Curriculum Information

This module will explore in situ and ex situ conservation themes, with a focus on conservation management and planning. This will include development of biodiversity action plans and site management plans, with consideration of biosecurity e.g., invasive species management; zoonotic disease mitigation; and conservation economics including cost-benefit analysis, acquiring funding, and project budgeting. Reintroduction biology and restoration ecology will act as a bridge between in situ and ex situ, with areas such as peatland restoration, reclamation of industrial land, and species reintroduction considered, with local sites used as case studies. Spatial analysis will be used in modelling reintroduction and habitat restoration scenarios. Conservation priorities will be evaluated through debates and case studies, with potential conflicts considered. RAMAS Ecolab software will be used to model and assess conservation scenarios including conservation breeding and population management. Urban ecology and agroecology (including agricultural land management under CAP and Glastir, and the future of environmental policy in post-Brexit Wales/UK) will be explored as emerging factors in terrestrial conservation, alongside priorities in aquatic conservation such as challenges in global fisheries and riparian zone management. Conservation legislation will be embedded throughout, building on the knowledge gained in previous years.

There will also be a fieldwork component, giving students experience with practical conservation management. Fieldwork will make use of links to organisations such as Bannau Brychiniog Brecon Beacons National Park, Gwent Wildlife Trust and Bristol Zoological Society, Natural Resources Wales, Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust – and guest lecturers will also be invited to speak from such organisations.