Jaboury Ghazoul: Catalogue data in Autumn Semester 2021

Name	Prof. Dr. Jaboury Ghazoul
Field	Ecosystem Management
Address	Ökosystemmanagement ETH Zürich, CHN G 74.1 Universitätstrasse 16 8092 Zürich SWITZERLAND
Telephone	+41 44 632 86 27
E-mail	jaboury.ghazoul@env.ethz.ch
Department	Environmental Systems Science
Relationship	Full Professor

Number	Title	ECTS	Hours	Lecturers
701-0019-00L	Readings in Environmental Thinking	3 credits	2S	J. Ghazoul
Abstract	This course introduces students to foundational texts that led to the emergence of the environment as a subject of scientific importance, and shaped its relevance to society. Above all, the course seeks to give confidence and raise enthusiasm among students to read more widely around the broad subject of environmental sciences and management both during the course and beyond.
Learning objective	The course will provide students with opportunities to read, discuss, evaluate and interpret key texts that have shaped the environmental movement and, more specifically, the environmental sciences. Students will gain familiarity with the foundational texts, but also understand the historical context within which their academic and future professional work is based. More directly, the course will encourage debate and discussion of each text that is studied, from both the original context as well as the modern context. In so doing students will be forced to consider and justify the current societal relevance of their work.
Content	The course will be run as a ‘book reading club’. The first session will provide a short introduction as to how to explore a particular text (that is not a scientific paper) to identify the key points for discussion. Thereafter, in each week a text (typically a chapter from a book or a paper) considered to be seminal or foundational will be assigned by a course lecturer. The lecturer will introduce the selected text with a brief background of the historical and cultural context in which it was written, with some additional biographical information about the author. He/she will also briefly explain the justification for selecting the particular text. The students will read the text, with two to four students (depending on class size) being assigned to present it at the next session. Presentation of the text requires the students to prepare by, for example: • identifying the key points made within the text • identifying issues of particular personal interest and resonance • considering the impact of the text at the time of publication, and its importance now • evaluating the text from the perspective of our current societal and environmental position Such preparation would be supported by a mid-week ‘tutorial’ discussion (about 1 hour) with the assigning lecturer. These students will then present the text (for about 15 minutes) to the rest of the class during the scheduled class session, with the lecturer facilitating the subsequent class discussion (about 45 minutes). Towards the end of the session the presenting students will summarise the emerging points (5 minutes) and the lecturer will finish with a brief discussion of how valuable and interesting the text was (10 minutes). In the remaining 15 minutes the next text will be presented by the assigning lecturer for the following week.
Literature	The specific texts selected for discussion will vary, but examples include: Leopold (1949) A Sand County Almanach Carson (1962) Silent Spring Egli, E. (1970) Natur in Not. Gefahren der Zivilisationslandschaft Lovelock (1979) Gaia: A new look at life on Earth Naess (1973) The Shallow and the Deep. Roderick F. Nash (1989) The Rights of Nature Jared Diamond (2005) Collapse Robert Macfarlane (2007) The Wild Places Discussions might also encompass films or other forms of media and communication about nature.
701-0903-00L	The Sustainable Development Goals Book Club	2 credits		B. B. Pearce, J. Ghazoul
Abstract	The ETH Sustainable Development Goals Book Club is a colloquium for Bachelor students within and outside of Department of Environmental Systems Sicence centered around the discussion of themes from a single book, with the aim of fostering interdisciplinary, intellectual and critical exploration of the scientific and societal complexities related to the Sustainable Development Goals.
