ENVS3742 Emerging Issues in Australian Environmental Management

This topic is designed to draw together many of the issues that confront environmental managers. Environmental managers commonly have to utilise material from a range of diverse disciplines covering not only the interactions between the biological and physical aspects of the environment but also the cultural and political context in which they operate. The role that people management systems may have in influencing environmental management systems and how to best manage and modify human activity to achieve desirable environmental outcomes is discussed.

Issues in environmental management are presented and discussed through various examples in the South Australian and Australian context. These include issues relating to urban environments, regional Australia, in relation to coastal management, water management, biological conservation, indigenous partnerships, human health, sustainable development and climate change. The topic progresses with reference to environmental policy, legislation, funding frameworks and decision making. The underlying theme for the topic is the complexity of human interventions in the environment.

This topic aims to provide students with a broad appreciation of the issues and complexities on environmental management in Australia. A major component of the topic will be to develop professional skills that will enable students to perform effectively in the workplace after graduation. This will include communicating environmental issues to diverse audiences through a range of different mediums, including the internet, team-written reports and a poster presentation.

1. Detail the complexities of environmental management, especially aspects of public participation, including identification of stakeholders, detailing emergent issues, mediation and negotiation
2. Detail the roles of government, science and the community in environmental management
3. Demonstrate an understanding of a number of case studies of Australian and South Australian human interventions in the environment and: the response of the environment, the subsequent response of humans via environmental management and the subsequent response of the environment
4. Demonstrate an understanding of the issues associated with environmental management project development, planning and delivery in the South Australian public and private sectors
5. Demonstrate an understanding of indigenous environmental issues and how to build effective partnerships with indigenous communities