COURSE OBJECTIVE
The principal goal of the course is to give the students a global vision of the principal instruments that society utilizes in environmental management. Beginning with a description of the environment, and its components and interrelations between natural means and human means; we will analyze the principal environmental problems, and the instruments designed for environmental management. Methods and techniques that apply will be presented, placing special emphasis on those which are implemented in Evaluations of Environmental Impact and in the arrangement of territory.
TEACHING METHODOLOGY
Classes for skills, classroom practices
METHOD OF EVALUATION
Written exam, practical work
PROGRAM
Block I.--The environment and its greatest problems.
1. The terrestrial system and its subsystems; structure and composition of nature: animal, biotic and human components. Functions of the natural systems: source of resources, residual drain, support for activities and provider of services.
2. Historical evaluation of the man and the natural environment. The main environmental problems: global environmental problems and environmental conflicts on the regional and national scale.
Block II.--Resources, residues, contamination.
3. The resources, types and sources of energy. Evolution of the consumer and future perspectives on the global and national level. Water as a resource. Land as a resource. Biotic resources. Mineral and energy resources. The atmosphere as a resource. Environmental problems derived from its exploitation and consummation.
4. Economic importance of resources, some examples. Economic value of hydraulic resources, minerals and energies; air quality.
5. Management and types of residue. Contamination and its types. Water contamination: principal sources and contaminating products. Purification and treatment systems. Regulation of continental and marine waters. Atmospheric contamination and its global and local consequences. Systems of protection before contamination. Normative of production: emissions, air quality, etc.
Block III.--Instruments for Environmental management
6. The concept of sustainable development. International conferences about the environment (the Brundtland report, Rio Conference). The management of the environment in the globe. Instruments of environmental management.
7. The principal geological risks and its incidence in human activities. Volcanic activity and seismography, superficial hydraulic processes (erosion-sedimentation-inundations), movements of a hillside, collapses and subsidence, costly processes.
8. Economic significance of natural risks. Studies of natural risks and mitigation programs. Risk factors and their evaluation. Civil protection plans. Plans for management of natural risks.
9. Evaluations of environmental impact (EIA). Basic concepts. Procedures and factors that are involved. The EIA in the international context. Europe, National and Local. Norms and legislation. Historical evolution of the EIA.
10. Studies on Environmental Impact (EsIA). Internal elements and phases. Identification, measurement, forecast and evaluation of impact. Methods and evaluation techniques of environmental impact. Examples of the EsIA.
11. Management of hydraulic and coal resources. Management and protection of the earth. Methods of territorial analysis as instruments for environmental action. Territorial planning and conflict resolution among human activities and the natural environment. Management and protection of natural spaces. Principal means of management of mineral and energy resources; mitigation of impacts. Management of human activities from a point of view of air quality.
12. Generic instruments for environmental management. Ecological labels and models for updating. Systems of environmental management in businesses: The Ruling Community 1836/93, the norm ISO 14001. The application in businesses of environmental audiences: Methods for the growth of “ecoeffenciency” in businesses.
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