Conservation & Environmental Management BEN201

Course Structure: Conservation & Environmental Management BEN201

    1. An Introduction To Ecology

• Spaceship Earth
• Conservation; Use of Resources, ecological value, economic value, genetic diversity
• Overkill
• Urbanisation
• Basic Ecology
• The Ecosystem
• Constituents for the Ecosystem
• Ecological Concepts
• The Web of Life; climate, producers, consumers, decomposers The Food Web
• Habitat and Niche
• Humans in the Environment
• Energy Flow
• Imbalances
• The Greenhouse Effect and Global Warming
• Climate Change
• El Nino
• International Efforts to Counter Climate Change; IPCC, UNFCC, Kyoto Protocol, Copenhagen Summit, Worldwatch Institute, etc
• Terminology

    2. A Perspective On Environmental Problems

• History of Conservation
• Natural Resources; Renewable, Non Renewable
• Goals of Conservation
• History from Industrial Revolution to WWII
• WW2 and Post War Period
• International Conservation
• Deforestation
• Loss of Agricultural Land
• Loss of Biodiversity Endagered Water Supplies
• Exhaustion of Non Renewable Resources
• Political and Economic Issues of Conservation
• Environmental Damage in Free Economies
• Pollution in Planned Economies Supply of Resources
• Limits to Growth

    3. Pollution and Industry Effects On The Environment

• Nature and Scope of Pollution
• Industrial Pollution
• Types of Pollutants
• Effects of Pollution
• Nuclear Pollution
• Sick Building Syndrome
• Asbestos Fibre
• Urbanisation
• Energy Alternatives
• Deforestation
• Nuclear Energy, Hydro Power, Solar Energy, Wind, Waste Power

    4. Water and Soil

• Introduction
• Dams
• River Catchments
• Wetlands
• Water Pollution
• Recycling
• Desalination
• Water Environments
• The Hydrological Cycle; Infiltration, Rainfall, Evaporation, Effective Rainfall, etc
• Water and Plant Growth
• Keeping Water Clean
• Sewerage Treatment
• Soil; pH, texture, structure
• Land and Soil Degradation;
• Loss of soil fertility
• Erosion
• Salinity
• Soil compaction
• Soil acidification
• Build up of dangerous chemicals

    5. Vegetation Conservation and Management

• Value of Trees
• Commercial Value of Trees
• Rainforests
• Forest Systems and Biomass
• Forest Conservation
• Trees and the Environment
• Environmental consequences of Deforestation
• Afforestation
• Classification of Forests
• Desertification
• Acid Rain
• Environmental Weeds
• Strategies for Preservation of Native Grasslands

    6. Animal Conservation & Management

• The Human Animal
• Urbanisation
• Wildlife
• Threatened Species
• Invasive Species
• Wildlife Management; approaches, preservation, conservation, goals
• Wildlife Habitats
• Water Management for Wildlife
• Wildlife Surveys

    7. Marine Conservation and Management

• Estuaries
• Fisheries; stock management, assessment, biomass, stock management methods
• Conservation of Sandy Shores

    8. The Future

• Tourism and the Environment
• Ecotourism
• Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD)
• Framework for ESD

Aims: Conservation & Environmental Management BEN201

• Describe the nature and scope of ecology.
• Describe environmental problems and their causes.
• Develop a brief introduction to pollution and its effect on the environment and conservation.
• Discuss relationships between water and soil and their effects on conservation and the environment, and how they can be used and managed.
• Investigate the techniques of vegetation management used in a range of situations.
• Identify the methods used to monitor and manage natural animal populations and land areas for sustainable species continuance.
• Identify the methods used to monitor and manage natural marine populations for sustainable species continuance.
• Describe the role of Ecologically Sustainable Development policies in future environment management.

What you will be doing during this Course

• Describe ecological processes and associated sustainable management techniques.
• Investigate a specific environmental problem and provide possible solutions.
• Evaluate the relationship between industry and pollution.
• Discuss principles of water and soil management.
• Select a specific type of plant that is endangered or an environmental problem and submit a case study.
• Explain animal conservation strategies, including protection legislation, breeding programs and habitat conservation.
• Discuss a specific issue that applies to marine conservation.
• Develop profiles of three different conservation and/or environment lobby group organisations and procedures used in promoting their cause.

Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the Academy, marked by the Academy's tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.