Overview

The purpose of the module is explore the social, cultural, economic and political dimensions of forest management with emphasis on livelihoods, cultural services, human wellbeing and governance. The module introduces important theoretical and empirical work and takes a global perspective.

The module will provide students with the opportunity to acquire and apply knowledge and understanding of the social dimensions of forest management and to develop their abilities to review, synthesise and communicate information from a range of source materials (working both individually and collaboratively).

The module is organised into four units as outlined below:

1: Changing paradigms and new challenges in forest management; multiple stakeholder groups, diverse values/perspectives and conflict surrounding forest use and development.

2: Land-use, livelihoods and socio-economic development; understanding forest transitions; livelihoods provisioning and broader processes of economic development; employment trends; technological and product innovations in the forestry sector; changing markets for forest products/services.

3: Cultural services and human well-being; symbolic, cultural, spiritual and recreational values attached to forests and trees; forests and human health; education and knowledge systems; forests and forestry in shaping cultural landscapes.

4: Forest governance: multiple scales for multiple functions; public participation in forest decision-making; forest tenure and property rights; decentralisation/devolution and community forestry initiatives; governance in landscape restoration initiatives; certification and legality verification; payments for ecosystem services (PES) and reduced emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD).

Each unit will consist of some or all of the following; live lectures, live discussions, live seminars, pre-recorded lectures and discussion forum tasks. A fieldtrip is included but there is no requirement to attend in person as extensive video footage will be taken allowing all students to get a feel for the site and gain an understanding of community forestry in a Welsh context.

Assessment Strategy

-threshold -Grades C- to C+. Coursework (group learning resource and individual essay) that demonstrates satisfactory knowledge and understanding of the chosen topics, but shows limited evidence of independent research and critical thinking.

-good -Grades B- to B+. Coursework (group learning resource and individual essay) that demonstrates good knowledge and understanding of the chosen topics, evidence of independent research and critical thinking.

-excellent -Grades A- to A*. Coursework (group learning resource and individual essay) that demonstrates excellent knowledge and understanding of the chosen topics, evidence of substantial independent research and a high-level of critical thinking.

Learning Outcomes

• Characterise trends in the decentralisation of forest governance and associated reforms of forest tenure, and assess the challenges and opportunities of participatory approaches to forest management.

• Critically evaluate the roles that forests and trees play in livelihoods and economic development in different places and for different people and anticipate future trends.

• Demonstrate critical understanding of emergent forms of multi-actor and multi-level forest governance and assess future prospects.

• Demonstrate critical understanding of the changing paradigms and new challenges in forest management and how these relate to diverse – often competing and conflictual – social values attached to forests and trees.

• Identify the multiple relationships between forests, human health and wellbeing and assess how and why these vary across time and space.