HISTORY OF THE DEPARTMENT
The Department of Environmental Resource Management is in the Faculty of Environmental Studies. It is the youngest Department in the Faculty, having started in 1999, with Dr GN Chima as the Unit Head. During that period, the University was running the School system. The Department gained Departmental status in 2001 when the University to the Faculty system. The University changed its name to Abia State university, Uturu. The department began with six lecturers and twenty three students and has maintained steady growth such that currently, it has over 11 full time lecturers specialized in various aspects of environmental resource management with a student population of over 100.
The Department has been able to produce six sets of graduates with Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Resource Management beginning with the first set in 2004/2005. The Department runs a five year programme which involves formal classroom lectures, practical and field work, in addition to the six months industrial attachment (SIWES) programme in the second semester of the fourth year. The entire programme therefore adequately equips our graduates with the necessary knowledge and skills to manage environmental resources and their problems.
PHILOSOPHY
The programme focuses on the formulation, design, planning and monitoring of land use patterns, policies and programmes, and their likely effects on the well being of the various aspects of the environment. Environmental Resource Management is complex and multi faceted, and therefore requires approaches and skills from diverse inter related disciplines in order to produce knowledgeable individuals who will manage the environment and its resources.
The underlying philosophy is the pursuit of excellence and service through environmental resource management training that equips students for the planning, design and management of the environment and its resources. The programme is equally designed to equip graduates with the required competences to co-ordinate allied professional input in Environmental Management.
The programme is designed to provide a thorough understanding by graduates of the need to use environmental resources in a sustainable manner and the required skills and competences to achieve that.
The Department therefore aims to be a center of excellence in training and research in environmental resource management of international repute in line with the goals of the University.
OBJECTIVES
The programme is designed to give due weight to both theory and practice through lectures, seminars laboratory/studio demonstrations and field investigations. It is recognized that while enough premium should be placed on the practical aspects of the learning process, a rigorous theoretical foundations is very important for both laboratory and fieldwork. To this end, the programme objectives are; The main objectives of the programme therefore are;
- To introduce students to theoretical and practical knowledge and equip them with necessary skills in design, planning and management to understand and solve highly technical and complex environmental problems.
- To provide students with the knowledge and skills to undertake a wide range of management activities in addition to co-ordinating allied professional inputs in environmental resource management.
- To produce adequately skilled and innovative manpower for positions requiring input, knowledge and skills in environmental resource management in both private and public sectors.
- To adequately prepare students for individual and teamwork necessary for postgraduate and professional training in environmental assessment and management through intellectual development and practical exposure.
- To provide students with entrepreneurial skills to enable them become self- reliant
- To provide students with the necessary skills in computer applications and Information Technology to enable them fit in the current global professional arena
