ENVP30010 Environmental Management

Academic Year 2022/2023

Environmental management is about controlling human activities that have a significant impact on the environment. However, different philosophies of environmental management and its relationship to human development yield different solutions.

This module aims to provide students with a grounding in both legal and economic approaches to environmental conservation and species protection i.e. addressing modern sustainability and conservation issues.

The module will focus on why environmental issues arise in the first place, introducing students to the concepts of Market Failure, Externalities, Common Pool Resources, and the Tragedy of the Commons.

Students will then be introduced to international environmental law, and conservation law, commencing with an overview of the international legal system in the context of environmental protection. The module will then discuss the history, development, sources and principles of international environmental law and review the role of the UN, corporations and NGOs in the context of international environmental protection.

The module will also examine the use of different instruments to achieve the goals agreed in international environmental treaties. It will examine the use of market-based instruments (MBIs) for environmental management and sustainable development and compare these to traditional regulatory (Command and Control) approaches. A number of case studies will be utilised to shed light on the problems of designing and introducing effective environmental management laws and policies.

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Curricular information is subject to change

Learning Outcomes:

On the successful completion of the course, you should be able to:

• Describe the legal framework in place for environmental protection and conservation at different spatial scales (local, regional, national, European Union, Global);
• Understand the institutional and legal frameworks necessary for nature conservation and species protection;
• Outline, theoretically, why environmental issues arise in the first place;
• Demonstrate an awareness of the current environmental issues facing the planet, including biodiversity loss and species decline;
• Demonstrate an understanding of the rationale for the use of MBI in environmental management;
• Outline and evaluate key policy instruments for environmental protection at different spatial scales.

Indicative Module Content:

Indicative Sessions / topics

1. Introduction to the module and the lecturers
a. The need for Environmental Management: Controlling human influence on the environment
b. Population increase, poverty, rapid urbanisation,
c. Biodiversity and species loss / habitat loss
2. Market failure and externalities
a. Common Pool Resource theory
b. Need for institutional / legal frameworks outside of self-governance
c. Market failure and externalities
3. History of international environmental law
a. Overview of the international legal system, the sources and principles of international environmental law and international environmental law-making.
4. Biodiversity in international law
a. Endangered species and deforestation
b. UN Convention on biodiversity
5. Peace, war and the environment
6. WTO and international trade in endangered species
a. CITIES
7. New environmental policy instruments applied to species / habitat conservation
a. Tradeable development rights
8. Poverty, militarisation of conservation and the environment
a. Rhino poaching in South Africa
9. Sustainable development and environmental conservation
a. Gender, poverty, property rights
b. Human-animal conflicts
10. Class presentations and feedback


Student Effort Hours: 
Student Effort Type Hours
Lectures

20
Specified Learning Activities

4
Autonomous Student Learning

76
Total

100
Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
The key teaching and learning approaches used in this module include group work; traditional lectures; critical writing and student presentations and peer feedback. 
Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Incompatibles:
PEP30120 - Topics in Urban & Reg Planning

Equivalents:
Environmental Management (GEOG30390), Environmental Management (PEP30130)


 
Assessment Strategy  
Description Timing Open Book Exam Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade
Group Project: Group project and presentation Varies over the Trimester n/a Graded No

30
Assignment: Individual assignment Varies over the Trimester n/a Graded No

60
Assignment: Peer Assessment Unspecified n/a Graded No

10

Carry forward of passed components
Yes
 
Resit In Terminal Exam
Spring No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 
Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Group/class feedback, post-assessment
• Peer review activities

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

In-class feedback will be provided on the group presentations. Online feedback will be provided on the group submissions

Reading List

Anja Kollmuss & Julian Agyeman (2002) Mind the Gap: Why do people act environmentally and what are the barriers to pro-environmental behavior?, Environmental Education Research, 8:3, 239-260.

Barrow, Chris (2006). Environmental Management for Sustainable Development, Routledge: London

Berry, P. M., T. P. Dawson, P. A. Harrison, and R. G. Pearson.(2002). Modeling potential impacts of climate change on the bioclimatic envelope of species in Britain and Ireland. Global Ecology and Biogeography 11:453-462.

Boyle, A. E. and C. Redgwell International Law and the Environment (Oxford: OUP, 4 th ed. 2021)

Brereton, F, Clinch, P. and Ferreira, F. (2008) ‘Happiness, Geography and the Environment’. Ecological Economics. 65 (2), pp 386 – 396.

Davies, A., Fahy, F., Taylor, D., 2005. Mind the gap: householders attitude and actions towards waste in Ireland. Irish Geography Vol. 38 (2), pp. 151–168.

Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, (2007), National Forestry Inventory: Republic of Ireland Results, Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Food, Wexford.

Elliot, J.A., (2013), An Introduction to Sustainable Development: Fourth Edition, Routledge, London.

EPA, (2008), Chapter 11 Land Use, Ireland’s Environment 2008, EPA: Wexford.

Ferreira, S. and Moro, M. 2011. “Constructing Genuine Savings Indicators for Ireland, 1995-2005.” Journal of Environmental Management, (92), pp 542 – 553.

Heritage Council, (2010), Proposals for Ireland’s Landscapes 2010, The Heritage Council: Dublin.
Rogers, P. et al. (2008), An Introduction to Sustainable Development, Earthscan, London.

OECD: Alternatives to Traditional Regulation

Ostrom, E. (1990). Governing the commons: The evolution of institutions for collective action. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.

Sands, S. and J.Peel Principles of International Environmental Law (Cambridge: CUP, 4th ed. 2018)

United Nations Environment Programme (2005). Talk the Walk: Advancing Sustainable Lifestyles Through Marketing and Communications, United Nations Environment Programme, UN Global Compact and Utopies.