Certificate of Conservation and Environment Management

Unit 1 – Introduction to Ecology

• The spaceship earth
• Basic ecology
• The ecosystem
• Constituents of the ecosystem
• Ecological concepts
• The web of life
• The food web
• Habitat and niche
• Humans in the environment
• Energy flow
• Imbalances
• Conservation
• The use of resources
• Ecological and economic value
• Healthy ecosystems
• Genetic diversity
• Urbanisation
• The greenhouse effect and global warming
• What is the difference between the greenhouse effect and global warming?
• Climate change
• El niño
• International efforts to combat climate change
• The intergovernmental panel on climate change (IPCC)
• United nations framework convention on climate change (UNFCCC)
• Kyoto protocol
• Copenhagen summit (COP15)
• Worldwatch institute
• Terminology

Unit 2 –  A Perspective on Environmental Problems

• The history of conservation
• Natural resources
• Renewable resources
• Non-renewable resources
• The goals of conservation
• History from the industrial revolution to the second world war
• The second world war
• The postwar period
• International conservation
• Deforestation
• Loss of agricultural land
• The loss of biological diversity
• Endangered water supplies
• The exhaustion of non-renewable resources
• The political and economic issues of conservation
• Environmental damage in free enterprise economies
• Pollution problems in planned economies
• The supply of resources
• The limits of growth
• Growth in production
• Population growth

Unit 3 – Pollution and Industry Effects on the Environment

• Pollution
• Industrial pollution
• Types of pollutants
• Air pollutants
• Fresh water pollutants
• Marine pollutants
• Nuclear pollution
• The effects of pollution
• The sick-building syndrome
• Asbestos fibres
• Urbanisation
• The process of urbanisation
• Other aspects of urbanisation
• Energy and its environmental costs
• Deforestation
• Nuclear energy
• Hydro power (advantages and disadvantages)
• Solar energy
• Wind power
• Waste power

Unit 4 – Water and Soil

• Water
• Dams – negative and ecological effects
• Eutrophication
• Wetlands
• Water pollution
• Recycling
• Desalination
• Water environments
• Humans and water
• What can humans do?
• The hydrological cycle
• Direct fall onto the land surface
• Intercepted rainfall
• Water falling directly into water bodies
• Rainfall and evaporation
• Effective rainfall
• Water and plant growth
• Water and conservation
• Keeping water clean
• Sewerage treatment
• Reed beds and suitable plants
• Soil (pH texture and structure)
• Land and soil degradation
• Erosion
• Human, wind and water erosion
• Control of erosion
• Sources of salt
• Control methods for salinity
• Soil acidification – causes
• Compaction
• Chemical residues and damage
• Overcoming chemical damage
• Soil science and plant health
• Organic carbon
• Available phosphorus
• Soil colour
• Texture and its effect on plant growth
• Structure and its effect on plant growth
• Consistency and its effect on plant growth
• Depth of profile and how it relates to plant growth
• Ph and its effect on plant growth
• Porosity and how it relates to plant growth
• Soil profile and description
• Soil classification
• Factors of soil formation
• Parent material
• Climate, biosphere and topography
• Weathering processes of soil formation
• Physical weathering
• Chemical weathering
• Geochemical weathering
• Pedochemical weathering

Unit 5 – Vegetation Conservation and Management

• The value of trees
• The commercial value of trees
• Rainforests
• Plant classification
• Forest systems
• Biomass
• Comments on biomass
• Forest conservation
• Trees and the environment
• Deforestation
• Environmental consequences of deforestation
• Evidence of the effects of deforestation
• Afforestation
• Woodlots and agroforestry
• Afforestation and the environment
• Afforestation and the greenhouse effect
• Classification of forests
• Desertification and acid rain
• Environmental weeds
• Some plants to avoid
• Others to avoid
• Indigenous, alien and invasive plants
• Flowering grasslands
• Strategies for preservation and management of native grasslands
• Sensitive management
• Reintroduction
• Re-creation
• Some native Australian grasses

Unit 6 – Animal Conservation and Management

• The human animal
• Urbanisation
• Wildlife
• Threatened species
• Invasive species
• Wildlife management approaches
• Goals of wildlife management
• Classification of wildlife habitats
• Changes to habitats
• Water
• Siting water points
• Feeding radii of some wildlife species
• Wildlife surveys
• Types of surveys or censuses
• Methods of wildlife surveying
• Choosing a sampling method

Unit 7 – Marine Conservation and Management

• Estuaries
• Localised practices
• Fisheries – stock management
• Stock identity
• Stock assessment
• Stock biomass
• Conservation of sandy shores
• Threats to sandy shores
• Specific marine animals
  • Whales
  • Dolphins
  • Dugongs
  • Seals
  • Porpoises
  • Penguins

Unit 8 – The Future

• Tourism and the environment
• Ecotourism
• Sustainable development
• Preserving environments
• Pollution prevention
• Biodiversity
• Land use and soil erosion
• Ecologically sustainable development action
• Who is responsible for ESD?
• How do we recognise ESD?
• What do I get for ESD?
• How can I act in a sustainable way?
• Mechanisms to help drive ecologically sustainable development
• The polluter pays principle
• Full life cycle of goods costing
• Incentives