TASK

Attend all tutorials, read the assigned readings and participate in group discussion

Attendance will be recorded for all tutorial sessions. If you attend less than 80% of the tutorial sessions marks will be deducted. For each week’s tutorial you need to read the assigned readings (usually one to three), which are the basis of group discussions and other tutorial activities. Your performance will be assessed using a simple marking sheet that indicates the strength of your contributions. External students will be marked based on the strength of their contributions to online discussions and activities.

Tutorial participation includes listening to your classmates' presentations in tutorial sessions in weeks 10-12 and asking them questions about their presentation. 

Word length: 1,500 (excluding references)

BACKGROUND

This unit will provide students with background on the environmental context of the Australian continent, as well as concepts such as ‘sustainability’, ‘conservation’, ‘climate change’, and ‘environmental justice’ and will introduce a range of environmental issues and tools.  Building on this, the first assessment task presents students with the opportunity to carry out independent research and review an environmental management case study in which they take personal interest.  In particular, students have the chance to critically use their understanding of the environmental management contexts and issues in order to analyse the success, or potential for success, of a specific sustainability initiative in Australia.

ESSAY QUESTION

Choose an Australian-based sustainability initiative as a case study, and discuss the decision-making processes involved in its design and implementation.  This will include identification of various stakeholders and an analysis of their relationships.  In your conclusion, based on your understanding of the concept of ‘sustainability’, please address the level of success to date, or potential for success, of the project.

CHOOSING AN INITIATIVE

Each student within a tutorial group must have a different case study.  This means that students must let their tutor know what their preferred project is as soon as possible to ensure they get their first preference.

At present there are various ‘sustainability’ projects across Australia.  Students are encouraged to look at a number of examples before choosing a specific case for their essay.  To help get things started, a number of suggestions have been listed below.  Students are welcome to use one of these for the assignment, as long as they are the first in their tutorial to pick that case study.  This list, however, is by no means definitive.  Students are recommended to investigate other projects in which they take a personal interest.

Ideas for a case study can also come from some of the examples mentioned in lectures and tutorials, from course readings, from your general knowledge, news excerpts or web searches.  You should take advantage of the freedom offered here to focus on something that really interests you and/or will be useful for your future study, portfolio, career and so on.  When you have an idea about what your case study may be, you will need to do some research to learn more about the decision-making processes surrounding the case study and then you need to make a decision as to if you have enough reliable information with which to write your essay.  If not, either look for more data or try a different case study.

Note:  a number of these projects are very large in scope, making it difficult to cover all aspects in a 1,500 word assignment.  For example, the sustainability program at Macquarie University (Sustainability@MQ) includes:  fair trade, biodiversity, energy and emissions, transport, waste, and water.  Similarly, Sustainable Sydney 2030 has a number of ‘directions’.  Students are asked to choose one particular dimension of the plan (i.e. biodiversity for the program at Macquarie, or transport for the Sustainable Sydney 2030 project) so that focused assessment and analysis can take place in the essay.

Examples of sustainability initiatives:

1.    Sustainable Sydney 2030: http://www.sydney2030.com.au

2.    Sustainability program at the Sydney Fish Market: http://www.sydneyfishmarket.com.au/sustainability/corporate-social-responsibility

3.    Greening the House (Sydney Opera House): https://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/environment/greening_the_house.aspx

4.    Sustainability program at the Sydney Harbour Trust: http://www.harbourtrust.gov.au/about/environment-sustainability

5.    Sustainable Farm Families: http://www.farmerhealth.org.au/sustainable-farm-families/sff-programs

6.    Sustainable Forest Management (Forestry Tasmania): http://www.forestrytas.com.au/sfm

7.    Sustainable Table: https://www.sustainabletable.org.au/

8.    Sustainability@MQ:  http://www.mq.edu.au/sustainability/

UNDERTAKING RESEARCH

To be able to formulate an argument you need to conduct research.  This will involve gathering data from secondary sources (things that other people have written) and should at the minimum include:

•    General literature on decision-making processes and stakeholders;

•    Specific literature on your case study.

Please take advantage of the references given in the unit guide and during lectures, but you will be particularly expected to develop your research skills by finding your own journal articles, book chapters, books and other references.  Notes on doing research and writing (Writing and Literacy Information) will be addressed in the tutorials and made available in electronic format to all students on iLearn.  These resources will help take you through the research process and enable you to prepare for the writing of the essay.

