International River Basin Management

Subject ENEN90037 (2014)

Note: This is an archived Handbook entry from 2014.

Credit Points: 12.50
Level: 9 (Graduate/Postgraduate)
Dates & Locations:

This subject is not offered in 2014.

Time Commitment: Contact Hours: 30 hours lectures and tutorials, 24 hours field work
Total Time Commitment:

200 hours

Prerequisites:

Enrolment in this subject requires subject coordinator permission

Corequisites: None
Recommended Background Knowledge: None
Non Allowed Subjects: None
Core Participation Requirements:

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Student Support and Engagement Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

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. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and Student Equity and Disability Support: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/disability

Subject Overview:

AIMS

River basins, where human civilisation comes from, are challenged by increasing population pressures, rapid urbanization and climate change impact. A river basin is a semi-closed ecological and economic system, representing logical management units of the water cycle, throughout which all decisions and actions have interdependent ecological, social and economic implications. Thus, river basin management needs interdisciplinary knowledge. This subject aims to equip tomorrow’s water managers with the adaptive approach by linking cutting edge knowledge to stress-tested practices in river basin management.

This subject consists of one week of intensive indoor activities and 3 days to one week of field work in Australia or China. One week intensive indoor activities include:

  • 15 knowledge-driven lectures across science, engineering, technology, policy, government and law related to river basin management;
  • 10 practice-driven lectures in the above areas by comparing the practices in the Murray Darling Basin in Australia and the Yellow River Basin in China;
  • 5 practice tutorials demonstrating some real cases in river basin management.

In the second week, students have two options.

  • Three-day field visit in Australia including Hume Dam or Dartmouth Dam, Melbourne water treatment system, Rubicon water, and Goulburn-Broken catchment. OR
  • One-week in China including the Three Gorges Dam (the Yangtze River), agricultural irrigation system and loess plateau revegetation (the Yellow River).

Students are responsible for the cost of travel, accommodation and food. Subsidization may apply.

Learning Outcomes:

INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES

This subject aims to equip students who are interested in environment and natural resource management with a whole-of-system approach in managing a co-evolved social-ecological system-river basin. It helps students with engineering background and interest to understand how their engineering knowledge and skills contribute to a real co-evolved social-ecological system. Specifically:

  • Describe river basin management as a complex system of interactions between the diversity of disciplinary knowledge
  • Compare the historical development of large multi jurisdictional river basins from an economic, social and environmental perspective
  • Identify links between the historical development and the management challenges facing the current generation of river basin managers
  • Describe the actions designed to balance economic development with the ecological and social wellbeing in a river basin
  • Critique the policy and other reforms designed to solve a range of river basin management challenges
  • Create new solutions to particular contemporary river basin management challenges
Assessment:

1. A literature review of 1500 words, requiring approximately 26 hours of work, due in the second week of classes (20%). It will address one of the following learning outcomes:

  • Describe river basin management as a complex system of interactions between the diversity of disciplinary knowledge
  • Compare the historical development of large multi jurisdictional river basins from an economic, social and environmental perspective
  • Identify links between the historical development and the management challenges facing the current generation of river basin manager

2. A field trip report of 2,500 words, requiring approximately 65 hours of work, due two weeks after classes finish (50%). It will be on one of the following learning outcomes:

  • Describe the actions designed to balance economic development with the ecological and social well being in a river basin
  • Critique the policy and other reforms designed to solve a range of river basin management challenges

3. A Group project of 6000 words describing the creation of a new solution to a contemporary river basin management challenge, each student writing about 1500 words. Requires approximately 36 hours of work. Due 6 weeks after classes finish (30%)

Prescribed Texts:

None

Breadth Options:

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

Fees Information: Subject EFTSL, Level, Discipline & Census Date
Generic Skills:
  • Ability to undertake problem identification, formulation, and solution
  • Ability to utilise a systems approach to complex realities
  • Field work skills
  • Cross-cultural communication and research skills
  • Research Project design
  • Teamwork

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