Postgraduate Course: Managing Environmental Change (including Fieldcourse) (PGGE11256)
Course Outline
| School | School of Geosciences |
College | College of Science and Engineering |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course interfaces with the sphere of real-world management of various forms of environmental change, with a particular focus on landscapes in Scotland and the UK. It provides students with extensive opportunities to interact with partners of the Centre for Sustainable Forests and Landscapes, to meet a wide range of practitioners in guest lectures and field visits, and to consider the science-policy interface.
The course is taught primarily through a series of interlinked talks and discussions led by practitioners, including: policy makers, managers, campaigners and community organisers. Through these sessions, students are exposed to a range of perspectives on managing environmental change, how policies become operationalised and implemented, and to the diverse drivers of practice and action. Through this, students are able to reflect on the relationship between scientific research and practice, and to consider opportunities for meaningful knowledge exchange. The course culminates in a residential fieldcourse in the Cairngorms National Park to provide a depth of focus on the upland setting. Through a mixture of practical skills training, group work, field visits and discussion with a wide range of stakeholders, students will have an opportunity to learn about site-specific upland management challenges. |
| Course description |
This course introduces students to current environmental policy and practice with a particular focus on how we currently manage environmental change in Scotland and the UK. It provides students with extensive opportunities to network with a wide range of practitioners.
The course is taught primarily through a series of interlinked talks and discussions led by practitioners, including: policy makers, managers, campaigners and community organisers. Through these sessions, students are exposed to a range of perspectives on managing environmental change, to how policies become operationalised, implemented and evaluated, and to the diverse drivers of practice and action. Through this, students are able to reflect on the relationship between research and practice, and to consider opportunities for meaningful knowledge exchange.
In order to remain current, the exact topics covered in the sessions will change over time, but an indicative schedule is included below. The talks will be followed by time for discussions with the speaker, giving students a chance to make connections with a wide range of organisations and individuals. Academic theories and debates introduced in the first week of the course will provide the conceptual basis through which students can question and interpret the guest lecturers¿ discussions of policy and practice.
Alongside the guest lecture schedule, students undertake a semester-long group research project, synthesising the scientific evidence relating to a key issue in environmental management. This will involve identifying stakeholders, understanding the relevant policies and analysing the extent to which current practice is driven by and shapes policy. Students will identify their topic of interest, synthesise and analyse data, and will have regular opportunities for both formal and informal feedback from peers and staff.
W1 Course introductions: understanding policy and practice; key theories and skills
W2: The role of data and evidence in environmental management; methods of evidence synthesis and introduction to group project
W3 Catchment-based integrated water and land management, rivers, partnership working
W4 Urban environments, community gardens, grassroots groups
W5 Nature conservation, designated sites, management for species and habitats
W6 Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) & carbon forestry
W7 Farming, food, agri-environment schemes (CAP + Scottish Rural Development Programme), crofting
W8 Marine protected areas, fisheries policies, campaigning
W9 group project work
W10 Group presentations
W11 Course conclusions: So what? Making sense of science, policy and practice
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Understand the current policy and management context of key environmental change issues, such as water management, farming, forestry and carbon management
- Understand reasons why policy and practice often diverge
- Understand the role of scientific research in policy and practice
- Conduct evidence synthesis relevant for managing environmental change and communicate those investigations in a policy-relevant manner
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Reading List
Clarke S.G. (2002) The Policy Process: A Practical Guide for Natural Resources Professionals. Yale University Press.
Greenberg M.R. (2008) Environmental Policy Analysis and Practice. Rutgers University Press.
Randolph J. (2004) Environmental Land Use Planning and Management. Island Press.
Brunner R. et al. (2005) Adaptive Governance: Integrating Science, Policy, and Decision Making. Columbia University Press.
McGuire C.J. (2012) Environmental Decision-Making in Context: A Toolbox. UCU Press.
Warren C. (2002) Managing Scotland¿s Environment. Edinburgh University Press.
Glass J. et al. (2013) Lairds, Land and Sustainability: Scottish Perspectives on Upland Management. Edinburgh University Press.
Dixon-Woods, M., Agarwal, S., Jones, D., Young, B. & Sutton, A. Synthesising qualitative and quantitative evidence: A review of possible methods. J. Health Serv. Res. Policy 10, 45¿53 (2005).
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
¿ Understanding of current policy and practice for managing environmental change
¿ Professional networking
¿ Understanding the diplomacy required to negotiate between different actors in a policy sphere
¿ Giving/receiving constructive feedback to/from peers in the class
¿ Groupwork and delivery of a group project
¿ Professional self-reflection
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| Keywords | Environmental change,landscpaes,policy,fieldtrip |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Samantha Staddon
Tel:
Email: |
Course secretary | Ms Kathryn Will
Tel: (0131 6)50 2624
Email: |
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