Course Description
Course Aims:
* To define and establish the nature and importance of marine and coastal environments and their integrated management
* To appreciate the needs and roles of scientists, policy makers, and the public in the integrated management of coastal and marine environments
* To understand how marine and coastal areas are managed in the context of a range of coastal issues and problems: e.g. nature conservation, coastal protection works, recreational and tourism pressures, coastal developments, maritime transport, renewable energy, maritime archaeology, coastal and marine hazards, and adaptation to climate change.
Knowledge and Understanding: Students will gain a comprehensive knowledge and detailed understanding of marine and coastal environments.
Intellectual Skills:
* Students will achieve a critical awareness of some of the current issues and problems in the marine and coastal environment, the scientific research literature pertinent to marine and coastal environments, and an appreciation of gaps in current knowledge.
* Students will gain the ability to gather, synthesise, evaluate and critically analyse data and information for marine and coastal problems and to propose options for policy, planning, and management.
* By the end of the course they will be able to generate ideas for research strategies.
* Discipline-Specific Skills: At the end of the course students will have an awareness of the design and execution of research in marine and coastal studies. They will develop the capacity to integrate political, socio-economic, and natural science perspectives to address policy, planning and management of the marine and coastal environments.
* Key Personal Skills: At the end of the course students will have further developed their ability to communicate clearly and to manage their time effectively. Students will develop personal knowledge and practical skills in research, commerce and governance.
Content: Sustainable use of marine and coastal areas is rapidly growing in scientific, political and practical importance in the UK, Europe and around the world. Demands on the marine and coastal environment are increasing in intensity and new and more informed policy responses are required as a result. Their development increasingly requires consideration of social, economic and environmental concerns; for example, coastal and marine spatial planning is currently regarded as of one of the most important approaches to coastal management in the future, especially in light of climate change and growing development pressures. This module aims to provide the knowledge and skills needed to develop policy, implement planning, manage marine and coastal environments, and undertake scientific research. The course adopts a multi-disciplinary approach to the study of marine and coastal environments around the world, and includes aspects of science, policy, sociology, economics, planning, archaeology, and law. It is suitable for students from a wide range of different backgrounds including Geography, Marine and Coastal Resource Management, Geology, Archaeology, the Marine Sciences, and other disciplines. The focus of the course is mainly on coursework with some student-based learning and therefore offers a range of vital skills for employment. The course is taught through a series of lectures and directed reading. It aims to familiarise students with the marine and coastal environment, its importance and use, the need for management, together with the potential for resource-based conflicts arising in coastal and marine areas. It also introduces the mechanisms (e.g. social, legal, political, scientific, and economic) available to resolve such conflicts. The course is divided into three distinct sections: Contextual Setting; Approaches to Management; and Exploring the Marine and Coastal Environment. Topics considered include: the history and principles of coastal management, the role of various regulatory bodies, pressures on the coast, coastal policy at the federal, national, regional and local scales, capacity building, and approaches to coastal zone management in the UK, Europe, North America, Australia, and other parts of the world, including marine and Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning (CMSP); the marine and coastal resource and its use; the physical environment and form of the coast; data and information for monitoring, mapping, modelling and visualising the coastal and marine environment. The need for links between science and policy also are examined, as well as the need for communication and stakeholder involvement. The management of the marine and coastal environment is explored through the perspectives of engineering, conservation and planning, introducing some of the different ways sought to utilise and manage these environments. A number of current issues and problems are explored: including marine renewables, maritime transport, maritime archaeology, and coastal and marine hazards as examples of the current and growing use of the marine and coastal environment, the problems and issues, impacts, adaptation to climate change, and management solutions.
