Námskeiðslýsing

Oceanic and coastal ecosystems are under increasing threats from human activities, both on local and global scales. Overfishing, climate changes, pollution, habitat destruction and introduced species are among the most acute problems. This course introduces concepts and methodologies of environmental impact assessment (EIA) and strategic environmental assessment (SEA). As well, it reviews past environmental impact studies, highlighting their strengths and weaknesses. Special attention will be paid to the scientific quality of EIA studies (design and confounding factors) and how authorities comply with regulations and directives. EIA will also be put into the context of the Water Framework Directive and the European Marine Strategy of the EU. Students will have an exercise in how to prepare and implement an impact assessment of a project, plan and a policy. In the latter part of the course there will be an introduction to the theory and methods of various management systems used in the world. The class will review the rationale for such systems, as well as their principles, components and use. Different environmental and sustainability management frameworks will be evaluated.

Hæfniviðmið

• Students will gain insights into the theoretical and practical sides of EIA and SEA
• Students will be able to critically assess the quality of EIA studies
• Students will be able to put EIA studies into the context of the EU framework
• Students will be able to set up EIA projects under different environmental settings, and write reports and recommendations for authorities
• Students will become familiar with how to organize and implement environmental and sustainability management systems.

Námsmat

Final project (40%, group). Assessing EIA studies (20%, individual). Using EIA tools (25%, individual). Participation in discussions (15%, individual).

Kennari

Dr. Emil Ólafsson (emilolafsson@menntun.org) graduated with a BSc degree in Biology from the University of Iceland in 1983 followed by a postgraduate research project and courses in Marine Biology. He did his PhD in Marine Ecology in Edinburgh, Scotland, followed by postdoctoral studies in Stockholm, Sweden, where he became Associate Professor at the Department of Zoology. He has lectured on various subjects and supervised 8 PhD and 15 MSc students. He has also organized and/or been an invited lecturer at a number of national and international post-graduate courses in several countries. He has been an evaluator for numerous PhD theses and research proposals for various universities and funding agencies. Dr. Ólafsson sits on the editorial committees of several international journals including Marine Ecology Progress Series. He is the founder and Scientific Director of Menntun (www.menntun.org), a consultancy company specializing in environmental research and education.

Gunnar Páll Eydal graduated with a master´s of Resource Management from the School of Resource and Environmental Management, Simon Fraser University, in 2004. In 1997, he graduated with a B.sc in Geology from the University of Iceland. He specializes in planning of wilderness and rural areas as well as management systems.
Mr. Eydal has been working at Eik - planning and environmental consulting, since 2006. Eik is currently directing several regional and municipal planning projects of coastal areas. Other projects at Eik, include consulting in the field of environmental and resource management.
From 2005-2006 Mr. Eydal taught at Ísafjörður College in the field of geology and environmental management and from 1997-2001, he was a research associate at the Science Institute University of Iceland, Division of Geophysics.

Gestafyrirlesari

Dr. Lara Arroyo (nlarroyo@menntun.org) graduated from the Complutense Universtiy of Madrid in 2002. She was awarded a Marie Curie Fellowship for her postdoctoral studies on the effects of eutrophication on marine fauna. Dr. Arroyo has published 12 research articles in taxonomy and marine ecology in peer reviewed international journals and has acted as a referee for international scientific journals as well. She has supervised 3 MSc students and has organized and given courses in marine biology and ecology. Dr. Arroyo is the managing director of Menntun (menntun.org), a consultancy company specializing in environmental research and education.

Ítarefni