After completing the module the student is able to:
- Develop an innovative design concerning the management of an NRM problem.
- Apply already acquired methodologies, knowledge and skills to analyse problems and develop innovative designs.
- Have insight in developments in the field of bioenergy and the biobased economy.
- Adequately use and interpret literature in NRM.
- Develop new skills: such as management and implementation of a larger project,
application of Object Oriented Project Planning and Logical Framework techniques, essay writing.
- Reflect on the roles of academics and (natural) science in the context of natural resources management.
- Have insight in the role of individual professional identity and social responsibility in relation to NRM.
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The course ‘Management of natural resources in context’ (MAN) is a reflection on and exercise in natural resources management in its societal context. The emphasis is on the application of what you already know, what you are able to do in the field of natural resources management and on learning by doing. The main activity of the course consists of working on two major assignments.
Assignment A1. In the first assignment you will evaluate practical cases of community-based natural resource management (CBNRM), a form of managing common-pool resources. Many resources worldwide are common-pool resources, e.g. forests which are not privately owned but accessible and available to groups of local people. In this assignment you will reflect on the role of different stakeholders in relation to specific types of natural resources management, including nature conservation.
Assignment A2. In the second assignment you will develop a design for a sustainable multifunctional bio-energy plantation. Biomass is a natural resource that can be used as a feedstock for energy production. Bioenergy can partly replace the use of fossil fuel resources, thus reducing CO2 emissions and mitigating climate change. The area under bio-energy plantations is rapidly increasing. However, there are serious concerns about negative ecological and social impacts of bio-energy plantations, e.g. loss of biodiversity, decrease of food production and increase of food prices.
In a small project team you will design an innovative plan for sustainable production of bio-energy. For an area in the Netherlands, Tanzania or Indonesia, you will develop a plantation, while considering environmental conditions, suitable plant species, and proper management practices, and by applying a multifunctional approach (protecting or enhancing local biodiversity, protecting water resources, landscape-level planning).
Prerequisite knowledge
We recommend to take this course in the second year of the track E&NRM in Environmental Biology. If you would be interested in attending the course, but you are a first year’s master student, or a participant of another master programme, please contact the course coordinator.
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