GEOG103 (HAM)
Resources and Environmental Sustainbility
15 points

Convener: Associate Professor John Campbell and staff
Email: jrc@waikato.ac.nz

Paper description

The Geography Department offers two first-year papers.  They are GEOG101B People and Place: Introduction to Social and Cultural Geography, and GEOG103A Resources and Environmental Sustainability.  The statement below describes the content and organisation of Resources and Environment (GEOG103A).
Human impacts on the New Zealand and global environment have been profound.  Developments in the 1980s and 1990s have perpetuated this trend.  Economic development based on resource use to fuel development has created associated problems called environmental and social impacts.  This paper requires students to consider the management of these problems from a number of perspectives.  These include:

• the way different groups or people perceive, and act towards, the environment, as this forms the basis of resource management strategies;
• concepts and principles of environmental sustainability;
• Māori principles of resource management;
• different methods in geography for understanding and analysing resource and environmental issues such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS);
• the extent, pace and underlying causes of global environmental change and the linkage between this change and  socio-economic development.

These perspectives are variously illustrated through a series of examples and case studies.  The main aim of the paper is to give students an appreciation of the complex factors that influence resource use, and that need to be taken into account in resource management.

Assessment

Internal assessment to examination ratio 60:40.  The internal assessment is based on work usually made up of several practical exercises, a field report, one 1,500 word essay, and a final exam.  Information on assessment, deadlines for written work, and requirements for a credit in this paper will be provided at the first lecture.

Prerequisites

First year geography has no prerequisites.  Students intending to major in Geography are highly recommended to take GEOG101B and GEOG103A. This paper (GEOG103A) is highly recommended for a Tourism Studies major and is one of four papers offered by Geography for the supporting major in Environmental Planning (EP).

Readings

A reading manual and lab manual will be available for purchase from Campus Copy.

Timetable and Organisation:

Refer to the Online Timetable.