Unit information: Environmental Risks and Disaster Risk Reduction in 2023/24

Unit name	Environmental Risks and Disaster Risk Reduction
Unit code	GEOG30041
Credit points	20
Level of study	H/6
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24)
Unit director	Professor. Neal
Open unit status	Not open
Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units)	None
Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units)	None
Units you may not take alongside this one	None
School/department	School of Geographical Sciences
Faculty	Faculty of Science

Unit Information

This is an interdisciplinary unit, aiming to equip students to assess, combine and apply evidence from both physical and social sciences in responding to real world problems related to flood risk in a changing world. Responding to environmental risks represent a complex mix between natural science and the social sciences, requiring the combination of evidence of the physical hazard causes and consequences, the effects of socio-economic conditions on vulnerability, as well as the legal, economic political and institutional responses.

This unit will focus on flood risk and provide students with an in-depth introduction to the science underpinning large scale hazard and risk mapping. This will cover key concepts, uncertainties and knowledge gaps. Students will learn about applications in a number of sectors and in some cases gain hands on practical experience (no modelling, coding or numerical experience is needed). These will include:

• Catastrophe risk in (Re)insurance and financial markets
• Disaster risk reduction and sustainable development
• Forecasting and emergency response (with a focus on humanitarian response)
• Climate change adaptation and uncertainties
• Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance

The course is a mixture of practical skills (such as basic GIS mapping and writing a briefing) and taught material. It includes guest lectures from practitioners in government and/or industry.

The aims and learning outcomes will be demonstrated and achieved through exploring that challenge of flood disaster risk management under a changing climate.

The following transferable skills are developed in this Unit:

• Analytical skills and problem solving;
• Critical evaluation of literary sources;
• Synthesis of scientific evidence;
• Communication to a non-expert audience.
• Risk mapping and visualisation

Your learning on this unit

On completion of this Unit students should be able to:

1. Interpret and apply methods for assessing evidence, uncertainty and risk;
2. Outline and evaluate risk assessment methods under present day conditions and future changes;
3. Identify and discuss approaches to mitigation, adaptation and risk transfer;
4. Assess the role of national and international policy and management practices in environmental risk mitigation and adaptation;
5. Identify key scientific information that is of relevance to policy or practice;
6. Develop skills to synthesise and communicate scientific information in an effective and appropriate written manner to a nonscientific audience.
7. Demonstrate basic GIS skills including raster calculation, zonal statistics and mapmaking.

How you will learn

The unit will be taught through a combination of:

• online resources
• lectures and office hours
• asynchronous individual activities and guided reading for students to work through at their own pace
• in person practicals; students who either begin or continue their studies in an online mode will be required to complete practical work remotely in order to meet the intended learning outcomes for the unit.

How you will be assessed

Disaster Emergency Briefing, with related practical sessions, small group work (40%)

Written exam (60%)

Resources

If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.

If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. GEOG30041).

How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks, independent learning and assessment activity.

See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.

Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit. The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.