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Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies

Specialisation streams: Land Management and Environmental Resilience

Land Management and Environmental Resilience

Land and its ecosystems provide products and services that are fundamental to life and its quality. For this reason, the use and management of land resources are at the heart of sustainable human development and resilience.

The graduate program in Land Management and Environmental Resilience aims to produce a cadre of professionals capable of integrating sector-specific requirements for resource management into a holistic, risk-sensitive land management approach that enhances environmental resilience and supports sustainable development goals.

At the heart of this program is the application of systems thinking and ecosystem approaches to address issues of environmental resilience and sustainable development. Students with diverse backgrounds are eligible to apply.

Graduates from the program will be equipped to work with Ministries, Agencies, NGOs, and Businesses with a focus in agriculture and food systems, disaster risk management, physical planning and land use management.

The four specialisation courses offered in this stream are:

ENVT 6235 - Soil and Water Conservation

This course aims to facilitate students’ understanding of the importance of soil to human existence and development, and land management approaches to protect and secure soil and water. It covers the nature and properties of soil, land management approaches to enhance soil health and secure soils, land degradation processes and management, and concludes with the emerging concept of land degradation neutrality. The course will be delivered via a combination of lectures, discussions, demonstration, computer-based simulations and field work. It is targeted, primarily, at the MSc NAREM students in this specialization but also other professionals and students interested in understanding or analysing the relationships between food systems and environmental sustainability.
 
ENVT 6240 - Land Use and Environmental Resilience

This course exposes students to the multi-scale and multi-dimensional interconnections between land use, resource sustainability and environmental resilience. The course focuses on analysis of how interactions between the human and natural environments generate disaster risks and how these risks can be mitigated or managed through the instrument of land use. Central to the course is the ability of the students to evaluate the land use contexts (across varying spatio-temporal scales) in which environmental problems or disaster risks occur or can be addressed using both quantitative and qualitative approaches.

Topics include concepts in the nexus of land use, physical, and environmental planning, land use controls, multi-functional land use, and disaster risk reduction. The course will be delivered via lectures, computer-based simulation and scenario analysis, discussions, field visits, and self-study. The course is targeted, primarily, at the MSc NAREM students in this specialization but also other professionals and students interested in understanding or analysing the relationships between land use and environmental resilience.
 
ENVT 6245 - Biodiversity and Protected Area Management

This course exposes students to the principles and practices of sustainable management of biodiversity, protected areas and related ecosystem services. The imperatives of protected areas, core concepts of protected areas and effective management approaches for protected areas will be presented. Major international instruments and governance frameworks for biodiversity and protected area management will be studied. Students will be introduced to quantitative analysis of biodiversity and ecosystems in support of sound management and decision-making. In addition, students will learn the tools for evaluating management effectiveness.
 
ENVT 6250 - Tools for Environmental and Food Systems Analysis

The course exposes students to the complex interactions between environment and food system that impact food security and human health, and the tools for analysing these interactions. The course covers topics in food systems and food security analysis, agro-environmental management, resource use and flows in food systems, systems thinking and resilience thinking, and advanced topics in GIS and remote sensing for environmental and food systems management. The course will be delivered via lectures, computer-based analysis, workshops, and discussions. The course is targeted, primarily, at the MSc NAREM students in this specialization but also other professionals and students interested in understanding or analysing the relationships between food systems and environmental sustainability.
Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies
Telephone: (246) 417-4316 Email: cermes@cavehill.uwi.edu