Governing Environments

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2012:

120 hours

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. This course requires all students to enrol in subjects where they must actively and safely contribute to class activities. Students who feel their disability will affect their meeting this requirement are encouraged to discuss this matter with the Subject Coordinator and the Disability Liaison Unit.

Natural and built environments and their resources have been the source of conflicting claims over rights of access, ownership and use. These contests have in turn led to the creation of a wide range of approaches to regulate such claims. In this subject students will be introduced to the ecological and economic theories and practices that relate to the use and management of natural resources and built environments and to the approaches governments use to resolve the conflicts that arise.
Topics will include:

• An introduction to the similarities and differences between the ecological and economic paradigms that affect the environment
• Understanding the need for government intervention
• An explanation of Public Choice theory
• The development of policies and instruments (laws, regulations, agreements, spending on education programs and market-based instruments) and institutions for effective policy implementation
• Case studies on the built environment, land and water, forests, marine environments and global warming will be used to assess the strengths and weaknesses of different governance models and their application

At the completion of this subject students should be able to:

• Come to terms with the conflicts that exist in managing natural and built environments, from both an ecological and an economic stand point.
• Understand the theory that explains government intervention and regulation in the environment and the role that information systems play in governing the environment.
• Recognise the different governance models that have been applied to the built environment, land use and natural resources and identify the strengths and weakness of different policy and institutional arrangements.
• Understand how different polices, institutions and markets effect the environment.
• Identify the key institutions used to manage the built environment and natural resources across different geographical and political scales (eg - trading in water titles, carbon credits, building titles, etc)

• Three mid-term assessment tasks 1000 words each, (40% total, due mid semester)
• A 2-hour examination (60%, in the end of semester examination period).

A set of readings will be provided electronically.

This subject potentially can be taken as a breadth subject component for the following courses:

• Bachelor of Arts
• Bachelor of Biomedicine
• Bachelor of Commerce
• Bachelor of Music
• Bachelor of Science
• Bachelor of Engineering

You should visit learn more about breadth subjects and read the breadth requirements for your degree, and should discuss your choice with your student adviser, before deciding on your subjects.

At the completion of this subject students should have the following skills:

• Be able to assess policy-orientated research on the environment
• Be able to research and evaluate governance issues
• Be able to understand the economic and ecological factors affecting environments