| Department of Agricultural Sciences
28 % Forest & Landscape 28 % Institute of Food and Resource Economics 28 % Department of Natural Sciences 16 % | |||||||||||||
| Earliest Possible Year | MSc. 1 year to MSc. 2 year | ||||||||||||
| Duration | Two blocks | ||||||||||||
| Credits | 15 (ECTS) | ||||||||||||
| Course Level | MSc | ||||||||||||
| Examination | Final Examination written examination All aids allowed Description of Examination: At the end of the course there will be a 24 hours written exam conducted via the internet (estimated workload 8 hours). The exam questions will be distributed electronically and students must submit their individual answers within 24 hours. Weight: 100% written exam. 7-point scale, internal examiner | ||||||||||||
| Requirement For Attending Exam | At least 75% of the E-learning modules must be completed. | ||||||||||||
| Organisation of Teaching | Internet based E-learning modules with weekly deadlines. The course can be followed from anywhere in the world (internet access is required). | ||||||||||||
| Block Placement | Block 1 Week Structure: Outside schedule, except for week 35 (~Structure B: Tuesday 8.00-21.00 and Friday 8.00-18.00) where students and teachers will meet at the Faculty of Life Sciences, Copenhagen University. Block 2 Week Structure: Outside schedule | ||||||||||||
| Teaching Language | English | ||||||||||||
| Restrictions | None | ||||||||||||
| Areas of Competence the Course Will Address | |||||||||||||
| Understand how insight and skills in natural sciences are used together with economics, law and planning in contributing to contemporary environmental management of natural resources. Comprehend how different tools and resources for environmental management are used to acquire knowledge about the state of the environment and solve environmental problems. Comprehend the background, the fundamental principles and the managerial approaches embedded in EU environmental law. Apply environmental management tools and resources to analyse and discuss different EU environmental policy initiatives. Reflect on own views on environmental ethics. Reflect on how environmental ethics and sustainability concepts of different stakeholders affect actual environmental policy in EU. Reflect on different values among EU member states and between EU member states and other countries. Reflect on own learning and group discussions. | |||||||||||||
| Course Objectives | |||||||||||||
| The aim of the course is to provide a solid understanding of how environmental management in Europe is applied at different scales, from the EU level to the national, regional and local levels. Focus is on environmental management of soil, water, air and biodiversity. Environmental policy in EU is used as an example of contemporary environmental management and actual environmental policy initiatives are used to demonstrate how different principles are used and implemented in the member states. | |||||||||||||
| Course Contents | |||||||||||||
| Environmental Management in Europe is an interdisciplinary E-learning course offered by the Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Copenhagen (LIFE) with contributions from different European universities and institutions. It is open for MSc students from Denmark, other countries in EU and the rest of the world. The focus of the course is environmental management of natural resources (soil, water, air and biodiversity) from a European perspective. The European Union (EU) sets the policy frame for almost all environmental regulation in the member states. This frame determines both the possibilities and the limitations for carrying out environmental management and developing environmental solutions in EU. In the first part of the course the concept of environmental management and the e-learning platform used in the course is introduced. A short overview of the history of environmental management, European natural resources and the current state of the environment in EU is given. Environmental ethics and sustainability concepts are discussed in relation to the value systems of different stakeholders in EU environmental policy. There will be an introduction to EU law (legislation, principles and procedures), EU environmental policy instruments(command and control and economic incentives), and EU environmental policy measures (strategies and action plans). The role of different EU institutions in the creation of environmental policy is discussed. In the second part of the course various tools and resources for environmental management are introduced. The tools include environmental monitoring, assessment, modelling, valuation and accounting. The resources include environmental research, knowledge and data centres in EU. The students learn how to use these resources as well as other sources of information about environmental issues. The current principles and practices for environmental monitoring and assessment in EU are discussed. Water management is central since water quality and quantity serve as an integrated measure of pollutant loads from agriculture, industries and households. The third and major part of the course features a number of case studies based on actual EU environmental policy initiatives (e.g. the Water Framework Directive, Natura 2000 and the Climate Change Strategy). It is investigated how these initiatives originated and how they are implemented from the EU level to the national, regional and local levels. The scientific and political background for the different initiatives are analysed and discussed. It is investigated how environmental assessment and economic tools are used to support decision-making and evaluate environmental policies.It is investigated how EU directives are interpreted and implemented in the different member states and how national legislation is adjusted to meet the new demands. The environmental, economic and social consequences are discussed. In this discussion the Water Framework Directive is central, since it links to a number of other EU directives. It is discussed how EU environmental policy, directly and indirectly, promotes the development of new environmental technologies and more sustainable management practices in both industry and agriculture. Note 1: In week no. 35 (Tuesday 8.00-21.00 and Wednesday 8.00-18.00) all students will meet at LIFE to get to know each other, meet the teachers, learn about the E-learning system, and visit the European Environmental Agency in Copenhagen. Note 2: Students may follow the course in the first or second year of their Master programme, e.g. as a part of the Basic Semester Package in the new European MSc in Environmental Science (see www.enveuro.eu) | |||||||||||||
| Teaching And Learning Methods | |||||||||||||
| Internet based E-learning modules (E-modules) with weekly deadlines. Each E-module is composed of 1) an introduction 2) an overview of the purpose, the subjects and the lessons learned, 3)a short study guide 4) Learning resources (which can be text, audio and/or video files) and 5) several excercises called E-lessons. The E-lesssons are online learning activities which can be either multiple-choice questionnaires, assignments or discussions. The role of the teachers are to assist student learning by serving as E-moderators for the various E-lessons. Note: Students must complete at least 75% of the E-modules to qualify for the final exam. | |||||||||||||
| Learning Outcome | |||||||||||||
| Stipulated in "Areas of Competence the Course Will Address" | |||||||||||||
| Course Litterature | |||||||||||||
| Course material consists of selected scientific articles and book chapters as well as audio and video files. A compendium will be available at the start of the semester. | |||||||||||||
| Course Coordinator | |||||||||||||
| Christian Bugge Henriksen, cbh@life.ku.dk, Department of Agricultural Sciences/Environment, Resources and Technology, Phone: 35333529 | |||||||||||||
| Study Board | |||||||||||||
| Study Committee NSN | |||||||||||||
| Course Scope | |||||||||||||
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