BSM0610 - SUSTAINABILITY AND STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT

Module Identifier	BSM0610
Module Title	SUSTAINABILITY AND STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT
Academic Year	2001/2002
Co-ordinator	Dr Alan Bond
Semester	Semester 1
Other staff	Professor Peter Wathern, Dr Alan Bond
Course delivery	Lecture	15 Hours 15 x 1 hour
	Seminar	5 Hours 5 x 1 hour Sustainability
Assessment	Assignment	Sustainability	50%
	Resit assessment	Essay
Further details	http://www.aber.ac.uk/environment

Learning outcomes

On completion of this module, students should be able to:

Gather salient information and evaluate and present the analysis concisely and to a deadline (formative assessment and assignment)
Prepare for seminar discussions (formative assessment)
Give oral presentations competently (formative assessment)
Explain the importance of sustainability in a decision-making context (formative assessment and assignment)
Explain how Strategic Environmental Assessment can help to achieve sustainability (formative assessment and assignment).

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.

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.

Reading Lists

Books
** Recommended Text
Department of Environment. (1994) Environment Appraisal of Development Plans : A Good Practice Guide. HMSO, London 0117528668
Kuik, O & K. Verbruggen (eds).. (1991) In Search of Indicators of Sustainable Development. Kluwer Academic Publishers, London 079231249X
Lafferty, W & K. Eckerberg (eds). (1998) From the Earth Summit to Local Agenda 21 : Working Towards Sustainable Development. Earthscan, London 1853835471
Local Government Management Board. (1995) Local Agenda 21: Principles and Process: A step by Step Guide. Local Government Management Boards, Luton 0748896899
Local Government Management Board. (1994) Community Participation in Local Agenda 21. Local Government Management Board, London X801689995
Pearce, D (ed). (1993) Blueprint 3: Measuring Sustainable Development. Earthscan, London 18353831832
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. (1996) A Step by Step Guide to Environmental Appraisal. RSPB, Sandy X801465078
Therivel, R., Wilson, E., Thompson, S., Heaney, D & Pritchard, D.. (1992) Strategic Environmental Assessment. Earthscan Publications Ltd 1-85383-146-6
Therivel, R., & Partidario, M R. (1996) The Practice of Strategic Environmental Assessment. Earthscan Publications Ltd 1-853883-373-8