USP has been offering Postgraduate Diploma programs in Environmental Studies and Environmental Sciences for almost a decade. These are inter-disciplinary programs with natural science or social science emphases. These programs consist of two core courses and two electives to be selected from a basket of courses.

However, while the science strand was reasonably well developed the social sciences strand needed improvement. Consequently, the ‘Postgraduate Diploma in Environmental Studies’ is currently being reoriented into a new program called ‘Postgraduate Diploma in Sustainable Islands and Oceans Development.

The overall goals of this new PG training program, stated briefly, are:

•To build individual and institutional capacity in the Pacific and other small island developing states to address environmental changes with special reference to human well being.
•To promote teamwork and joint curriculum development and delivery.
•To use e-learning and DFL tools to maximize the efficiency of course offerings.
•To enhance PIC’s specific research in areas most relevant to SD.

Expected outputs:

The training program will have products and outcomes that will contribute to building the capacities of the pacific island countries by providing the knowledge, skills, perspective and value systems necessary for the sustainable management of the natural resources and the environment. The specific outputs will be:

•A pool of PG courses most relevant to the environment and SD training needs of the Pacific.
•A new academic Program to provide the necessary knowledge and skills to address SD challenges. Increased flexibility in course offering using DFL approaches
•Collaborative and targeted research projects in the areas of regional priority for SD.
•More trained people to promote community based conservation efforts and capable of providing leadership in key areas of vulnerability for SIDS to support resilience building.
•Four reoriented or newly developed courses have been designed for ACCU support under this program.

Project 1: Climatology and Climate Change Vulnerability and Adaptation Assessment (reoriented course)

It is proposed that two of the previously offered Climate Change courses, MS415 and MS416, be merged into a single course with the addition of a substantial component of climatology as taught under two-week training course on climatic extremes, coordinated by PACE. The new course will be developed in 14 modules, each lasting for one week and will feature 3 hr seminar type lectures, discussions, group study, scenario development using computer based climate models, fieldwork and report writing. The major target group will be the regional meteorological staff, climate practitioners, government workers, and USP students. The course materials will be developed in a suitable format for offering the course by f-2-f and USPs distance and flexible learning mode with print, audio/video and e-learning materials. It is also anticipated that students will take the course across the SIDS through the UC-SIS platform.

Main Activities:

Development and delivery of new course materials in word format; development of annotated PP slides; presentation of resource materials for the i-browser platform; Course handbook preparation and printing.

Project 2: EIA/SEA Course, (new course)

There is no doubt that the PICs need to continue developing but in a sustainable way. Environmental Impact Assessment and Strategic Environmental Assessments (EIA/SEA) are the major tools used to ensure that planned developments are sustainable. Both EIAs (for Projects) and SEAs (for policies and plans) are equally important as most PICs are currently involved in the preparation of National Sustainable Development Strategies (NSDS). In order for the effective implementation of a number of MEAs and other agreements such as, Agenda 21, BPOA, MDG, CITIES, the Pacific Plan etc for which the PICS are signatories and party to, it is important that adequate environmental management systems are in place. Moreover, many international lending and assistance agencies have now introduced EIA and SEA requirements as part of project management. It is against this background that we are planning to introduce a new training course on EIA/SEA at USP. The primary objective of the course is to raise awareness and build capacity to carry out EIA/SEA in the Pacific. The course will be delivered through 7 modules that address the principles and methodologies and a major field assignment (7 weeks) to get hands on experience in carrying out an EIA/SEA.

Main Activities:

USP is a member of an international team currently involved in the development of such a web-based course. One of USP’s special responsibilities is to contextualize the course for the pacific by introducing case studies and policies relevant for the PICs. It is proposed that ACCU funding will be used for this purpose.

Project 3: Pacific Islands Community based Conservation Course, PICCC, (existing course)

This on-going course is an outcome of a collaborative partnership between SPREP, USP and ICPL, to establish a vocational training Program for conservation practitioners throughout the region. The course is designed to provide participants with the practical knowledge and skills required for the sustainable management of Conservation Areas (CAs) and other forms of protected areas. The Aim of the course is to build and improve the capacity of conservation practitioners; community representatives, government technical officers, NGO technical officers, training personnel in the management of community-based conservation projects and sites for the sustainable conservation and management of natural resources. The course has three major phases; two f-2-f sessions and a major in-country project work in the middle. The teaching methods involves some direct teaching, interspersed in most sessions with activities, oral presentations, field visits and a substantial project work in the home countries of the participants. The course is integrated into the USP curriculum with one PG course credit.
As part of this project, it is proposed that the second f-2-f is developed for distance mode teaching. In doing this we plan to use the i-browser as a resource platform.
[Note: Interactive multimedia system: i-browser

Offering environmental training courses on-line offers special challenges because of the breadth and depth of the subject matter involved. In order to address this challenge, we are working with media researchers overseas to install an interactive multimedia content production and delivery system called "i-browser" at USP. The browser is capable of handling audio, video, satellite images, text, power point etc making it a versatile tool for course delivery, particularly in the DFL mode. The browser could also be integrated into internet broadcasting, making e-learning that much more attractive. Once installed, it will be necessary to prepare contents suitable for the courses that plan to use the browser].

Main Activities:

I-browser Material development for PICCC

Project 4: Integrated Solid Waste Management Course (new course)
Waste is an unavoidable consequence of modern living. In the Pacific Island Countries, rapid urbanization and changing production and consumption patterns, limited land areas and vulnerable ecosystems add to the complexity of this issue and impose considerable burden on waste management efforts. Waste of all types - municipal, hazardous, and nuclear - has become a major problem in the Pacific Islands Countries. Rapid urbanization and changing consumption patterns and limited land areas and vulnerable ecosystems add to the complexity of this issue and impose considerable burden on environmental (e.g. pollution), economic (e.g. management costs) and social (e.g. public health) aspects of island life. Good waste management is believed to be an integral part of sustainable development, especially in small island countries.

Main Activities:

Course Development: The course will be developed in a modular fashion and will be delivered through F-2-F.