EVALUATION

Marking criteria for the essay will be provided in the first few weeks of the semester.  In your essay you need to formulate an argument in relation to the case study you have undertaken.  Based on the evidence from your research, and your understanding of ‘sustainability’, do you think that the project has demonstrated a high level of success?  Shows potential for success?  Has not been very successful at all?  What does success mean in the context of sustainability and different stakeholder perspectives? Whatever your argument is, you must also explain why.  For example, do you consider the project unsuccessful because it has failed to consider the various stakeholders who may be affected by its implementation?  The argument needs to be stated within the introduction, and it needs to be backed up with evidence in the body of the essay.  Further, the argument needs to be revisited in the conclusion of your essay.

As part of your answer you will be analysing the power relationships that exist in and around your case study and environmental management.  This will involve thinking about what the decision-making processes are, who the stakeholders are, how they do (or don’t) participate in the process and the relationship between scientific knowledge and other forms of knowledge.

Remember:

•    Before you start writing read the notes on doing research provided;

•    Be critical of material provided on the web in terms of its reliability and its potential bias;

•    Your conclusion should restate your key points / arguments and should not introduce new material.

SUGGESTED READING

There are various literary sources which might be of use and interest.  Below is a list to help get things started; however, students will be required to investigate additional references that will support the main argument (s) of their essay.  Students should make a particular effort to research their specific case study.

Aplin, G. (2002) Australians and their Environment: an introduction to environmental studies, 2nd edition, Oxford University Press, Melbourne (especially Chapter 4).

Archer, M. and Beale, M. (2004) ‘The big smoke’ in Going native:  living in the Australian environment, Hodder, Sydney, pp.306-338.

Barton, H. and Kleiner, D. (2000) ‘Innovative Eco-neighbourhood projects,’ in Barton, H. (Ed.), Sustainable communities: the potential for eco-neighbourhoods, Earthscan, London, pp. 66-85.

Buhrs, T. and G. Aplin (1999) Pathways towards sustainability: the Australian Approach, Journal of Environmental Planning and Management 42(3): 315-340.

Cook, Don (2003) ‘Human interactions are crucial for sustainable development,’ Guest Editorial in Environmental Health Perspectives, Vol.111, Iss.16, pp. 864-865.

Dovers, Stephen R. (1997) ‘Sustainability: demands on policy,’ Journal of Public Policy, Vol.16, No.3, pp. 303-318.

Dovers, S. (2001) Institutions for Sustainability, Tela (7).  Australian Conservation Foundation. Available online http://een.anu.edu.au/download_files/een0101.pdf

Howe, J., K. Bohn, et al. (2005). Continuous Productive Urban Landscapes: Designing Urban Agriculture for Sustainable Cities. Oxford Architectural Press.

Holbrook, N. J., & Johnson, J. E. (2014). Climate change impacts and adaptation of commercial marine fisheries in Australia: a review of the science. Climatic change, 124(4), 703-715.

Howitt, R. (2001). Rethinking Resource Management: Justice, Sustainability and Indigenous peoples. New York:, Routledge.

Ikeme, J. (2003) Equity, environmental justice and sustainability: incomplete approaches in climate change politics. Global Environmental Change 13: 195-206.

Liu, W. H., & Ou, C. H. (2007). A comparative analysis of sustainable fishery development indicator systems in Australia and Canada. Sustainable Development, 15(1), 28-40.

Lehtonen, M. (2004) The environmental–social interface of sustainable development: capabilities, social capital, institutions. Ecological Economics 49: 199-214.

Margerum, Richard D. (2007) ‘Overcoming locally based collaboration constraints,’ Society and natural resources, Vol.20, Iss.2, pp. 135-152.

Mayer-Pinto, M., Johnston, E.L., Hutchings, P.A., Marzinelli, E.M., Ahyong, S.T., Birch, G., Booth, D.J., Creese, R.G., Doblin, M.A., Figueira, W. and Gribben, P.E. (2015). Sydney Harbour: a review of anthropogenic impacts on the biodiversity and ecosystem function of one of the world's largest natural harbours. Marine and Freshwater Research, 66(12), pp.1088-1105.

McManus, P. (2005). Vortex Cities to Sustainable Cities: Australia's Urban Challenge. Sydney, UNSW Press.

Morrison, T. H., G. T. McDonald and M. B. Lane (2004) Integrating Natural Resource Management for Better Environmental Outcomes. Australian Geographer 35(3): 243-258.

Pearson, D., Friel, S., & Lawrence, M. (2014). Building environmentally sustainable food systems on informed citizen choices: evidence from Australia. Biological agriculture & horticulture, 30(3), 183-197.

Rudlin, D and Falk, N. (1999) Building the 21st Century home: the sustainable urban Neighbourhood, Architectural Press, Oxford.

