Aims and objectives
With this module we aim to make sure that you:

• understand the concept of sustainability and are aware that it has its basis in international agreement but affects our everyday lives

• appreciate some of the tools which we can use to plan for sustainability

• feel comfortable with browsing the World Wide Web and using Microsoft Powerpoint for presentations.

To provide an introduction to the nature and purpose of economics and the contribution that economics can make to the
analysis of environmental issues and the formulation of environmental policies.

Content
We will look at the history and concept of sustainability and its development at the international level. At a national level, governments are increasingly committing themselves to sustainability and at a local level community groups and local government are starting to develop plans to ensure that local development is sustainable. So we will discuss sustainability at both these levels as well. One tool being used to help determine what is sustainable is Strategic Environmental Assessment. This is the environmental assessment of policies, plans and programmes and we will explore it in detail and see how it fits in with the needs of sustainability at the local and global levels.