Spring 2021 - REM 200 D100

Introduction to Resource and Environmental Management in Canada (3)

Class Number: 5916

Delivery Method: Remote

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Jan 11 – Apr 16, 2021: Wed, Fri, 9:30–10:20 a.m.
    Burnaby

  • Exam Times + Location:

    Apr 24, 2021
    Sat, 3:30–5:30 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Instructor:

    Duncan Knowler
    djk@sfu.ca
    1 778 782-3421
  • Prerequisites:

    One of REM 100, GEOG 100 or 111, or EVSC 100; and 30 units.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

Explores the natural and social science foundations of resource and environmental management and demonstrates how that knowledge can be used in environmental decision-making. Provides a basic understanding of the nature and management of natural resources, strategic thinking for environmental planning, socio-economic and biophysical trade-offs in natural resource decision making and approaches for addressing uncertain knowledge. Breadth-Social Sci/Science.

COURSE DETAILS:

This course explores the natural and social science foundations of resource and environmental management and demonstrates how that knowledge can be used in environmental decision-making. Although we focus on the Canadian context, the course provides a basic understanding of the nature and management of natural resources, strategic thinking for environmental planning, socio-economic and biophysical trade-offs in natural resource decision-making and approaches for addressing uncertain knowledge. Each week, students participate in two hours of lecture and a one-hour tutorial for discussion and practical work. New topics in resource and environmental management are introduced weekly and students are exposed to the relevant concepts and methods in an initial lecture. For most of the second weekly lectures, students will hear from a guest expert in REM, who discusses their research in the topic area. The course encourages interaction with experts in diverse fields and encourages students to experience REM case studies. Tutorial sessions involve discussion of course concepts, individual and group project work and practical applications.

[Note: for the 2021-1 term REM 200 will be taught remotely and all classes and tutorials will be online]

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

After completing REM 200, students will be able to:

  • Identify and describe the basic linkages between physical earth processes, ecology, policy, economics and institutions/culture regarding natural resources and the environment;
  • Describe the strategies and techniques of resource and environmental management and identify knowledge needed to solve an environmental problem;
  • Identify how uncertainty is considered in environmental decision-making;
  • Demonstrate awareness of potential conflicts in resource and environmental management decision-making;
  • Work effectively in a group setting to investigate an environmental management problem.

Grading

  • Assignments (see notes) 40%
  • Tutorials (see notes) 20%
  • Final Exam (see notes) 40%

NOTES:

  1. Assignments (40%) – Students complete two assignments worth 20% each that require them to apply core concepts to problems in resource and environmental management.
  2. Tutorials (20%) – Students are required to attend tutorials and participate in tutorial discussions (10%); students missing more than one tutorial without documentation lose 1% per tutorial missed to a maximum of 5% of their grade. Students participate in a group presentation that is marked individually (10%).
  3. Final Exam (40%) – Students write a final exam covering all the course material during final exam week. The date of the final exam will be announced after the term starts. Also note that the material presented each week by guest lecturers is examinable.

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

Bruce Mitchell, Resource and Environmental Management in Canada, Fifth Edition, Oxford University Press, 502pp (2015)
E-textbook will be available through SFU bookstore: https://sfu-store.vitalsource.com/products/resource-and-environmental-management-in-canada-bruce-mitchell-v9780199009893?term=9780199009886
ISBN: 978-0-19-900988-6.

Additional online (electronic) readings and all course materials (including class slides and video recordings) will be uploaded to the course Canvas page.

Registrar Notes:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS

SFU’s Academic Integrity web site http://www.sfu.ca/students/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating.  Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.

Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the University community.  Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the University. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the University. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html

TEACHING AT SFU IN SPRING 2021

Teaching at SFU in spring 2021 will be conducted primarily through remote methods. There will be in-person course components in a few exceptional cases where this is fundamental to the educational goals of the course. Such course components will be clearly identified at registration, as will course components that will be “live” (synchronous) vs. at your own pace (asynchronous). Enrollment acknowledges that remote study may entail different modes of learning, interaction with your instructor, and ways of getting feedback on your work than may be the case for in-person classes. To ensure you can access all course materials, we recommend you have access to a computer with a microphone and camera, and the internet. In some cases your instructor may use Zoom or other means requiring a camera and microphone to invigilate exams. If proctoring software will be used, this will be confirmed in the first week of class.

Students with hidden or visible disabilities who believe they may need class or exam accommodations, including in the current context of remote learning, are encouraged to register with the SFU Centre for Accessible Learning (caladmin@sfu.ca or 778-782-3112).