Stockwell, B. R., Bradley, E., Davis, D., & Smith, J. (2013). Peri-urban food futures: Opportunities and challenges to reconfiguring sustainable local agri-food value chains on the Sunshine Coast, Australia. J. Agriculture, Food Syst. Commun. Dev, 4(1), 123-140.

Taplin, R. (1999) ‘Sydney: sustainable city?’ in Walker, K. and Crowley, K. (Eds.), Australian environmental policy 2: studies in decline and devolution, Sydney, UNSW Press, pp.166-185.

Walmsley, J. J. (2002) Framework for Measuring Sustainable Development in Catchment Systems. Environmental Management 29(2): 195-206.

White, S., Noble, K. and Chong, J. (2008) Reform, Risk and Reality: Challenges and Opportunities for Australian Urban Water Management. The Australian Economic Review, 41(4): 428–34.

TASK 1

Word length: 1,500 (excluding abstract/executive summary, references, and appendices)

BACKGROUND

An important aspect of environmental management is the ability to write a report which identifies scientific and environmental issues, the stakeholders involved, existing conditions, compounding factors, and potential outcomes of decisions and management approaches. This second assignment in GEOP605 therefore aims to develop your environmental analysis and report writing skills through the use of independent research and assessment of environmental management, monitoring and planning strategies. 

REPORT TASK

You are required to write an environmental report which focuses on the reduction of the Ecological Footprint (EF) of your allocated Macquarie University Faculty (Arts, Science, Human Sciences or Business and Economics). Specifically, you will utilise the online campus eco-footprinting calculator to aid you in creating and evaluating possible environmental management scenarios for this Faculty. Your report will outline your recommended sustainability strategy in order for this Faculty to assist Macquarie University in achieving its goal of ‘One planet by 2030’. This will involve presenting arguments for why you choose the presented strategy, compared to other options (scenarios) you have explored using the online calculator – the argument should consider social, economic and environmental implications of your strategy. 

A scientific report is a structured presentation of information arranged and interpreted for a particular purpose. Reports follow a theme or line of argument through the provision of fact-based information, analysis of data and/or the making of recommendations. For this assignment you will need to write a report which provides information on the background of the environmental issue (ecological overshoot, increasing population and so on), a brief overview, justification and evaluation of your scenarios and how your recommended strategy (2 or 3 scenarios) will be implemented. In this report you will need to discuss some of the factors that affect the Faculty and evaluate these critically. A report which simply provides an array of data is inadequate, unless it addresses a purpose, provides relevant information and interprets that information for the target audience. 

More information regarding this assessment will be given to you through the Unit iLean site and in the tutorials. Please note that this assessment is subject to change. Students will be notified of any changes via iLearn announcements. Please also keep a close eye on the unit iLearn site. 

TASK 2

Word length: 500 words (excluding references)

Write a short reflection that justifies the strategy you argue for in your environmental report. Put yourself in the position of a decision maker (for example, a Faculty Manager): How would you evaluate the evidence you have given in your report? How does your report account for the multiple perspectives of stakeholders and scientific evidence?

This reflection should be submitted at the end of your report under a clear subheading (for example, 'Reflection'). 

A NOTE ON THE DUE DATE: All students must email their Power Point or Prezie file (including flyer, see below) to their tutor by 5pm Wednesday 19th October 2016 (week 10). Presentations will be in the tutorials in weeks 10 to 12.

TASK

You are required to deliver presentations (using PowerPoint, Prezi, or similar) for a 3-4 minute duration, on the Faculty examined in your environmental report. The presentation must briefly discuss the current ecological footprint of the Faculty, recommend environmental management schemes and highlight how their integration into a sustainability strategy will assist in achieving the Macquarie University 'One Planet 2030' goal. You will take on the role of environmental consultant, competing to win the tender to implement the best strategies for achieving the target. You will also need to create an e-poster creatively promoting your recommendations/strategy to be on view while you are answering questions.This can be displayed as the final 'slide' in your presentation. 

External students will present and participate in discussion of presentations in an online forum. More information will be provided on the Unit iLearn site.

EVAULATION

Presentations will be 10% of the total course mark. You will be assessed on the following criteria:

Content /Strategy - the originality, achievability and ability to “sell” the strategy to your audience

Clarity - of the discussion points/arguments that are presented

Structure - how well is your presentation structured is it logical and coherent?

Style and timing - quality of slides or other forms of media used to convey your arguments and your ability to stay within the time limit.

Note: Sources must be acknowledged on slides. You will also be assessed on your ability to confidently answer any questions at the end of your presentation.

The final exam comprises 40% of the Unit assessment and will be held during the end of semester examination period (exact date to be advised). The examination will be 2 hours long. Details of the exam conditions will be discussed during the last lecture.