2024/25 Undergraduate Module Catalogue

GEOG3341 Environment and Development in South-East Asia

10 creditsClass Size: 5

Module manager: Dr Anne Grainger
Email: a.grainger@leeds.ac.uk

Taught: Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) View Timetable

Year running 2024/25

This module is mutually exclusive with

GEOG3034	Tropical Forests: past, present and future
GEOG3690	Tropical forests and sustainable development

This module is not approved as a discovery module

Module summary

Tropical forests are one of the most important ecosystems on the planet, containing approximately half of global biodiversity, 40% of terrestrial carbon stocks and providing resources that directly and indirectly support millions of people. As a result, achieving sustainable development of these regions and reducing the rate that these ecosystems are being degraded has become an emblematic struggle of the conservation movement. This module explores how forests and land in the humid tropics are actually used and managed, and how this reflects the trade-offs between the economic, social and environmental dimensions of development. It explores theories of sustainable development, the methods that have been developed to monitor trends in land use and forest cover in the humid tropics, and model them mathematically, and how these methods are being employed in international schemes to mitigate, and adapt to, global climate change.

Objectives

On completion of this module, students should have a detailed understanding of how to study issues surrounding sustainable development in the humid tropics.

Learning outcomes
A detailed understanding of the distribution and dynamics of land use and forest cover in the humid tropics, national and international political debates about improving the sustainability of land use and forest management and conservation, and techniques for modelling and monitoring changes in land use and forest cover in the humid tropics and their role in sustainable development.

Syllabus

Content typically covers: an introduction to deforestation, forest degradation and sustainable development; spatio-temporal patterns in shifting cultivation, permanent agriculture and agroforestry systems; rational land use planning and the role of science; the sustainability of tropical forest management and pressures to increase it: patterns in international trade in tropical hardwood; mathematical modelling of short-term and long-term trends in forest area and timber production; monitoring deforestation using international statistics and satellite observations; and the use of modelling and monitoring methods for climate change mitigation activities.

Teaching methods

Delivery type	Number	Length hours	Student hours
Lecture	10	1.50	15.00
Seminar	10	0.50	5.00
Private study hours			80.00
Total Contact hours			20.00
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits)			100.00

Private study

Private study will consist of reading key references associated with the course and preparing for and undertaking assessments.

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

Formative assessment during seminars will ensure students are tested (and receive feedback) on progress at all stages.

Methods of assessment

Coursework

Assessment type	Notes	% of formal assessment
Essay	2500 words	100.00
Total percentage (Assessment Coursework)		100.00

Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated

Reading list

The reading list is available from the Library website

Last updated: 07/10/2024

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