School of Environment, Resources and Development, (SERD)
ED76.04 : Biodiversity and Conservation  3(3-0)
Course Objectives:

Biodiversity conservation is important for achieving sustainable development through harmonization of human being with nature. It involves dealing with diverse biophysical, socioeconomic, cultural, political and legal issues to resolve conservation problems and natural resource use conflicts. The objective of the course is to provide students with a sound knowledge of conservation biology, methods for biodiversity assessment, an overview of current approaches to biodiversity conservation, e.g. ecoregional or community-based approaches, and with a solid introduction to planning and management strategies for biodiversity conservation inside and outside of protected areas, biodiversity safeguards, and conservation and biodiversity banking.
Learning Outcomes:
Upon completion of the course, students will be able to:
1.    Describe the status of biodiversity in the area of interest
2.    Perform biodiversity assessment using available methods with the aid of statistical  tools
3.    Identify appropriate strategies to biodiversity restoration and conservation
4.    Analyze the benefits of biodiversity conservation within the context of international agreements
5.    Design biodiversity conservation that results in safeguarding socioeconomic and biodiversity values for local people
Pre-requisite(s):

None
Course Outline:
I.         Introduction to Biodiversity
1.    Terms and Definitions
2.    Methods of Biodiversity Assessment
3.    Biodiversity and Space
4.    Distribution of Biodiversity
5.    Biodiversity Services
6.    Socioeconomic Values of Biodiversity
7.    Threats to Biodiversity

II.        Approaches to Biodiversity Conservation
1.    History of Nature Conservation
2.    Approaches in Modern Biodiversity Conservation
3.    The REDD+ Scheme and Biodiversity Safeguards
4.    The Convention on Biological Diversity
5.    The Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-sharing
6.    Other International Agreements

III.       Biodiversity Conservation inside Protected Areas
1.    Protected Area Categories
2.    Protected Area Design
3.    Management of Natural Resources in Protected Areas
4.    Harmonization of Human Activities with Natural Mechanisms
IV.      Biodiversity Conservation Outside Protected Areas
1.    Ex-Situ Conservation Strategies
2.    Restoration Ecology
3.    Agrobiodiversity
4.    Natural Resource Management for Biodiversity Conservation

V.       Conservation and Biodiversity Banking
1.    The History and Theory
2.    The Advantages and Opportunities
3.    Ecological Consideration
4.    Business Consideration
5.    Financial Consideration

VI.      Case Studies on Biodiversity Conservation
Laboratory Sessions:

None
Textbook:
1.    Jeffries, M., 2006. Biodiversity and Conservation, Routledge, Abingdon. 
Reference Books:
1.    Root, T.L., K.R. Hall, M. P. Herzog, and C. A. Howell  (eds.), 2015. Biodiversity in a Changing Climate: Linking Science and Management in Conservation, University of California Press, California.
2.    Carroll, N., J. Fox, and R. Bayon, 2008. Conservation and Biodiversity Banking - a Guide to Setting up and Running Biodiversity Credit Trading Systems, Earthscan, Abingdon, New York.
3.    Groombridge, B. and M. D. Jenkins, 2002. World Atlas of Biodiversity: Earth’s Living Resources in the 21 Century, University of California Press, California.
4.    Buck, L., 2001. Biological Diversity: Balancing Interests Through Adaptive Collaborative Management, CRC Press, Danvers.
5.    Terborgh, J., C. van Schaik, L. Davenport, and M. Rao, 2002. Making Parks Work: Strategies for Preserving Tropical Nature, Island Press, Washington, DC.
Journals and Magazines:
1.    Biological Conservation [Elsevier]
2.    Conservation Biology [Wiley]
3.    Trends in Ecology & Evolution [Elsevier]
4.    Conservation Letters [Wiley]
5.    Diversity and Distributions [Wiley]

Others: Most recent articles on the related topics will be distrubuted.
Teaching and Learning Methods:
1.    The course is delivered through direct instructions in the form of class lectures and invited lecture.
2.    Handouts and relevant literatures will be provided prior to each lecture
3.    Students need to read the provided literatures and to come up with two questions each for discussions in the class
4.    Field data collection will be orginized and students are required to make group presentations on their findings from the fieldworks
5.    Individual students need to make individual presentations and complete two assignments
6.    Case studies in the selected Asian Region will be provided.
Evaluation Scheme:
Two closed-book exams will be conducted with 30% and 40% weight for Mid-semester and Final exams, respectively. Two assignments carrying 10 and 20% weight are to be completed and submitted by individual students.

Grade “A” will be awarded if a student can demonstrate thorough knowledge and mastery of concepts and techniques and understanding of subject matter with high degree of skill to relate them with real world examples. Grade “B” will be awarded if a student can demonstrate good knowledge and mastery of concepts and understanding of subject matter with good skill of relating them with real work cases. Grade “C” will be awarded if a student can demonstrate some knowledge of the concepts and understanding but lacks skill of relating them with real world cases. Grade “D” will be awarded if a student have poor understanding of concepts and techniques with no or little skill to relate with real world cases. Grade “F” will be awarded if student demonstrates very poor and limited knowledge and understanding of concepts and lacks of the skill relating them with real world.
Instructor(s):
SECTION NAME
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