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Global Nature Conservation Level 7

Overview

  • Credit value: 30 credits at Level 7
  • Convenor: Dr Simon Pooley
  • Assessment: a 2000-word report (50%) and 3000-word essay (50%)

Module description

We are living - some argue - through a sixth great extinction crisis, with humans posing the greatest threat to the natural ecosystems and wildlife we depend on (socio-economically, psychologically and spiritually) for a happy and secure life. Now more than ever before, we need to have an informed grasp of the challenges we face, both ecological and social.

In this module we begin with a consideration of what conservation is or should be, a horizon scan of the current state of biodiversity, and outline the context and main players shaping contemporary conservation efforts. You will go on to discover the science informing how we think about and measure biodiversity, and how this informs the prioritisation of conservation efforts. You will get an overview of conservation planning and management, including evaluation. The values underpinning human uses of, and attitudes to, nature, and efforts to conserve nature, are too little factored into conservation efforts, but are addressed in this module.

Lectures will be grounded in case studies and the real-world experience of the lecturer in conservation policy, activism and practice, rather than only abstract discussion.

Indicative syllabus

  • The nature and state of conservation
  • Biodiversity and conservation
  • Conservation prioritisation, planning and management
  • Valuing nature
  • Ecological restoration and rewilding
  • Conservation and sustainable development
  • Culture, history, equity and governance in conservation
  • Human-human conflicts over human-wildlife encounters especially crop foraging (e.g. by elephants) and attacks on humans and livestock (e.g. lions, wolves, crocodiles) and illegal trade (e.g. ivory, rhino horn, pangolin scales, manta ray gills)
  • Human-wildlife coexistence
  • The major threats and transformations of the natural world - and some proposed solutions
  • Visions for conservation in the Anthropocene - if we live in a post-nature world, is there any point to conserving past nature, and how should this inform our thinking on key conservation strategies like ecosystem restoration and rewilding?

Learning objectives

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

  • identify the major threats to biodiversity we face in the twenty-first century
  • explain the concept of biodiversity and how it is deployed in conservation science
  • understand how conservation actions are prioritised
  • evaluate key strategies for conserving biodiversity, in terms of values, community considerations and conservation impacts
  • understand the importance for conservation interventions of planning, monitoring and evaluation
  • conceptualise human wildlife conflicts in a more nuanced and effective manner
  • articulate the challenges for conservation in the Anthropocene.