biodiversity: evolution and distribution, and
examines the threats to biodiversity and the imperative to conserve. It
explains some of the fundamental principles of genetic, species and
ecosystem diversity, providing an overview of the techniques available
to conserve biodiversity both in situ and ex situ. A further theme is
the role of protected areas for conservation and management of
biodiversity and the issue of conservation outside protected areas.
Social, ethical and policy issues surrounding biodiversity conservation
are reviewed at appropriate points in the course.
C100
Ecological science and management
This module provides a
comprehensive understanding of temporal and spatial dynamics of
interacting components of natural and semi-natural environments for
their management. It deals with the theoretical and mechanistic
framework for understanding ecology, and the study of interactions of
organisms with each other and with their environments. It introduces key
concepts in ecological theory and the functioning of natural
environments, referring to the dynamics of populations and communities
and the interaction of organisms with their environment at local,
landscape and regional/global scales. It examines ecological theory
underlying models of sustainability and conservation and explains
spatial and temporal patterns observed in natural and perturbed
environments. It goes on to explore ecological processes occurring over
regional and global scales, as these are essential to the functioning of
both natural and human-dominated ecosystems, focusing specifically on
the practice of ecology in applied contexts through issues such as
biodiversity conservation, human demography, land degradation and
agriculture: four interrelated topics that are central to human culture
and welfare and are the focus of much debate and controversy.
Please note: this module
will be supplied as electronic courseware on CD Rom
C163
Environmental ethics
Considers environmental
values in relation to ethical principles and cultural traditions.
Outlines the development of an environmentalist movement, the interface
of science and the environment and the political impact of environmental
concern.
C107
Environmental impact assessment
Explains the EI process and surveys its application through case
studies. Shows how impacts and their mitigation can be incorporated into
their process. Considers how EI can be used in a strategic role, and as
a tool for achieving sustainable development.
C71
Environmental monitoring
Describes the techniques commonly used in chemical and biological
monitoring of the environment. It indicates why monitoring of the
environment is important, and describes sampling and analytical
methodologies while emphasising good working practice in terms of
quality assurance and safety procedures.
C85
Sustainable forest management
Addresses the concerns that forests are disappearing in the tropics and
are threatened with pollution in many temperate regions. Yet forests are
increasingly important sources of beneficial products and services.
Well-managed forest resources with appropriate conservation measures can
deliver what the world needs in a sustainable way. Understanding what
the issues are, and their consequences, and applying knowledge to
achieve sound, robust management are at the heart of this course.
C168 Sustainable land management
Knowledge of
physical and biological processes is essential to understanding
soil science and processes of land degradation. You will explore
the causes of land degradation and measures for mitigation and
conservation in a range of agro-climatic zones. There is an
emphasis on the interaction of physical, economic, social,
political and institutional factors in determining land
management practices.
Research methods
This module aims to provide an
introduction to research methods for environmental studies and covers
methods appropriate to environmental science and technology and social
science. The principal objectives are to provide: an understanding of
how to identify research problems and formulate research questions; an
understanding of the various types of data; an understanding of how to
review literature; knowledge of how to choose an appropriate
experimental or survey design; familiarity with a number of quantitative
and qualitative data collection methods; familiarity with methods of
data collation and storage; an understanding of the most important uses
of statistics in you own field; the ability to appropriately choose
basic statistical methods and apply them; basic familiarity with the
operation of a spreadsheet package and the ability to use it to do
statistics; basic familiarity with the operation of one software package
for statistical analysis; understanding of how to interpret statistics
from environmental studies; competency in writing-up the results;
knowledge of how to write a research proposal.
Research report
MSc students only
Examples of research report topics
-
assessment
of the biodiversity of an ecosystem by identifying the main components
and their interactions within an ecosystem
-
comparison
of two ecosystems in terms of the sustainability of their biodiversity
-
evaluation
of the risks of genetic erosion in a given ecosystem
-
appraisal
of the genetic impact of the introduction of an exotic genotype into
an agroecosystem
-
review
of biodiversity conservation policies pertaining to a particular region
or country
-
evaluation
of the relative importance of different genetic resources to different
types of farmers
-
comparison
of different conservation strategies for a genetic resource threatened
with extinction
