Environment & Society - Key Issues • Module Learning Outcomes – Reminder• Exam Logistics & Advice

• Question & Answer Session • Link to to your future studies & opportunities• Environmentalism today – debates & route forward?

Module Learning Outcomes• Knowledge of theories & policy debates on human-

environment interactions• Awareness of need for (& problems with) interdisciplinary

study of env. problems• Application of key theories & concepts to social, cultural

& environmental case studies• Ability to synthesise views in a written form

Interdisciplinarity &/or Sustainability Science

Governance & Institutions ?

Equity – gender, poverty, future generations ?

www.env.leeds.ac.uk/sustainableuplands

UK Sustainable Development Policy – Guiding Principles

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www.env.leeds.ac.uk/sustainableuplands

UK Sustainable Development Policy – Shared Priorities

• Sustainable Consumption & Production – “more with less”

• Climate Change & Energy – “set a good example”

• Natural Resource Protection & Environmental Enhancement – “need a better understanding and a more integrated policy framework”

• Sustainable Communities – “give communities more power and say in the decisions that affect them”

See - http://www.sustainable-development.gov.uk/index.htm

www.env.leeds.ac.uk/sustainableuplands

UK SD Policy – Natural Resource Protection & Env Enhancement

Key Module Issues• Human - Environmental Resource relations • Social, cultural & religious env perspectives• Environmentalism & environmental thought• Scientific controversies & misuse of science• Global, National & local policy frameworks• Sustainable development debates - African, Asian, Arctic

and UK case studies

Exam Issues• Timetabled for Weds Jan 17th – 9.30 a.m. – 11.30 a.m.• Location will be posted on web page from Dec 21st!• http://www.leeds.ac.uk/students/office/exams/ears.htm• Exam structure –

– Section A (50 %) – Answer 2 from 6 essay Q’s – depth of knowledge tested, see past papers for example Q’s

– Section B (25 %) – Answer 25 MCQ’s – breadth of knowledge tested

Essay Feedback / Advice!

• A good range of marks from 35 (failing) to 75 (First class) - Mean, = 58.4 (s.d. = 6.5); includes 6 Firsts!

• Introduction needs to include statement of essay aim that links to the specific Q set

• Structure needed to match the focus of the Q - too many were all I know about …. Or all I can paste about …

• Your analysis of secondary material (usually at end of a paragraph) is ESSENTIAL to show understanding & flow of argument in essay IN YOUR OWN WORDS!!

• Need to use academic journal sources NOT just web / wikepedia etc.• Must accept complexity of issue & avoid simplistic views• Referencing was poor in text & (in most cases) would need to

improve to avoid loss of marks on future coursework

The Exam Context – Essay Questions• Great danger if you fail to address the specific essay

Q’s raised ! (In past; c. 5 people fail due to this!!)

• Better to provide a short relevant answer (say 3 para’s - intro with an aim, main discussion, conclusion) than a long waffling irrelevant answer

• Add your thoughts / analysis throughout• Marks of 60+ dependent on evidence of reading beyond

the lecture material• Where possible, draw links between different lectures –

essay Q’s designed not to depend on just one lecture!!

The Exam / Module Context – Key themes• Sustainable Development agenda – impacts on scientific

method (e.g. SLA) & global policy discussions• Different societal views of the environment & implications

– e.g. different cultural and religious traditions, growth of environmentalism in public & their actions.

• International scale of environmental problems – UN Conventions, Regional Bodies – e.g. PoP Treaty in Arctic

• Links from societal (history & tradition) to policy on national scale (e.g. China)

• UK Sustainable Development research & policy agenda’s• Shift to greater community-based natural resource

management to meet sustainability targets

The Exam Context – Multiple Choice Questions

• 25 % on 25 Multiple Choice Questions• Questions designed to test breadth of course knowledge

and thus some elements of all lectures will be tested• All written such that only one possible correct answer• No negative marking so worth a guess if you don’t

know• Complete electronic form with an HB pencil fully

covering correct box

The Exam Context – Example MCQ

• Rachel Carson’s (1962) text Silent Spring highlighted the possibility of which human-induced impacts on the environment?

– A. Ecological changes due to global warming

– B. Ecological changes due to marine oil pollution

– C. Ecological changes due to pesticide use in agriculture

– D. Impacts of ozone depletion in the atmosphere

– E. Land degradation due to overcultivation

• See others on Handout

Contemporary Environmentalism - Environmental & Social Stakeholders

• Global Citizens - as individuals, voters, scientists making informed ethical decisions

• Communities - Group action, political pressure and Community Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM)

• Business - Capability, if not corporate responsibility• State - not a ‘guardian angel’ - short-term and bureaucratic• International Community - limited actual regulatory power -

rhetoric as opposed to reality – Links critical, especially from community upwards

Sustainability Science - Kates et al., 2001

• Few disagree with sustainability as an ideal, but much more uncertainty on practical criteria, i.e. can we measure sustainability ?

• Can social structures / capital be improved to guide nature & society interactions toward more sustainable trajectories ?

• Can systems for monitoring environmental & social conditions be integrated to aid transition to sustainability ?

• How can research and decision support be better integrated into systems for adaptive management & societal learning ?

Sustainability Research Strategies

• “Sustainability science differs to a considerable degree in structure, methods and content from science as we know it” (Kates et al., 2001, p.641). It must -– Span range of diverse scales (e.g. globalisation & local farming

practices)– Account for temporal inertia & urgency of problems– Deal with functional complexities of societal root causes of

environmental problems– Recognise the wide range of outlooks on the use of ‘knowledge’

within both science and society

• Need to ‘Rethink Science’

Institutions and Infrastructure• Need for sustainability science driven from public in both

North and South, but needs improved research and institutional structures

• Need to bridge digital divide and use internet to build interdisciplinary, inter-regional research, including capacity building in the South

What role for Environmentalists?

• Have we reached the limits of where green politics can go?– Public awareness achieved, but actions still needed by all to

challenge worrying trends

• Environmentalism now driven more by local societies (need for identities in globalised world) than by science

• Needs to be more closely tied to Social Democracy groups to push agenda’s forward towards social & political change

• Need to put ‘People, power & politics before conservation and CO2’

Link to Your Further StudiesNeed to consider both social and environmental aspects of

environmental issues should always be considered • Central element to 3 follow-on Level 2 modules -• ENVI2370 - Poverty, Environment and Sustainable

Development (10 credits; sem 2)– Applied problem-orientated module (100 % coursework)

• ENVI2400 People and Plants (10 credits; sem 1) – 100 % coursework and many interactive field visits

• ENVI2131 - Climate Change: Social Issues (10 credits; sem 2) – could well be a merged 20 credit CC offering!– In-depth analysis of mitigation and adaptation strategies to climate

change issues (50 % coursework; 50 % short answer exam)

Thank you …

• Questions ??

• Good luck !??