BIO-3004 Ecosystem-based management - 10 stp

Students will learn the rapidly emerging research field associated with sustainability science and ecosystem management. The ecosystem approach embraces broader interdisciplinary approaches to understand the interactions between natural and social systems, and how those interactions affect sustainability. Students will learn the conceptual and analytic foundations for analyzing terrestrial and aquatic socio-ecological systems.

The following topics are covered in this course:

• Global environmental change and policy relevant research (MA/IPBES/IPCC)
• Protected area management and surrounding landscapes and seascapes
• Biodiversity and ecosystem services approach
• Adaptive monitoring /management
• Community-based management/Co-management and adaptive governance
• Socio-ecological systems in the Arctic

Local admission, application code 9371 - Master's level singular course.

Admission requires a Bachelor`s degree (180 ECTS) or equivalent qualification, with a major in biology of minimum 80 ECTS.

Students will learn:

• Key principles of ecosystem management and sustainability science
• Conceptual and analytical approaches to analyze socio-ecological systems (SES)
• Approaches to mapping and monitoring biodiversity/ecosystem services
• Governance and management approaches to sustainability problems
• International policies and assessments, such as the UN Convention of Biological Diversity, Millennium Ecosystem Assessment and Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services.

 Students will have the ability to:

• Synthesize research to answer questions relevant for policy makers and managers
• Identify appropriate solutions within the limits of different governance systems
• Communicate disciplinary and interdisciplinary knowledge of socio-ecological systems to a broader audience
• Read and understand articles in the field of sustainability science and ecosystem management.

General competence:

• Can communicate scientific findings in an appropriate and accessible way to policy-makers
• Have insights in opportunities and barriers in the science-policy interface
• Understand the differences between disciplinary and interdisciplinary research
• Can read, write essays and present scientific literature in this field for the broader audience
• Competence in discussing the scientific knowledge on policy relevant questions in plenaries/workshops

To teach students concepts and analytic approaches in sustainability science and ecosystem management, a variety of teaching and assessment techniques will be used. 

The course is structured around 6 topics, each taught in 2 weeks modules.  

Lectures (14 hrs) introduces the students to the concepts and issues relevant for each of the 6 modules. Thereafter the students will have seminars where articles are presented and discussed (28 hrs). In the seminars, students will learn to critically analyze both seminal and recent articles in sustainability science/ ecosystem management research. The topics of the seminars will be related to a final workshop/panels. There will be 1 student workshop and 5 workshop/panels with invited experts that will train students to synthesize research and evaluate questions relevant for policy makers and managers (18-22 hours). The preparations for seminars and the supervised preparations and the participation in workshop/panel are an essential teaching method in this course. Total workload for the student, including the participation in classes, is estimated to 300 hours. 

The seminars and the workshops will communicate and bridge different disciplines and teach students to communicate research papers to a broader audience. Oral feed-back on the presentation in class will be provided. Teaching will also be supported by online tools available in Canvas. 

Finally, the written and oral exam will be also designed for learning. The essay will train students to synthesize what they have learnt in the course. The oral exam questions, including the presentation of a selected paper, will be available 24 hrs in advance to encourage learning rather than memorization and regurgitation on the exam. 

Portifolio assessment:  

Written assignment: In the written assignment students will write a paper. The topics for the paper will be presented 14 days before delivery of the assignment and should be 2500-4000 words, not including references.

Oral exam: The oral exam includes the presentation of one paper, as well as questions from the different topics covered in the course. Students will be given questions 24 hr in advance to prepare for the oral exam.

The final grade for the course is based upon a complete evaluation of the written assignment and the oral exam. The exam will be assessed with a graded scale of five marks from A to E for pass and F for fail.

Coursework requirements:

Seminar assignment: Students will be assigned the responsibility to co-lead the discussion of scientific papers in seminars. Six such assignments need to be approved before taking the exam. 

Seminars and workshops are in principle mandatory. Absence due to for example illness or overlap with other coursework must be communicated to the teachers in advance. 

If absent from one of the seminars, a written assignment must be delivered (1-2 pages).

Re-sit exam:

There will be a re-sit examination for students that did not pass the previous ordinary examination.  In case students already have delivered the written assignment and only need to complete the oral exam, this could be used for the portifolio assessment.

The date for the exam can be changed. The final date will be announced at your faculty early in May and early in November.