15609 Local Environmental Management
Warning: The information on this page is indicative. The subject outline for a
particular session, location and mode of offering is the authoritative source
of all information about the subject for that offering. Required texts, recommended texts and references in particular are likely to change. Students will be provided with a subject outline once they enrol in the subject.
Subject handbook information prior to 2021 is available in the Archives.
Credit points: 6 cp
Result type: Grade and marks
Requisite(s): 15604 Local Government Principles and Practice OR 49460 Local Government Management Principles and Practice 1 OR 15608 Organising and Managing in Local Government OR 49277 Corporate Planning and Management
These requisites may not apply to students in certain courses.
There are course requisites for this subject. See access conditions.
Anti-requisite(s): 49278 Sustainability and the Local Environment
Description
This subject engages with research, ideas, processes and techniques that improve performance in achieving positive outcomes in environmental management and promoting sustainable development in local government areas (LGAs) throughout Australia. It is geared to the needs of a range of local government professionals in order to assist with planning and managing natural resources across the broad spectrum of council programs.
Subject learning objectives (SLOs)
On successful completion of this subject, students should be able to:
| 1. | Demonstrated an understanding of key concepts related to the natural environment in which all communities, and their local governments, exist, and articulated how conceptions of the environment, including their own, have changed over time. |
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| 2. | Identified local government’s responsibilities for environmental management and critically examined the sector’s unique role in environmental management in the Australian context. |
| 3. | Identified, explained and applied the principles of Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD), including the hoped-for outcomes and challenges of its application to the local government context. |
| 4. | Selected, interpreted and extended insights from the literature on biodiversity conservation, resource management and the adaptive governance of social-ecological systems, and, where possible, applied these to their own work in a local government context. |
| 5. | Examined, debated and extended examples of research and best practice with regard to local governments and their environmental planning, management and protection roles. |
Course intended learning outcomes (CILOs)
This subject also contributes to the following Course Intended Learning Outcomes:
- Apply leadership skills to take a proactive and convincing role in in fostering cultural competence and identifying and addressing policy issues (A.2)
- Reflect on personal views and values in the development of professional judgement and practice (A.3)
- Communicate and engage effectively with people from diverse perspectives and cultures across multiple platforms, acknowledging the status of Indigenous peoples to develop cross-disciplinary strategy (C.1)
- Apply an advanced understanding of theories and debates in local government and intergovernmental relations, including Indigenous perspectives, and articulate this understanding across a range of organisational types (P.3)
- Conduct independent applied research to develop a deep understanding of complex policy problems and innovative, cross-disciplinary solutions pertaining to government and its stakeholders (R.3)
Teaching and learning strategies
This subject is based on adult education principles and the design of a program of teaching/learning that addresses the professional challenges of local government practitioners with a specific focus on local environmental management. The mode of offering for this subject is based on tutoring, peer and collaborative learning, with strong and consistent use of the UTSOnline teaching and learning platform.
Students are provided with a Subject Description and Guide to Readings and make use of UTSOnline to support their self-directed learning. In doing so, they are challenged to consider how their values may affect their professional judgment and practice and what may be needed, both as a practitioner and as a learner, to grow and develop as a public administrator working in local government, with direct or indirect responsibilities for environmental planning, management and protection.
Strong focus is placed on collaborative and peer learning, and students are encouraged, through online discussions and engagement with each other in distance learning exercises, to develop and extend their skills and capacities for learning from each other, in addition to learning from the literature and case studies.
Content (topics)
Through a program of guided self-directed study, the subject introduces students to the following interlinked themes, which are addressed through the distance mode as modules of learning:
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An overview of local government’s role in environmental management, which is a holistic, integrated cooperative and multi-disciplinary approach aimed at managing the use of natural resources in order to ensure long term environmental sustainability.
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Ecologically Sustainable Development – how it is intended to function in a local government context, and what its challenges and promises are. In addressing this topic, students also consider how conceptions of the environment and humankind’s relationships with its ecosystems have changed over time. Students access up-to-date information on the state of the environment in Australia.
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Strategic thinking, planning and management with regard to adaptation planning for the future of local communities in light of the predicted effects flowing from the warming trend (climate change).
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A range of approaches to environmental health (sustainability, resilience) and resource management (including protection of a local area’s natural assets), including the adaptive governance of social-ecological systems; integrated and holistic environmental management at the local government level; and planning for and managing environmental health risks in a local area.
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Current examples of research and best practice with regard to local governments and their environmental planning, management and protection roles, including management of the urban forest; sustainable procurement practices; waste management; emergency management; and considering the role of Australia’s many Local Government Botanic Gardens.
Assessment
Assessment task 1: Active engagement in the learning
| Objective(s): | This task also addresses the following course intended learning outcomes that are linked with a code to indicate one of the five CAPRI graduate attribute categories (e.g. C.1, A.3, P.4, etc.): A.3, C.1 and R.3 |
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| Type: | Presentation |
| Groupwork: | Individual |
| Weight: | 15% |
Assessment task 2: Report to the General Manager
| Objective(s): | This task also addresses the following course intended learning outcomes that are linked with a code to indicate one of the five CAPRI graduate attribute categories (e.g. C.1, A.3, P.4, etc.): .3, A.2, P.3 and R.3 |
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| Type: | Report |
| Groupwork: | Individual |
| Weight: | 35% |
| Length: | 3,000 words |
Assessment task 3: Case study
| Objective(s): | This task also addresses the following course intended learning outcomes that are linked with a code to indicate one of the five CAPRI graduate attribute categories (e.g. C.1, A.3, P.4, etc.): .3, A.2, A.3, P.3 and R.3 |
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| Type: | Case study |
| Groupwork: | Individual |
| Weight: | 50% |
Minimum requirements
Students must obtain at least 50% of the total marks.
Required texts
There are no textbooks for this subject. A workbook including notes for each subject module and selected readings and case studies is provided to each student. This is updated regularly in light of changes to local government theory and professional practice.
Recommended texts
Commonwealth of Australia – annual Australia State of the Environment Report, accessible on https://soe.environment.gov.au/
Hollander, R., 2015, ESD, federalism and intergovernmental relations in Australia, Australasian Journal of Environmental Management, 22:1, pp. 21-32.
Newig, K.J. And Fritsch, O., 2009, Environmental governance: Participatory, Multi-level and effective? Environmental Policy and Governance, 19, pp 197-214.
Raymond, C.M., Fazey, I., Reed, M.s., Stringer, L.C., Robinson, G.M. and Evely, A.C., 2010, Integrating local and scientific knowledge for environmental management, Journal of Environmental Management, 91, pp. 1766-1777.
Somers, S. and Svara, J.H., 2009, Assessing and managing environmental risk: Connecting local government management with emergency management, Public Administration Review, 69: 2, pp. 181-193.
Wild River, S. 2006, Australian local government attempts to deliver beneficial environmental outcomes, Local Environment, 11: 6, pp. 719-732.