Environmental Sustainability and Socio-economic Values

This course explores the contemporary environmental and sustainability issues and also touches broadly on the historical, social-cultural, economic and political factors that determine the use of natural resources, with particular emphasis on, but not limited to, the Wet Tropics of Australia. Topics to be covered in this course include; environmentalism, sustainable food production and livelihoods, the impact of human activities on terrestrial and marine biomes, conservation conflicts, resource governance and so on. In addition, students will be introduced to social science research methods, while a visit to a local Aboriginal community will help them gain a better understanding of the first Australian’s enviro-cultural heritage values.

Throughout the course students will be introduced to, and are expected to gain hands-on experience on social research techniques.