Course Catalogue

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This course will introduce students to key issues in the management of protected areas in Africa, including resource protection, ecological monitoring, fire management, tourism management and development, infrastructure management and community conservation. The course will draw on examples from savannah, forest, wetland and marine ecosystems in Africa and special emphasis will be placed on introducing students to practical aspects of protected area planning. Further topics will consider priority setting and conservation financing.

10 hours of lectures and 10 hours of supervised practical work, will be delivered over a one week block: which will include problem-based scenarios and 'media-style' presentations/discussions of assignment topics. Additional self-study hours will take place during the week of the course and subsequent weeks of the semester.

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Students will make a presentation outlining their approach to a conservation management problem facing a protected area in Africa. Students will be assessed on their ability to present and synthesize evidence and how they engage with others in discussing different approaches (50%). The remaining 50% will be based on a written set exercise that will require integration of the evidence-based knowledge and skills learned in this course.

This course will introduce students to key issues in the management of protected areas in Africa, including resource protection, ecological monitoring, fire management, tourism management and development, infrastructure management and community conservation. The course will draw on examples from savannah, forest, wetland and marine ecosystems in Africa and special emphasis will be placed on introducing students to practical aspects of protected area planning. Further topics will consider setting of conservation priorities, monitoring and evaluation of conservation actions, and conservation financing.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ Critically discuss and evaluate, with reference to the evidence base and primary literature. the key issues and activities involved in the management of terrestrial and marine ecosystems in Africa, including practical aspects of protected area planning.

■ Critically discuss and evaluate, with reference to the evidence base and primary literature, approaches used in setting conservation priorities and the appropriate scales for conservation planning.

■ Critically compare and contrast the type of economic instruments available to support conservation and sustain the management of protected areas.

■ Critically discuss contemporary controversies in relation to protected area management and different conservation paradigms.

■ Develop a comprehensive management plan for a protected area.

■ Conduct a conservation priority-setting exercise.

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.