Courses

This course consists of 4 major areas

1. An overview of the EIA and SEA process, the Technical Memorandum, and the EIA Ordinance in HK
2. The EIA Process

   1. Environmental screening and scoping
   2. Impact assessments
      1. Water quality
      2. Air quality
      3. Noise
      4. Waste management
      5. Ecology
      6. Environmental Risk
      7. Other impacts (e.g. cultural heritage, socio-economic)
   3. Public participation
   4. Review of EIA report and decision making

   For each impact assessment, the legislation, identification of impacts, assessment methodology, mitigation, and monitoring will be covered.
3. Environmental monitoring, management and auditing
4. Comparison between EIAs in HK and Mainland China; International EIA

Major case study for the whole course: Penny’s Bay Theme Park Project in Hong Kong.

This course aims to address the importance of different elements and practices in conserving our biodiversity. It also introduces the concept of sustainable development to meet the future needs and balance the stakeholder interests among society, economy and environment. It explores ways of finding solutions to the challenges through the promotion of sustainable development.

The course aims to acquaint students with the status and operation of marine capture fisheries and aquaculture, as well as their importance to food supply and economics of human society.  The impact of fisheries on marine ecosystems is evaluated, but the focus of the course is on how natural populations or cultivated stocks of fish and invertebrates can be exploited in a sustainable manner by understanding how abiotic and biotic factors in the marine ecosystem interact to influence biological productivity, consequently the abundance and distribution of fishery target species.  The biology of fishery resources, fish stock assessment methods and fishery management strategies are covered using local and global examples to explain how sustainable fisheries and aquaculture can be realized.

The course aims to allow students to develop an in-depth knowledge on the marine resources management, with special emphasis on the importance of integrated coastal management (ICM), sustainability of marine resources, as well as marine spatial planning. On completion of this course, students will have thorough understandings on current technologies of ocean surveying, ICM practices in different maritime regions, as well as policies to open oceans.

This course is the first part of a two-term research project. The aim of the course is to give the students an opportunity to perform a research project within the field of marine resources management under supervision. Students will identify research questions, conduct literature review and draft a research plan on completion of the course.

This course prepares graduate students for the development of interdisciplinary research on environmental science, policy and management through a detailed investigation of climate change issues. Based on a review of the scientific research and models that have been developed through international cooperation, students will discuss relevant approaches of atmospheric and oceanographic science and the likely consequences in terms of climate change. In addition, the various technologies of mitigation and adaptation will be surveyed, leading to a discussion of appropriate policies for managing climate change at the global or national level.

This course introduces environmental consequences of air, water, soil and noise pollution. It also considers theoretical and practical aspects of the design and execution of pollution monitoring programmes. Major issues related to pollution control, such as applications of modern control technologies, pollution-related legislation and regulations, will also be discussed.

Introducing GIS concepts, working with spatial data, managing GIS data, integrating GIS data with Google Earth/Map, remote sensing and model data, applying GIS technology to support environmental planning and management.

The ocean covers ~71% of the surface of the earth and most of the ocean area is the deep sea. The deep sea contains lots of valuable resources, including minerals, animals, fish, and microorganisms. The utilization of these resources has important environmental implications and hence has to be properly managed. This course covers the essential topics of deep sea science and resource management. It aims to train students with comprehensive understanding of deep sea science and with broad knowledge of deep sea resources. Students should develop the methodologies to utilize different deep sea resources. Students should also know the current status of environmental concerns and regulations of deep sea resources.

June to August at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST)

This course is a continuation of the course OCES 6111 Research Project in Global Marine Resources Management I. Students are required to submit interim reports of their works and present their research progress . The aim of the course is to give the students an oppotunity to carry out a substantial research project in selected areas of marine resources management, to demonstrate the initiative and intellectual achievement of the investigation by applying skills and knowledge learnt.

This course is a continuation of the course OCES 6112 Research Project in Global Marine Resources Management II. The aim of the course is to give the students an oppotunity to perform a research project within the field of marine resources management under supervision according to an individual study plan, to summarize the results in a research report and present the results of the project in an oral exam.

*Course offering of elective courses may vary each year.

**Students who select SOES6008 Deep Sea Ecology in Fall Semester at UoS will not be allowed to select OCES5403 Deep Sea Resources in Spring Semester at HKUST.