Ecosystem Management

Careers in Natural Resources Management

and

Environmental Protection

Introduction 

The University of New England offers a degree in the Bachelor of Natural Resources for men and women wishing to gain employment in areas such as environmental protection, soil conservation, national parks and wildlife management, catchment management, sustainable land management, biodiversity conservation, land rehabilitation and management, water resources management, vegetaion management, resource economics, environmental impact assessment, resource and environmental conservation, rangeland management and components of forest management. The degree is a well-recognised qualification for such job opportunities and is considered highly appropriate by resource management agencies, industry consulting firms and private companies.

Bachelor of Natural Resources (BNatRes) 

The Bachelor of Natural Resources at UNE was established in 1971 and was a unique initiative in Australian tertiary education. The degree was the first of its kind in Australia, in that it provided professional training in environmental protection and resource management. It is a well-recognised tertiary qualification with more than twenty five years of experience and tradition in many fields of resource management. 

The Bachelor of Natural Resources is a science-based degree in the conservation, use and management of Australia's natural resources. The degree programme is a four year professional degree, built on a foundation of sciences and applied sciences with the opportunity to specialise over the final years in the employment areas listed above. The first year of study provides students with a fundamental background in biological sciences, chemistry, physics and mathematics. In addition there are units in natural resources management that initiate the core component of the degree to be developed during the following years. The second year of study emphasises the applied sciences with units in ecology, geology, Australian flora, Australian fauna, soil science, biostatistics, and hydrology. These subjects provide the basic understanding of ecosystem function that is needed for effective resource management. The third year of study introduces units in the science and technology of resource management and cover topics such as resource economics, surveying and remote sensing, land evaluation, land degradation, environmental impact assessment, resource assessment, and resource management systems. The final year units are mainly concerned with policy and management of natural resources and are taken with further units in resource science and technology in the chosen area of specialization. In addition, all students can undertake in fourth year a major project on a topic chosen by the student in consultation with an academic supervisor.  

Elective units are grouped into programmes designed to provide a specialization in a chosen field of resource and environmental management. Currently there are 15 programmes and include soil conservation, parks management, water resources, pollution control, catchment management, sustainable land rehabilitation, resource economics, resource policy, land use planning, rangeland management, vegetation management, forest resources management, coast zone management, and resource management in developing countries. Some examples are listed in Box 2 (on page 4).

Admission Requirements

 A good background in high school science and mathematics is desirable for potential students because the Bachelor of Natural Resources Degree is built on a scientific foundation. Subjects taken in the first year at University assume that students have completed Year 12 Mathematics (including calculus) and Chemistry or 4U Science (or equivalent). High school knowledge in the areas of Biology, Geography or Agriculture will assist students in their first year. Students that have not completed Chemistry or 4U science, or Mathematics with calculus at school may enrol in foundation units at UNE, before taking the required subjects in their program. This may increase the time required to complete the degree.

Facilities 

The University has completed a new $6.7 million building complex for the School of Natural Resources and the Division of Ecosystem Management which will provide excellent and modern facilities for Resource Management studies. Facilities available within the school include: (i) general purpose computer laboratories; (ii) GIS Computer Laboratory for mapping and remote sensing studies; (iii) Aquatic Ecology Laboratory for the study of water and wetlands; (iv) Water Resources Laboratory combining facilities for studies in hydrology, hydraulics, soil mechanics, and water quality; (v) Wildlife Resources Laboratory including a specimen collection of Australian fauna, preparation rooms, animal houses, nocturnal animal room, field observation equipment including radio tracking devices, and dietary analysis; (vi) Applied Ecology Laboratory for ecological studies, especially vegetation management; (vii) Land Resources Laboratory for map and aerial photo interpretation and sustainable land management studies; (viii) Analytical Laboratories and associated facilities for chemical and physical analyses of water, soil, rock, plant and animal samples; (ix) the property, "Newholme", (about 2,060 ha located ten km from the campus) which is operated as a natural resource field laboratory and is available for studies in hydrology, soils and soil erosion, ecology, vegetation and wildlife and land management; (x) field research facilities at Clouds Creek in the coastal ranges east of Armidale, and Arrawarra near Coffs Harbour for coastal management studies; and (xi) service facilities including germination cabinets and growth incubators, computer terminals, glasshouse facilities and controlled growth facilities for plant and soil studies, and a small workshop.

