International Nature Conservation

This course aims to build on the bachelor level course on Conservation Biology and will help the student develop further understanding of international conservation and policy orientated science. The aim of the course is to provide the student with a solid understating of the status of nature around the world, the diverse array of factors that influence conservation on the ground, and some of the responses that are being undertaken to reduce the loss of biodiversity, in particular through the use of international conventions and agreements. Guest lecturers will present material to show how the conservation of nature works in the real world, and where science fits into that process. Biology and biodiversity theory as presented in the Conservation Biology Course will underpin this course, but importantly in this course we will also move beyond the purely biological aspects. Many of the conservation challenges are social, human, economic and political in nature and the course will reflect this. The course aims to provide a solid platform and set of ideas and issues for students to develop into a Masters in International Nature Conservation, or potentially continue onto a PhD or a career in conservation related work.

After taking the course, the student will have gained an understanding of the state-of-the-art in conservation science, focusing on the challenges that affect the planet and its biodiversity today, and what the world is doing about these challenges. The student will be able to distinguish between factors altering communities (climate change, nitrogen deposition, acidification, and shifts in grazing regimes), destroying habitats (cutting down forests, cultivating grasslands, trawling) or affecting species directly without necessarily destroying the habitat (bushmeat hunting, fishing, wildlife trade). They will also be able to understand how different approaches (species protection, habitat management and nature reserves) differ, how they address other value-laden considerations (for example, are gorillas more important than worms) and their cost/benefit considerations (i.e. is it more important to have a costly program to secure the survival of a single charismatic species or is it better to focus on protection of habitats in general?).

Knowledge:

By completing the course the student can:
 

• describe the status of wild nature on the planet
• describe the way that biodiversity and ecosystem services are changing, explain why this matters, and describe what the world is doing to try and address the declines that are seen

Skills:

By completing the course the student can:
 

• analyze the main scientific questions that conservation scientists are working with and the interface between biology and biodiversity, and social and political science and economics
• explain how economics and a consideration of ecological services may improve prospects for the conservation of biodiversity
• explain how climate change will impact the world’s habitats, species, and ecological services

Competencies:

By completing the course the student can:
 

• evaluate the real impacts of global development on the world’s biodiversity
• evaluate how protected areas work in terms of conserving biodiversity
• evaluate the possibilities to manage or restore habitats to maintain their biodiversity
• evaluate the possibilities to manage species to prevent them becoming extinct
• evaluate the effects of conservation actions (field based, policy based) and the evidence for the effects
• evaluate the political tools we have to assist conservation efforts and explain how they work.