Course description

This course is designed to provide students with a practical insight into challenging conservation issues on an international platform as experienced by those within industries related to conservation science, and will include discussions on real-world challenges representing both developing and developed countries. You will learn from industry professionals representing the NGO environment, private consultancy and government.

Students will learn what is involved in running community based conservation programmes as well as obtaining skills on how to source funds successfully. In addition the course provides ideas and suggestions to be one step ahead on the highly competitive conservation-career market.

You will be exposed to unique perspectives on how governments influence biodiversity conservation. It will challenge students to consider the role of government in conserving biodiversity and equip them with the skills and knowledge required for developing effective and efficient policy responses for tackling global biodiversity conservation problems. In particular, it will explore the vast array of tools available to decision-makers and provide insights into the complexity of global biodiversity problems through the use of real-world examples.

Private industry has become a major employer of ecologists, particularly for environmental / ecological consultancy. Much of the work carried out by ecological consultants comprises ecological assessment of development proposals, via Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). In this unit, students will learn about the EIA process, the limitations inherent in EIA practice with respect to conservation ecology, and best practice in ecological EIA.

Archived offerings