Learning objective	The aims of this course are to: - Create an interdisciplinary approach to understanding key concepts of sustainable development and the SDGs - Create solidarity through a cultural of intellectual exchange at ETH Zurich - Create a common object of intellectual reference for students with different disciplinary interests to enable diverse ways and modes of thinking
Content	The course is similar to 701-0019-00L Readings in Environmental Thinking with the following differences: - Targeted at Bachelor’s students (especially first and second year, but open to all) within and outside of the department. - All participating students will read one book whose themes will be the basis for discussions. - These discussions, taking place both online and in-person, will be moderated by the main lecturers of the course and discussed by additional professors from within and outside of D-USYS. - Each discussion will be based on a chapter of a book, always linked to a particular aspect of the SDGs. - The modes of discussion will vary in length and form, ranging from the traditional, sit-down meeting, to a Twitter book club format (as already pioneered and popularized by author Robert MacFarlane). - Both students and professors will lead the discussions alternatively. - Each discussion session will result in a visual output or another shareable output that will be developed by a student or group of students.
Literature	TBD Could be one of the books already used in 701-0019-00L Readings in Environmental Thinking (Silent Spring, The Sand County Almanac, Collapse..etc.) Other possibilities: - Thinking in systems - Limits to Growth - Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth - Small is Beautiful - For the Common Good - Factfulness - The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money and Power (history of the global petroleum industry from 1850s-1990)
Prerequisites / Notice	none
701-1631-00L	Foundations of Ecosystem Management	5 credits	3G	J. Ghazoul, C. Garcia, J. Garcia Ulloa, A. Giger Dray
Abstract	This course introduces the broad variety of conflicts that arise in projects focusing on sustainable management of natural resources. It explores case studies of ecosystem management approaches and considers their practicability, their achievements and possible barriers to their uptake.
Learning objective	Students should be able to a) propose appropriate and realistic solutions to ecosystem management problems that integrate ecological, economic and social dimensions across relevant temporal and spatial scales. b) identify important stakeholders, their needs and interests, and the main conflicts that exist among them in the context of land and resource management.
Content	Traditional management systems focus on extraction of natural resources, and their manipulation and governance. However, traditional management has frequently resulted in catastrophic failures such as, for example, the collapse of fish stocks and biodiversity loss. These failures have stimulated the development of alternative ‘ecosystem management’ approaches that emphasise the functionality of human-dominated systems. Inherent to such approaches are system-wide perspectives and a focus on ecological processes and services, multiple spatial and temporal scales, as well as the need to incorporate diverse stakeholder interests in decision making. Thus, ecosystem management is the science and practice of managing natural resources, biodiversity and ecological processes, to meet multiple demands of society. It can be local, regional or global in scope, and addresses critical issues in developed and developing countries relating to economic and environmental security and sustainability. This course provides an introduction to ecosystem management, and in particular the importance of integrating ecology into management systems to meet multiple societal demands. The course explores the extent to which human-managed terrestrial systems depend on underlying ecological processes, and the consequences of degradation of these processes for human welfare and environmental well-being. Building upon a theoretical foundation, the course will tackle issues in resource ecology and management, notably forests, agriculture and wild resources within the broader context of sustainability, biodiversity conservation and poverty alleviation or economic development. Case studies from tropical and temperate regions will be used to explore these issues. Dealing with ecological and economic uncertainty, and how this affects decision making, will be discussed. Strategies for conservation and management of terrestrial ecosystems will give consideration to landscape ecology, protected area systems, and community management, paying particular attention to alternative livelihood options and marketing strategies of common pool resources.
Lecture notes	No Script
Literature	Chichilnisky, G. and Heal, G. (1998) Economic returns from the biosphere. Nature, 391: 629-630. Daily, G.C. (1997) Nature’s Services: Societal dependence on natural ecosystems. Island Press. Washington DC. Hindmarch, C. and Pienkowski, M. (2000) Land Management: The Hidden Costs. Blackwell Science. Millenium Ecosystem Assessment (2005) Ecosystems and Human Well-being: Synthesis. Island Press, Washington DC. Milner-Gulland, E.J. and Mace, R. (1998) Conservation of Biological Resources. Blackwell Science. Gunderson, L.H. and Holling, C.S. (2002) Panarchy: understanding transformations in human and natural systems. Island Press.