Environmental Managementgeography



1.3 What is environmental management?

'... but what exactly is environmental management? Is it a single field or discipline? Is it a process? Is it an agreed approach? Is it efforts to identify and pursue goals? Perhaps a philosophy? Or, is it environment and development problem solving?'

A document required by law detailing all the impacts on the environment of an energy or other project above a certain size. Describes energy resources that are not replaced, or are replaced only very slowly by natural processes. Contamination of the environment. It can take many forms: air, water, soil, noise, visual. Geographers and environmental managers are concerned with the world around us, exploring how with we can balance societies needs without compromising our natural environment. Real-world experience is a key element of our Geography and Environment degree programmes at Salford. During your studies, you’ll experience fieldwork in a range of different environments, both in the UK and overseas.

Environmental
  1. The MSc Environmental Management comprises of eight taught modules. Three compulsory modules, four optional modules and a masters project. You also have the option to broaden your understanding of environmental issues via the general masters’ curriculum or to select modules from one of four specific pathways; waste, energy, water and oil and gas.
  2. Dec 09, 2020 Environmental management will hopefully grow in its importance to companies. Like this article says, it is something that could certainly raise teamwork and interest among employees of companies. Environmental management, practiced well by enough large companies, also could do a lot to quickly increase the world's sustainability.

Source: Barrow (2005) p. viii

A diverse set of activities

Environmental management is not easy to define. As Barrow (2005) has acknowledged, it can refer to a goal or vision, to attempts to steer a process, to the application of a set of tools, to a philosophical exercise seeking to establish new perspectives towards the environment and human societies, and to much more besides. Environmental managers are a diverse group of people including academics, policy-makers, non-governmental organisation (NGO) workers, company employees, civil servants and a wide range of individuals or groups who make decisions about the use of natural resources (such as fishers, farmers and pastoralists). Indeed, environmental management involves all people to some extent because all human activities ultimately have some sort of environmental impact. However, some individuals are more directly involved with resource use, and some special interest groups are particularly concerned with resource exploitation and with issues related to pollution. Environmental management therefore involves many stakeholders and requires a multidisciplinary perspective. It involves many spatial scales, ranging from the local to the global. It also involves many, diverse goals, including the desires to control the direction and pace of development, to optimise resource use, to minimise environmental degradation and to avoid environmental disaster. Environmental management may be practised by individuals and groups holding conflicting - and even directly opposing - views, as may be the case when environmental managers employed by large multinational corporations come into conflict with environmental managers representing voluntary organisations.

A focus on decision-making

In general, however, environmental management is concerned with the understanding of the structure and function of the earth system, as well as of the ways in which humans relate to their environment. Environmental management is therefore concerned with the description and monitoring of environmental changes, with predicting future changes and with attempts to maximise human benefit and to minimise environmental degradation due to human activities. Yet, characteristically, environmental management is about decision-making - and it is especially concerned with the process of decision-making in relation to the use of natural resources, the pollution of habitats and the modification of ecosystems. Fundamentally, then, environmental management is a political activity because those decisions - about resources, pollution and ecosystems - are never neutral or objective; on the contrary, they are value laden and they reflect the exercise of power by particular groups over others. Moreover, in general, it is naïve to conceive of environmental management as being about simply 'the management of the environment' in the sense of humans manipulating and controlling the components and processes of the earth system. Of course, humans do exert such influences on the earth system; but it is a fallacy to think that humans 'manage', for instance, populations of humpback whales. Instead, it is more accurate to suggest that humans may be able to make some progress towards managing human impacts on humpback whales. Ultimately, then, environmental management is more concerned with the management of human activities and their impacts than with the management of the natural environment per se.

Influencing the course of development

Nevertheless, some types of activity are common to environmental managers. Environmental managers attempt deliberately to steer the process of development in order to take advantage of opportunities; they attempt to ensure that critical environmental limits are not exceeded; they work to reduce and mitigate environmental issues; and they are concerned with increasing the adaptability and resilience of human societies in the face of environmental change, variability, unpredictability and hazards. From this point of view, environmental management may be defined as the system that anticipates and avoids, or solves, environmental and resource conservation issues. From another point of view, environmental management may be defined as a process concerned with human-environment interactions which seeks to identify:

  • what are environmentally desirable outcomes
  • what are the physical, economic, social, cultural, political and technological constraints to achieving those outcomes
  • what are the most feasible options for achieving those outcomes

Indeed, in many parts of the world (and arguably worldwide), environmental management is intimately linked with pressing issues of justice and even of survival. A further definition might suggest that environmental management is concerned with meeting and improving provision for human needs and demands on a sustainable basis with minimal damage to natural habitats and ecosystems. Thus the concept of environmental management is closely related to another important (and problematic) concept: that of sustainable development.

The B.Sc. (Env.) program is designed to provide a strong interdisciplinary grounding in environmental sciences. Management and decision-making skills are emphasized for the application of scientific knowledge to environmental problems and the evaluation of environmental policies. This program promotes practical problem-solving and communications skills and includes experiential learning opportunities such as co-op, research and international exchange programs. Through this unique four year degree program, you will gain the knowledge you need to balance in-depth science within a broader context of societal needs, economics and politics. Co-op program available.

Program Highlights

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Students learn in the classroom, and through hands-on work in labs and in the field. Labs allow students to design and conduct experiments, and problem solve using state-of-the-art computing and analytical tools. Training in field research begins as early as labs in first year courses.

This major provides the knowledge, skills and methods an environmental scientist requires as environmental consultant, environmental manager, environmental and/or resource planner, geographic information systems analyst or to facilitate future graduate work.

Student Experience

Abi, a 3rd year student, discusses why she choose the Bachelor of Science in Env. Sci honours program Environment and Resource Management:

BSc Environment and Resource Management checklist
BSc Envrionement and Resource Management Co-op checklist

Career Opportunities

Environmental Managementgeography

Geography graduates are pursuing exciting careers across Canada and around the world in consulting firms, government agencies, and non-government organizations. Sample careers include: Community Land Use Planner; Parks and Recreation Manager, Planning Design Coordinator, Geographic Information Systems Analyst and Environmental Consultant. Many graduates of our programs have pursued graduate studies.

Contact a B.Sc. (Env) Program Counsellor

For questions regarding the requirements of the B.Sc.(Env) Program, book an appointment with a B.Sc. (Env) Counsellor. This can be done in person or online.

Carie Devitt
B.Sc. (Env) Counselling Office
JHNH Rm:133A
cdevitt@uoguelph.ca
https://www.uoguelph.ca/bsc-env/ 519-824-4120 x58475

Contact Us

Geography And Environmental Management Jobs

For general inquiries about program requirements, askgeg@uoguelph.ca.

Environmental Geography Facts

For inquiries about the Major in Environment and Resource Management program, contact the adivisor Dr. Aaron Berg, 519-824-4120 x58083