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RSNR503 Sustainable Land Management

Credit Points 6
Offering
Responsible Campus Teaching Period Mode of Study
Armidale Trimester 1 Off Campus
Armidale Trimester 1 On Campus
Intensive School(s)
Start Finish Attendance Notes
13 April 2012 16 April 2012 Mandatory
Supervised Exam There is no UNE Supervised Examination.
Pre-requisites candidature in a postgraduate award
Co-requisites None
Restrictions EM421 or EM521 or RSNR403 or RSNR421 or RSNR521
Notes

All students receive a Study Guide, Unit Outline and Practical Manual at the website.

For on-campus students, weekly lecture classes are provided as well as the opportunity to contribute to forum discussions online.

Off-campus students are provided with online access to weekly powerpoint presentations, lecture podcasts and other class handouts, and can contribute to forum discussions online.

Combined Units RSNR403 - Sustainable Land Management
Coordinator(s) Lisa Lobry De Bruyn (llobryde@une.edu.au)
Unit Description

Sustainable land management enhances the biophysical environment, maintains economic profitability and promotes social wellbeing. This unit reviews sustainable development and resilience-based adaptive management in a changing world, investigates major land uses (i.e. agriculture, forestry, protected areas, cities) in Australia and globally, and analyses key ecosystem stewardship issues from the perspective of the householder, land manager or small business, catchment or bioregion, and nationally and globally. Concepts and tools for analysis of social-ecological systems include ecosystem services, ecological footprint analysis, green accounting, environmental management systems and audits, environmental codes and environmental monitoring.

Materials No text required
Disclaimer Unit information may be subject to change prior to commencement of the teaching period.
Assessment
Title Exam Length Weight Mode No. Words
Assignment 1 14%
Assessment Notes
Presentation
Relates to Learning Outcomes (LO) and Graduate Attributes (GA)
LO: 2, 3, 5 GA: 1- 4, 7
Assignment 2 45% 3000
Assessment Notes
Unsustainable Land Use Strategic Review
Relates to Learning Outcomes (LO) and Graduate Attributes (GA)
LO: 1-3, 5 GA: 1, 3, 4, 7
Assignment 3 25% 2500
Assessment Notes
Land Monitoring Report
Relates to Learning Outcomes (LO) and Graduate Attributes (GA)
LO: 2, 4, 5 GA: 1, 2, 4, 6, 7
Multiple Choice Quiz 4%
Assessment Notes
Multiple Choice Quiz
Relates to Learning Outcomes (LO) and Graduate Attributes (GA)
LO: 1-3, 5 GA: 1, 3, 5
Online Multiple Choice Quiz 4%
Assessment Notes
online multiple choice Quiz
Relates to Learning Outcomes (LO) and Graduate Attributes (GA)
LO: 1-3, 5 GA: 1, 3, 7
Online Quiz 4%
Assessment Notes
Ecosystem Service Exercise Quiz
Relates to Learning Outcomes (LO) and Graduate Attributes (GA)
LO: 1, 4 GA: 1, 3, 4, 6, 7
Online Quiz 4%
Assessment Notes
Sustainability Exercise Quiz
Relates to Learning Outcomes (LO) and Graduate Attributes (GA)
LO: 1-3, 5 GA: 1, 3, 4, 6, 7

Learning Outcomes (LO) Upon completion of this unit, students will be able to:
  1. compare and contrast the major biophysical, economic and social sustainability issues facing individuals, businesses, communities and the planet for major land uses;
  2. discuss and justify different tools and methods for sustainability analysis, and the leading practices in sustainability performance of industries and individual land managers;
  3. explain options (regulatory, economic, social, technological, biophysical) for governments, land management agencies and land managers for improving sustainability outcomes;
  4. demonstrate measurement skills for sustainability monitoring, and analytical skills for interpreting the data; and
  5. synthesise current technical information about sustainable land management, identify strengths and weaknesses of various land management practices strategies, and formulate sound recommendations to say, growers, farmer groups, regional authorities, urban residents, and land management organisations.

Graduate Attributes (GA)
Attribute Taught Assessed Practised
1 Knowledge of a Discipline
Students are provided with detailed information about sustainable land management and the information is taught and presented in a variety of formats (MS powerpoint slides, presentations, written notes, pdf readings etc.) to aid learning. Students are assessed on their knowledge of this material by means of multiple-choice question sets and online exercises (4 per semester). They practise their understanding of the knowledge by using it to explain paddock information to farmers (on-campus students) or the unit coordinator (off-campus students) in the assessed practical component of the unit.
True True True
2 Communication Skills
Assessed via seminar presentation where students present their findings on a case study. Principles of good presentation technique and practice are provided (taught).
True True True
3 Global Perspectives
The unit provides a global perspective on the history of the concept of sustainability and international initiatives to address the main barriers to adopting sustainability. The global perspective is assessed by means of online tests, the presentation and essay.
True True
4 Information Literacy
The ability of students to source important literature and other information sources is assessed in two written assignments. Since the unit is for Master coursework students, it is assumed that students are already literate in searching for the requisite information.
True
5 Life-Long Learning
The importance of the concept of sustainability for people's everyday activities is stressed throughout the unit. The knowledge taught in the unit thus equips students with information relevant to the personal behaviour throughout their lives.
True
6 Problem Solving
Assessed via the Monitoring Report where students are asked to measure criteria relevant to the sustainability of the operation of actual farms and provide suggestions for addressing issues and making improvements on the property(ies).
True True
7 Social Responsibility
Students are taught about and assessed on the social implications of land use and current social problems in rural communities. They practise engaging with farmers and explaining the significance of sustainability measurements on those people's farms (on-campus students), or reporting their sustainability recommendations to the University's farm managers (off-campus students).
True True True
8 Team Work
Students undertake a group Monitoring project which requires students working together to achieve the common goal of reporting on the sustainability issues affecting actual properties and the practices in place or suggested practices to address these issues. They are taught a practical tool for assessing individual team management behaviours, and what to expect of people with different preferences and abilities in respect to team work.
True True
   

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