The Armidale environs provide excellent opportunities for outdoor study of resource management and many units in the Degree Programme take advantage of them. Within several hours drive from campus, classes can be in sub-tropical rainforests on the mountain ranges to the east, or in semi-arid rangelands on the western plains. There are many national parks in the region representing many types of rainforests, rich eucalypt forests, gorge country, wild rivers, sub-alpine woodlands, montane forests as well as remnant tablelands and western plains vegetation communities. Coastal environments can be visited and the university's research station near Coffs Harbour provides the opportunity for coastal zone management studies. There are major water resources management projects (Keepit Dam, Split Rock Dam, Chaffey Dam, Copeton Dam) and associated irrigation areas (Namoi, Gwydir, Border Rivers) within close proximity to Armidale. A range of broad-area agricultural land uses, together with land degradation issues and soil conservation management provide the opportunity to study rural and catchment management within the region and address ecologically sustainable development issues. Open-cut coal mines in the Upper Hunter Valley and the Gunnedah Basin provide good examples of land rehabilitation after mining and other related environmental issues.

 More infromation on Facilities

 Career Opportunities

 Job opportunities that require training in resource management are likely to remain in demand as society moves towards ecologically sustainable management practices for all of our natural resources. Government policies for resource management incorporate ecologically sustainable principles in which economic and environmental goals are integrated during policy formulation and programme development. There are many existing programmes in soil conservation, endangered species conservation, re-forestation, forest conservation, water resources management, biodiversity conservation, pollution control, environmental management, natural resources management strategies etc., that need well-qualified graduates for their continued success. A degree in natural resources is a most appropriate qualification.

The following table shows the employment positions gained by students graduating with a Bachelor of Natural Resources Degree over the last few years. The records cover employment in positions for the first year after graduation. In the following two to three years, a reasonable number of graduates change positions as they gain on-the-job experience and develop interests in specialised fields that increases their job opportunity. Government resource management agencies employ over one-half of our graduates (58%) while other graduates take up positions with private consulting firms and industry (7%), local government (3%), and research institutions (11%). Some 7% of our graduates elect to continue into post-graduate studies.

 The University 

The University of New England is one of Australia's older universities and had its beginning in Armidale over 55 years ago. The University of New England has around 4,000 internal students and 11,200 external students and the students include around 4,900 undertaking postgraduate study.

 The campus covers 260 ha of attractive park and woodland on the north-western edge of Armidale, about 5 km from the city centre. In addition to the main campus, the University has a number of rural properties where classes and field research are undertaken. Unlike most other Australian universities, the University is largely residential. Colleges provide moderately-priced accommodation in fully-furnished centrally-heated single study/bedrooms; all meals are provided. The colleges arrange a variety of social, cultural and academic activities. The University Union, and Sports Union which are centrally located on campus, provides a wide range of facilities and services to the staff and students.

 Besides the residential facilities and friendly atmosphere, students benefit from easy access to the staff because lectures, laboratory classes and tutorials are generally given in small groups. The University's first class sports facilities are adjacent to the residential colleges. The facilities include a 25-metre heated indoor swimming pool, a large multi-purpose indoor recreation centre, 8 squash courts, 8 tennis courts and a 5 km fitness trail, and 30 ha of playing fields for the major sport, including a synthetic hockey pitch. Most of the outdoor facilities have floodlighting.

The City

Armidale, a rural city with a population of about 22,000, is located on the attractive Northern Tablelands of New South Wales at an altitude of 1,000 metres. It is within comfortable driving distance from Sydney (560 km) and Brisbane (460 km) via the New England Highway. Regular bus and air services are available to and from Sydney and Brisbane. Within a 300 km radium from the city are many rivers, lakes (e.g. Keepit Dam, Copeton Dam), spectacular gorges, the northern half of the NSW coastline, rich agricultural lands, and over 20 national parks including the New England National Park, Washpool and Warrumbungles. Armidale is well known for its warm summers and pleasant sunny winters. The city and University share many amenities for sports and cultural activities.

 An Invitation

 We would be happy to have you visit the University campus at any time during normal office hours and discuss your interest with members of the School of Natural Resources. It may be possible to arrange inexpensive accommodation in one of the University Colleges. Requests to visit and for accommodation should be directed to the Admissions Officer.

Enquires: Mrs Wendy Hyde

Administrative Officer

Faculty of the Sciences

Phone (02) 6773 2662 Phone (02) 6773 2077

e-mail whyde@metz.une.edu.au

Dr John Duggin
Vice-Dean and Head of Natural Resource
Fax (02) 6773 3376 Fax (02) 6773 2539
e-mail jduggin@metz.une.edu.au

Return to Ecosystem Management

Compiled by Nick Rollings ( nrolling@metz.une.edu.au)
Last update: January 30, 1999.

Copyright UNE 1997.