Value: 10
Campus: Nathan

It is essential that environmental scientists, planners and managers develop an understanding of the cultural values and practices that inform how societies relate to their environments, and the implications of these cultural beliefs and values for the sustainable management of natural resources. Anthropological Perspectives aims to provide students with knowledge of basic anthropological concepts, theories and methods as part of an interdisciplinary approach to environmental studies. Ethnographic films shown in a weekly two hour workshop will augment the lectures and tutorials.

Value: 10
Campus: Nathan and Gold Coast

This course examines different understandings of the urban environment that populate both popular imaginaries of the city and academic discourse. It focuses on understandings that are evident in cultural objects such as films and novels, and in academic theories that have been developed to illuminate social, cultural, economic and political relationships that comprise the urban environment. Consideration is given to the ways these understandings shape political interventions and the practices of urban planners, policy-makers and managers.

Value: 10
Campus: Nathan

This course highlights the important role of policy in furthering understanding of and addressing constructively questions such as: Who is responsible for protecting the Australian environment? What is being done? How might more be done to achieve ecological sustainable development? How do we analyse this? As such, Environmental Politics and Policy introduces key environmental political institutions; policy actors, processes and policies; and issues, in the ecopolitical terrain, central to achieving effective environmental management for long term environmental sustainability. The course is essential for the fields of environmental politics, policy, management and planning.

Value: 10
Campus: Nathan

This course will introduce students to the basic characteristics of environmental systems and the techniques used to study them. Students will develop skills required to simulate natural systems and the process by which they change in time and space. Students will develop tools to develop and implement environmental models using the Matlab programming environment.

Value: 10
Campus: Nathan

This course introduces the concepts of sustainable and health-enhancing human environments: including an understanding of the biological, chemical, physical and quarantine hazards, action planning for environment and health, and legal and regulatory frameworks governing the management of the human environment.

This course provides students the opportunity to:

1. Develop a comprehensive understanding at a global, regional and local level of environmental protection challenges and review government policy, community and practitioner responses;
2. Develop an understanding of sustainable regional and city planning, including environmental protection and quarantine laws and program implementation with case studies;
3. Build a network of contacts through attending industry seminars, and site visits to enhance professional practice; and
4. Develop an appreciation of the professional frameworks for environmental practitioner ethics, certification and practice.

Value: 10
Pre-requisite: Maths – check
Campus: Nathan

This course introduces students to numerical methods for the solution of basic mathematical problems that cannot be solved by hand. Topics covered include nonlinear equations, linear systems, data fitting, integration and the solution of systems of differential equations. This course also develops solid skills in the use of MATLAB including built-in functions, symbolic algebra, data visualization and typical programming concepts.

Value: 10
Campus: Nathan and Gold Coast

Hydrology is concerned with the distribution and dynamics of water and water quality on or near the surface of earth. As fundamental engineering sciences, hydrology plays an important role in developing technical skills in water engineering and in understanding many of the contemporary water management issues. The course covers fundamental hydrologic processes such as rainfall, evaporation, infiltration, surface and ground water, and hydrologic extremes ie floods and droughts. In addition, the course develops technical skills to apply some basic techniques for hydrologic analysis and design with particular emphasis on flood estimation, flood frequency analysis, and flood routing. Learning activities include lectures, workshops, and half-day field trip.

Value: 20
Campus: Nathan

This course will examine the impacts of anthropogenic climate change on the natural environment and consider how society might craft strategies to control the sources, and responses to deal with the impacts, of such change. The course will adopt an Earth System Science perspective to elucidate the role of environmental systems in determining global climate and consider how their simulation can contribute to developing policy within the climate change debate.

Value: 10
Campus: Nathan

This course provides knowledge of ecological principles, experience with practical techniques, and an understanding of the application of these to environmental problems. Topics include processes at the individual, population and community levels, characteristics of ecosystems (terrestrial, freshwater, marine, and global) methods of ecological sampling, survey and research design, and the application of concepts and techniques to current ecological management issues.

Value: 10
Campus: Nathan

This course begins with the standard and newer microeconomic theory and techniques that can play a major role in the sustainable use and allocation of renewable and nonrenewable resources. Analyses of specific environmental resources such as forests, fisheries and fossil-fuel energy supplies are considered. Macroeconomic issues and economic policy instruments for improving environmental quality are also discussed.

Value: 10
Pre-requisite:
Campus: Nathan

This course will deal with contemporary issues and theory as they relate to the survival and retention of identity among indigenous people in the face of increasing pressure from the West and modern nation-states, particularly with regard to expanding resource demands from the industrial and post-industrial sectors. Case study materials are drawn from a range of societies, including those of Aboriginal Australia and the Pacific region, and address various instances of development, including mining forestry, tourism and conservation.

Value: 20
Campus: Nathan (from 2009)

Economics deals with the allocation and use of scarce resources. Water is a scarce resource is Australia. In fact Australia is one of the most arid countries in the world. Like many countries, it has been reforming water management practices and policies in order to meet the needs of a maturing water economy. This phase has brought with it significant national and state government changes to water pricing, the definition of water entitlements and the nature of water as a tradeable chattel. Water Resource Economics explores current issues including water trading (rural, urban and intersectoral), the economics of restoring environmental flows, water quality and river restoration (point/non-point pollution markets), and water pricing and policy. It introduces to students to the use of economic optimisation modelling and the application of experimental economic techniques to better understand the complexity of these issues.

Value: 10
Campus: Nathan

This course explores the social, political and environmental context of mega-technologies that affect, or promise to affect, the environment with high consequence hazards and risks. Technological change has engendered major policy debates worldwide concerning environmental sustainability, (scientific, social and political) uncertainty, risk and public trust; and environmental management, regulation and governance. This is the politics of life, or 'biopolitics', where 'bio' means life or, in our context, biological and ecological systems. Topics include genetic engineering (especially, the deliberate release into the environment of genetically modified organisms), nanotechnology, climate change, and diminishing biodiversity.

Value: 10
Campus: Nathan

This course examines the fundamental principles and processes involved in the management of important land degradation problems in Australia. These problems include wind and water erosion, soil salinity, sodicity and acidity, and the principles of integrated catchment management are examined using 'real world' examples.