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COURSE SYLLABUS

Instructor: Lee M. Talbot

Course Meets: Tuesdays 7:20 (promptly) to 10:00 PM. in Robinson B124.

To Contact Instructor:
Office: 3019 David King Hall
Office Hours: By appointment, normally Tuesday afternoons but if that is not possible I will arrange other times and places to fit your schedules.
Telephone: GMU 703 993 4037. I do not check this number on a daily basis, so urgent calls could be directed to me through the Biology Office, 703 994 1050. If there is a really urgent matter you can call me at home: 703 734 8576.
E-Mail: ltalbot@gmu.edu
Fax: 703 734 8576

Course Overview: The region we are calling South and East Asia covers a significant part of the world and includes a very great diversity of cultural, socio-economic and environmental conditions. Environmentally it ranges from sea level to the world's highest mountain ranges, from dramatic deserts to some of the last tropical rain forests, and from a portion of the largest continent to tiny islands. It also contains an important part of the world's biological diversity, including six of the "hotspot" areas of greatest biodiversity, and perhaps 80 percent of the world's endangered species. While there are some areas of low human populations the region is characterized by high and increasing population density. It includes the world's two most populous nations, China and India, and the total population of the region is expected to approach 5 billion by 2025. While much of the population was rural in past decades, urbanization is accelerating greatly and it is estimated that half of the population will be urban by 2020. The nearly 20 nations of the region range from some of the world's most economically and industrially advanced countries to some of the least developed and most impoverished, but as a whole the region has achieved impressive economic growth in the recent past. However, the growth in economies, incomes and numbers of people have been accompanied by a surge in the exploitation of natural resources and ecosystems, and neither the level nor the rate of this exploitation can be sustained.

Using lectures including guest lecturers, class discussions, assigned reading and case studies, this course will examine environment and development in south and east Asia. It will review the relationship between environment and development emphasizing the role of policy, consider the background and history leading up to the present, analyze the factors which have led to the present situation, and consider what may be required to achieve more effective and sustainable results. Some of the issues to be covered are the following:
- The nature of development, i.e., what is it and why is it?
- What is environment in the context of development in south and east Asia?
- The relationship between environment and development.
- The various types of development activities and projects.
- Who are the players in international development, national, bilateral, multilateral, non-governmental, private sector and others and what are their roles?
- The "project cycle" and traditional approaches to development.
- The key factors affecting development, including but not limited to: economics; politics; governance; popular participation; policies; institutional arrangements; environmental planning; environmental impact assessments; environmental information; education, training and public awareness; population numbers and movements; biodiversity; urbanization and rural development.

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Course Schedule with Contents:

8/29 and 9/5: Lecture and class discussion
Introduction and overview of the course

Objectives: Convey substantive information and understanding of subject;
Foster critical thinking; and
Promote effective oral and written communication.
The Region: South and East Asia..
Political, social and economic issues; similarities and differences.
Population issues.
Environment in South and East Asia.
Similarities and differences.
Links between environment and development.
National vs. regional and global issues.
The nature of Development in this context.
The players including governments, NGOs, PVOs, bi-lateral and multi-lateral development institutions, private sector; their evolving roles.
Evolution of development assistance. The project cycle.
The various types of development activities and projects.
The key factors affecting development: economics, politics, governance; popular participation; policies; institutional arrangements; environmental planning; environmental impact assessments; environmental information; education; training and public awareness; population numbers and movements; biodiversity; urbanization and rural development.
Policy, law and institutions.
The nature of policy. What is it and how is it developed in the region?
Environmental policy and development policy.
Government institutions and their impacts on environment and development.
Environmental policy, law and institutions in the region; evolution and status.
Relation between policy, law and institutions and development
Links between environment and success or failure of development projects.
External environmental factors and internal environmental factors.
How have countries in the region dealt with environment? How has this affected development?

9/12 Lecture and class discussion [Case Study topic should be approved by this time].
Historical perspective; transition to industrialization and urbanization.
Institutional response to environment and natural resource management and search for new management approaches
The current situation: national environmental challenges; global environmental challenges.
Emerging trends in environment and development; setting the policy agenda.
Information technology, inclusive governance, new generation industries, globalization.
Improving governance and reforming institutions to improve environmental performance.
Promoting good environmental governance, reforming institutions, legal reforms, integrating environmental-economic planning, issues of compliance.

9/19 Lecture and class discussion [Case Study description with preliminary bibliography due].
Market-based instruments.
Review of such instruments and their implementation; assessment of experience in the region.
Managing natural resources.
Land management, forests and biodiversity, water resources, fisheries and coastal resources, integrated natural resource planning.
Energy and industry.
Industry sector, commercial and institutional sector, electric utilities, cleaner production, private sector participation.
Urbanization.
Urban environmental management, policy, finance, economic regulation and finance administration, private sector participation.

9/26 Lecture and class discussion.
Resource politics in colonial South and East Asia.
The historical perspective and its influence today
The role of politics and political/economic influence; the example of deforestation.

10/3 Guest Lecturer. Class discussion.
Yusuf Ahmad, former Ambassador and Minister from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), former Director of the United Nations Environment Program, who has had experience in most countries of the Region..
Perspectives on environment and development in South and East Asia.

9/10 Columbus Day Recess

9/17 Lecture and class discussion. Mid Term Examination

9/24 Guest Lecturer, class discussion.
Dr. Hemanta Mishra, official of Global Environment Facility, former official, World Bank, former official, Royal National Parks of Nepal, founder of Nepal's first non-governmental organization.
Perspectives on the role of non-governmental organizations in the region and the unique role of mountains in environment-development issues of the region.

9/31 Lecture and class discussion. [Discussion of Mid-Term results].
The anti-western, anti-development view of environment and development in the region.
What policies are needed to improve the environment and development situation in the region?
Sustainable development.
10/7 Lecture and class discussion.
Review of ma jor issues and key points.

10/14 Student Presentations and class discussion

10/21 Student Presentations and class discussion.

10/28 Student presentations and class discussion.

12/5 Course wrap-up. Discussion and critique of presentations and principles involved [Last day for submitting final draft of term paper].

12/12 Final Examination.

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Purposes of this Course:

The purposes of the course include:

1. Providing students with substantive information and understanding about environment and development in south and east Asia; and on the principles which are involved and which underlie the present situation;
2. Fostering critical thinking; and
3. Promoting effective oral and written communication.

Critical thinking implies independent analysis of the issues. It is more than simply identifying and discussing environmental issues. The goal is to help you think through the issues, not to tell you what to think. You are expected to ask yourselves (or the class or professor as appropriate) questions such as "Is this statement or analysis true?" "How do I know it is true?" "Are there other factors involved?" "Given the facts, do I reach the same conclusion?" Simply accepting and repeating what someone else has written or said is not critical thinking.

Effective oral and written communication: A person's success in almost any career is determined very largely by that person's abilities to communicate. This principal applies especially to environmental, scientific and other academic and policy careers. Consequently there will be strong emphasis in this class on effective oral and written communication. I will be happy to meet with students to provide all the help I can in communication, but to be successful in this class students must - or must quickly learn to -- communicate effectively.

While this is a course, lectures will only be a part of the course process. I will discuss the subject but a central part of the course will be class discussions. We will explore and develop the subject through active class discussions. I emphasize active. The only way you can contribute to the class discussions is to discuss -- participate. And an important way I can know how you are doing, what you know and what you are thinking, is through your participation. We have tests, but 20% of your grade is based on your participation, so the message is, don't sit quietly.

At the same time, talking for the sake of talking also is counter-productive. Some of us can be very loquacious - talkative, gabby, long-winded. On any subject I want everyone who has knowledge, questions or ideas to have the chance to speak, which means that I don't want the participation dominated by a few particularly outspoken people. I will try to be sure to call on everyone and give everyone a chance, not just the few who always wish to speak first. Further, what you say tells me what you know and how you are thinking. Especially whether or not you are applying critical thinking to the subject. So lots of talk with little substance is not the way to contribute to our discussions or to improve your grade.

I recognize that not many people feel that they are born communicators. Many of us feel that we are not "naturally articulate". Many find it difficult to get up in front of class and give a paper, and often, find it difficult to speak up in class. If you find you have trouble I will be happy to try to help. Let me know, we can meet and discuss it and I'll see what we can do. But don't just sit quietly.

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Case Study:

During the semester each student will prepare and present a case study. 35% of your grade and a particularly important part of your learning from this course is from the case studies and their presentation. All students will give an oral presentation followed by a class discussion/question and answer period. The oral presentation probably will be a maximum of 20 minutes followed by 20 minutes of class questions and discussion (although the time allowed for the presentation and discussion may be adjusted depending on the size of the class). The presentation should be illustrated with slides, overheads, or whatever you choose. Remember to have such illustrations large enough for people in back to read clearly. The presentation should be accompanied by a handout - a written outline with bibliography. Your presentation should be of the type and quality for submission at a professional, scientific, or academic conference or symposium.
For the Q&A, same presentation rules apply. Be sure you call on everyone who wishes to speak before you go back and call on someone who already has spoken.

All students will also prepare a written paper on your study. This should be minimum of 15 pages, double spaced, plus references. Style should be guided by appropriate journals. I recommend you get a copy of A Guide to Using Elements of APA Style at the Johnson Center - not in the bookstore but in the "class materials" office on the left behind the computer store. All papers must have a proper bibliography with all references correctly cited in the text. Probably the most common error I find in case study papers is improper citations and bibliographies. The bibliography documents where you found the information and cites the authority for opinions or hard data in your text; it indicates how thorough you have been in your research; and it shows that you know how to use and cite sources - which is absolutely basic for professional research and writing. Your paper should be the type and quality for submission to a professional or scientific journal.

Subject of the Case Study:

The purpose of case studies is to explore in detail the different dimensions of our subject. The subjects of your case study can be either a particular development project, or a national environmental policy which relates to development and/or its expression or implementation.

If you choose a development project it should have been funded, at least in part, by international development institutions (multi-lateral or bi-lateral) or non-governmental sources (private enterprises such as multinational companies, or international non-governmental organizations). The development project can be an environmental project per se, such as parks and wildlife, pollution abatement or forest conservation, or virtually any other type of development project so long as there is some impact on the environment and/or impact of the environment on the project.

If you choose an environmental policy which relates to development you should discuss how the policy came about including its historical antecedents and influences; what were the key factors and/or key players (e.g., what was the role of government at different levels, political parties, NGOs, individuals or international organizations); how is it expressed (i.e., a law, executive order, organization, or what); what mechanisms were involved in its development, what effects it has had, i.e., how successful it has been; what are the factors involved in its success or failure. Does it contribute to or detract from sustainability?

If you have other pertinent ideas for a relevant case study subject try them out on me.

The paper should be based on review of the relevant literature and, where practical, also on consultations with key individuals and organizations. The paper should: (1) describe the project and its objectives with relevant history or background; (2) analyze the role which environmental considerations played, if any, in the planning, development and implementation of the project, including describing and assessing what was done to capitalize on environmental benefits and mitigate potentially adverse environmental impacts; (3) assess the success of the project to date, especially from the standpoints of the original development objectives, the sustainability of project benefits, and the incorporation of environmental considerations throughout; and (4) where the results of the project have been less than successful, describe what could have been done to achieve success and make recommendations on how to better assure success in such a project in the future; where the results of the project have been successful, discuss the key elements which contributed to that success and make recommendations, if appropriate, for ways to improve the process

Please get my approval for your subject before the third class, September 12th. The easiest probably is to email or see me about it. By the fourth class, September 19th,. I would like all of you to hand in a brief statement of the approved subject with a preliminary list of references. Your statement can be one or more paragraphs, not more than one page double spaced, and the references are initial or preliminary, not your final bibliography because hopefully you will find additional references as you proceed.

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Text Discussion Leaders:

There will be reading assignments from the Asian Environmental Outlook and other assigned texts. One or two students will serve as leaders for class discussion of each reading assignment. From the assigned text they will identify key issues and subjects which they believe should be considered by the class, and they will lead the class discussion on that part of the text. Each student will be expected to serve as discussion leader once during the course. Leading a discussion will account for 10% of your grade.

Exams:

Both the mid-term and final exams will be take-home, closed book examinations.

Basis of Grading:

Leading Discussion 10%
Other Participation 20%
Paper 25%
Presentation and Q&A 10%
Mid Term Exam 10%
Final Exam 25%

This is not a typical lecture course. The subject of the course will be explored and developed through active class discussions as well as through the case histories. Consequently, there will be very strong emphasis on active and effective participation in class discussions, not only during the paper presentations and discussion periods following these presentations but also throughout all the other class periods. The grading will reflect this emphasis. Sitting quietly in class does not constitute active and effective participation.
Remember that participation includes attendance; if you don't attend you can't participate.
The major criteria for grading the papers include content, i.e., the substance; knowledge and understanding of the subject; quality of analysis and critical thinking applied; organization, and presentation including use of English, style, and use of references. Criteria for grading the oral presentations include the same factors plus oral presentation effectiveness, time management, and handling of the question and answer period following the presentation. Among other things, the question and answer periods provide further indication of the students' knowledge and understanding of the subject and ability to communicate.

Resumes:

Since a major purpose of this course is to explore the different dimensions of the subject by class discussions, I expect to draw on the experiences and (where appropriate) professional knowledge of the members of the class. Consequently, please provide me a brief resume by the start of the second class, September 5th, at the latest. It can be sent by email, fax, or brought to class. The resume can be one you already have or it can be prepared for the class, and it should include your telephone number (home and work, with fax), mailing and email addresses.

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