GEOGRAPHY 351: NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT: AN ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHICAL APPROACH
This course is an introduction to natural resource management and its economic geography. Economic geographical thought is used to analyse natural resources and their management. This analysis focuses on both renewable and non-renewable resources (forestry, fishing, water, agriculture, oil and gas, and mining) that are important to Western Canada.
Economic geography tends to be much less abstract, and less concerned with mathematical modeling than economics. Its central focus, and reflected in this course, are grounded concerns around how place and space make a difference in the nature of natural resource management.
Prerequisite: Third year standing.
LECTURES WILL EXAMINE THE FOLLOWING TOPICS:
I. A Role for Economic Geography in Natural Resource Management
1. Introduction: What is economic geography? What is natural resource management?
2. The role of place, locality, and the locals
- this section is about the recognition that there is no one size fits all policy for resource management
- physical conditions differ across space
- social/cultural/political/economic conditions differ across space
- There is a role for local knowledge along with general science
3. Globalization and Sustainable development
- our local management policies are not operating in isolation
- the implications of the globalization of capital on resource extraction
- the role of international trading agreements
4. The resource cycle
- the implications of the cycle on management decisions
5. Harold Innis and staples theory
- economic development considerations in resource management
II. Scientific and Social Issues
6. The role of complexity and uncertainty in natural resources
- no knowledge is ever perfect/complete
- natural and social systems are complex
7. Issues surrounding the ownership of natural resources
- private vs. public ownership of resources
- environmental implications of different ownership
- First Nations concerns
III. Renewable Resources
8. Forestry: B.C.
9. Fishing: B.C. and Atlantic Canada
10. Water: B.C. and ON
11. Agriculture: B.C. and Prairie Provinces
IV. Non-Renewable Resources
12. Oil and gas: B.C., AB, NFLD
13. Mining: B.C.
TEXTBOOK/READINGS:
Mitchell, B. (1997). Resource and Environmental Management, 2nd Ed. Essex: Addison Wesley Longman Limited.
Mitchell, B., ed. (2004). Resource and Environmental Management in Canada: Addressing Conflict and Uncertainty, 3rd Ed. Toronto: OxfordUniversity Press.
EVALUATION:
There are four components to the final mark:
Mid-Term Exams (2): 25% each
Final Exam: 40%
Attendance and Participation: 10%
All exams will consist of multiple-choice, true/false/explain, and short answer style questions—one essay-style for the mid-term and perhaps two on the final. I believe it is important to have a multitude of question types on an exam because some students don’t do well on particular question types. Some of the questions will explicitly cover the readings for the course. I expect detailed answers. The essay-style questions will be specific, and in preparing for the exam it will be better to learn intensely just a few topics rather than trying to learn a little of everything. I will not ask essay questions that require the synthesis of material across different topics; instead, questions will be topic-specific.
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