Postgraduate Course: Conservation and Sustainability (PGBI11043)

Course Outline
School	School of Biological Sciences	College	College of Science and Engineering
Credit level (Normal year taken)	SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate)	Availability	Available to all students
SCQF Credits	10	ECTS Credits	5
Summary	This course addresses the challenge to botanical research institutions to contribute solutions to the global biodiversity crisis. The course has a strong applied and political basis and has been set up in the context of the 1992 Rio convention on biodiversity. It explores future challenges for plant taxonomists in conserving plant species worldwide and ultimately questions man's role and obligations towards the natural world, and plant life in particular. Relationships of man to plants are discussed, including the role of plants in providing cultivated foodcrops and raw materials, and approaches for future sustainable use of natural resources. The course includes introductions to the educational and conservation activities of botanical research institutions, the issues of in situ and ex situ conservation, the practical consequences of the Convention on Biodiversity and the problems of climatic change.
Course description	Not entered

Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisites	None

Course Delivery Information

Academic year 2015/16, Available to all students (SV1)		Quota: None
Course Start	Semester 1
Timetable	Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info)	Total Hours: 100 ( Lecture Hours 10, Supervised Practical/Workshop/Studio Hours 2, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 86 )
Assessment (Further Info)	Written Exam 0 %, Coursework 100 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment)	Assessment is through three separate written assignments in semester 1, individual or in goups with presentation.
Feedback	Not entered
No Exam Information

Learning Outcomes
1. Understanding of the importance of Plant Taxonomy in the service of plants and man 2. Knowledge of the origin, evolution and conservation of crops and other plants of economic and ethnic importance. 3. Understanding of the international political environment and mechanisms for promoting Plant Conservation.