Outline

Overview

ENVI2922 Environmental Governance and Assessment (Advanced) introduces students to the legal, economic and impact assessment tools involved in regulating human impacts on the environment and asks students to apply them in relation to an actual environmental issue in Australia. Building on conceptual understandings of the environment, environmental issues and critical thought developed in first year, students navigate environmental and ecological economic thought and connects this to impacts. In the latter part of the semester the concept of impact assessment is introduced to build on the legal and economic knowledge and investigate the history, strengths, weaknesses and potential of various forms of assessment to achieve improved environmental outcomes.

Details

Academic unit	Geosciences Academic Operations
Unit code	ENVI2922
Unit name	Environmental Governance and Assessment (Adv)
Session, year ?	Semester 2, 2022
Attendance mode	Normal day
Location	Remote
Credit points	6

Enrolment rules

Prohibitions ?	ENVI2122
Prerequisites ?	A mark of 75 or above in (GEOS1X01 or GEOS1X02)
Corequisites ?	None
Available to study abroad and exchange students	Yes

Teaching staff and contact details

Coordinator	Phil McManus, phil.mcmanus@sydney.edu.au
Lecturer(s)	Jo Gillespie , josephine.gillespie@sydney.edu.au
Lecturer(s)	Jeffrey Neilson, jeffrey.neilson@sydney.edu.au
Tutor(s)	Emma Koch , emma.koch@sydney.edu.au

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Assignment	Tutorial Leadership Students individually or in pairs (depending on numbers) lead the tutorial	20%	-	40 minutes
Outcomes assessed:
Final exam (Record+)	Exam A 2 hour exam, individual assessment	40%	Formal exam period	2 hours
Outcomes assessed:
Participation	Tutorial Participation Students are assessed on attendance, participation and contributions	10%	Ongoing	12 weeks
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Environmental Issues report Individual assignment	30%	Week 05 Due date: 04 Sep 2022 at 23:59	2000 words
Outcomes assessed:
= group assignment ? = Type B final exam ?

This 2922 unit is similar to ENVI2122 in that it has 20% Tutorial Leadership, 10% tutorial participation and a 40% exam. The difference is that 2922 students do an individual environmental issues report instead of an essay (still worth 30%).

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a high distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

Result name	Mark range	Description
High distinction	85 - 100	At HD level, a student demonstrates a flair for the subject as well as a detailed and comprehensive understanding of the unit material. A ‘High Distinction’ reflects exceptional achievement and is awarded to a student who demonstrates the ability to apply their subject knowledge and understanding to produce original solutions for novel or highly complex problems and/or comprehensive critical discussions of theoretical concepts.
Distinction	75 - 84	At DI level, a student demonstrates an aptitude for the subject and a well-developed understanding of the unit material. A ‘Distinction’ reflects excellent achievement and is awarded to a student who demonstrates an ability to apply their subject knowledge and understanding of the subject to produce good solutions for challenging problems and/or a reasonably well-developed critical analysis of theoretical concepts.
Credit	65 - 74	At CR level, a student demonstrates a good command and knowledge of the unit material. A ‘Credit’ reflects solid achievement and is awarded to a student who has a broad general understanding of the unit material and can solve routine problems and/or identify and superficially discuss theoretical concepts.
Pass	50 - 64	At PS level, a student demonstrates proficiency in the unit material. A ‘Pass’ reflects satisfactory achievement and is awarded to a student who has threshold knowledge.
Fail	0 - 49	When you don’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard.

For more information see sydney.edu.au/students/guide-to-grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

This unit has an exception to the standard University policy or supplementary information has been provided by the unit coordinator. This information is displayed below:

The standard 5% per day of the total available marks will be deducted for overdue assignments.

Special consideration

If you experience short-term circumstances beyond your control, such as illness, injury or misadventure or if you have essential commitments which impact your preparation or performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

You may only use artificial intelligence and writing assistance tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator, and if you do use them, you must also acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section.

Studiosity is permitted for postgraduate units unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission.

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Week 01	Introduction	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 01	Australian Environmental Law: historical importance	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 02	Australian Federalism: role of C’th, State and Local Government	Lecture (1 hr)
	Role of environmental courts & tribunals	Lecture (1 hr)
	Based on week 2 lecture topics	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 03	Role of ENGOs	Lecture (1 hr)
	Litigation & Public Participation	Lecture (1 hr)
	Based on week 3 lecture topics	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 04	International environmental law	Lecture (1 hr)
	International environmental law (2)	Lecture (1 hr)
	Based on week 4 lecture topics	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 05	Native Title	Lecture (1 hr)
	Native Title (2)	Lecture (1 hr)
	Based on week 5 lecture topics	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 06	Environmental Economics	Lecture (1 hr)
	Ecological Economics	Lecture (1 hr)
	Based on week 6 lecture topics	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 07	Pricing the Environment	Lecture (1 hr)
	Payments for Ecosystem Services	Lecture (1 hr)
	Based on week 7 lecture topics	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 08	Understanding Regional Economic Development	Lecture (1 hr)
	Regional Economic Assessment	Lecture (1 hr)
	Based on week 8 lecture topics	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 09	Environmental Governance and Global Value Chains (1)	Lecture (1 hr)
	Environmental Governance and Global Value Chains (2)	Lecture (1 hr)
	Based on week 9 lecture topics	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 10	Introduction to impact assessment and overview of EIS/EIA procedures.	Lecture (1 hr)
	Environmental Assessment in NSW.	Lecture (1 hr)
	Based on week 10 lecture topics	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 11	Social Impact Assessment	Lecture (1 hr)
	Indigenous/heritage/Developing countries	Lecture (1 hr)
	Based on week 11 lecture topics	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 12	Cumulative impacts.	Lecture (1 hr)
	Strategic Environmental Assessment	Lecture (1 hr)
	Based on week 12 lecture topics	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 13	Climate Change and Health in Impact Assessment	Lecture (1 hr)
	The future of impact assessment	Lecture (1 hr)
	Based on week 13 lecture topics	Tutorial (1 hr)

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University’s graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. To acquire an understanding of approaches to environmental governance, with an introduction to Australian environmental law.
LO2. To understand the key tenets of and differences between various environmental and ecological economic theories.
LO3. To learn the history, rationale and key steps in various forms of impact assessment.
LO4. To synthesize and critique various legal, economic and assessment approaches and practices.
LO5. To evaluate various scenarios and ascertain which legal, economic and impact assessment processes may produce desirable environmental outcomes.
LO6. To communicate environmental studies knowledge developed in this unit and relate it to professional career prospects.

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Closing the loop

This is the first time this unit has been offered.

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Disclaimer

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To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Details

Enrolment rules

Teaching staff and contact details

Assessment

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Special consideration

Academic integrity

Weekly schedule

Study commitment

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Closing the loop

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect

Current students

ENVI2922: Environmental Governance and Assessment (Adv)

Overview

Details

Enrolment rules

Teaching staff and contact details

Assessment

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Special consideration

Academic integrity

Weekly schedule

Study commitment

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Closing the loop

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect