Overview

The UNSW Coastal Resource Management (GEOS3921) course is a Stage 3 course that studies current and emerging issues in coastal management and planning. You’ll cover well-known global coastal issues including, climate change, water acidification, fisheries and aquaculture. Other topics involve shoreline erosion and sediment budgets, wetlands, coastal bushland, estuary management, fish disease outbreaks and marine protected areas. CRM explores approaches to management and coastal planning in Australia and the Asia Pacific region.

The material in Coastal Resource Management (CRM) enables you to understand the role each level of government and the community play in coastal resource management. Your study is supplemented by presentations from practitioners and experts in the fields of environmental consulting, local government and international aquaculture.

With a geographical perspective in mind, the course is developed to meet job market needs, it advances your understanding of critical coastal processes and how they interact with human use of the coastal zone. This course exposes students to some of the challenges faced by coastal managers as they develop coastal zone management programs to balance ecological needs with stakeholder interests.

Course breakdown

Coastal Resource Management is taught through a mixture of lectures, tutorials, field classes and participation in a round table discussion. Upon completion of the course, you’ll develop an understanding and appreciation of:

  • coastal degradation (processes and human-induced changes)
  • coastal zone policy
  • writing governmental briefs
  • broad and emerging coastal issues
  • the roles of geography, environmental science, social science and engineering in CRM
  • public participation in CRM
  • interdisciplinary approaches to CRM.

Conditions for enrolment

While there is no prior knowledge required, this course follows on from the Environmental Impact Assessment (GEOS3911) course where there’s a strong emphasis on vocational skills. 

Career opportunities

Coastal Resource Management covers a broad range of study streams, including engineering, environmental management, ecology, education and geography. More specifically, you’ll gain valuable skills to pursue a career in the following areas:

  • government (local, state or federal)
  • environmental consulting
  • environmental management
  • environmental engineering.

What our graduates say 

“I took Coastal Resource Management as part of my undergraduate study in Environmental Management. The class was one of the most interesting and relevant that I took at UNSW and many of the key environmental concepts have helped me in my professional career after uni. CRM provided a good foundational understanding of many environmental issues facing coastal area, such as erosion, aquaculture, the importance of estuary and wetland management, acid sulphate soils and its effect on waterways and fish. The course also provided great opportunity to develop professional skills in the way that the assessments mirrored tasks that you likely will encounter in your professional career.”

- Rob Beckett (B.Sc Environmental Management) graduate.

Find out more

For more information, please contact A/Prof. Jes Sammut.

E: j.sammut@unsw.edu.au

T: +61 2 9385 8281