BSc. IN FORESTRY COURSE OUTLINES

 

Forest Recreation and Tourism- FOR 311

 

INTRODUCTION

This course covers the theory and practice of recreation and tourism management in forests and explores the potential for recreation and tourism development in Guyana and the region.

HOUR

 TOPIC

L

P

WEEKS
1 Introduction to Forest Recreation and Tourism

1

1
2-3 Types of forest-based recreation and tourism, forest values

2

1
4-5 Practical

2

1
6-7 Current status of recreation, tourism in Guyana and the Region

2

2
8-9 Practical

2

2
10-13 Ecotourism

4

3
14-18 Field work

5

4
19-21 Carrying capacity, impacts, constraints

3

5
22-23 Practical

2

5
24-26 Conflicts and methods of resolution

3

6
27-28 Practical

2

6
29-31 Access, visitor and site management

3

7
32-33 Interpretation, environmental education, tour guiding

2

7
34-38 Field work

5

8
39-40 Economics of recreation and tourism

2

9
41-42 Practical

2

9
43-44 Identification of recreation potential

2

10
45-46 Practical

2

10
47-50 Recreation and tourism business

4

11
51-55 Practical

5

12
56-57 Tourism development and marketing

2

13
58-60 Practical

3

13
Revision

14
Exam

15
TOTAL

30

30

 

Forest Resource Economics- FOR 312

 INTRODUCTION

This course introduces micro- and macro-economics in a forestry context and develops tools for making economically rational forest management decisions.

HOUR

 TOPIC

L

P

WEEK
1 Introduction to Forest Resource Economics

1

1
2-3 Macroeconomics I Economics of trade

2

1
4-5 Practical

2

1
6-8 Macroeconomics II Competition and markets

3

2
9-10 Practical

2

2
11-12 Microeconomics I Supply/demand, elasticity, pricing

2

3
13-14 Practical

2

3
15-16 Microeconomics II Capital, depreciation, costs, scale

2

4
17-18 Practical

2

4
19-20 Microeconomics III Tax, loans, inflation

2

5
21-22 Practical

2

5
23-27 Interest, discounted cash-flow and related criteria

5

6
28-32 Practical

5

7
33-34 Cost/benefit analysis

2

8
35-36 Practical

2

8
37-41 Economic decision-making in forest management, sensitivity analysis, investment decisions

5

9
42-46 Practical

5

10
47-48 Social and environmental costs and benefits

2

11
49-51 Practical

3

11
52-53 Evaluating non-market benefits

2

12
54-56 Practical

3

12
57-58 International perspectives

2

13
59-60 Practical

2

13
Revision

14
Exam

15
TOTAL

30

30

 

Forest Protection -FOR 313

INTRODUCTION

This course covers the major forest pests, pathogens and abiotic factors that affect tropical forests and looks at ways of managing their impact.

HOUR

 TOPIC

L

P

week
1 Introduction to Forest Protection

1

1
2-4 Major forest insect pests of Guyana and the Caribbean and their identification

3

1
5-8 Practical

4

2
9-11 Impacts of insect pests on forest trees and timber products

3

3
12-13 Practical

2

3
14-16 Major fungal pathogens on forest trees in Guyana and the region and their identification

3

4
17-18 Practical

2

4
19-21 Impacts of fungal pathogens on forest trees and timber products

3

5
22-23 Practical

2

5
24-25 Impacts of other biotic agents on trees

2

6
26-27 Practical

2

6
28-29 Impacts of abiotic agents on trees and timber products

2

7
30-32 Fire – causes, impacts and management

3

7
33-37 Practical/field work

5

8
38-39 Chemical and biological control of pests and diseases

2

9
40-41 Practical

2

9
42-43 Other control methods

2

10
44-46 Integrated pest management

3

10
47-51 Practical/field work

5

11
52 Physiological disorders and mineral deficiencies

1

12
53-55 Practical

3

12
56-57 Protection in agroforestry, urban trees

2

13
58-60 Practical/field work

3

13
Revision

14
Exam

15
TOTAL

30

30

 

Forest Industries and Marketing- FOR 314

INTRODUCTION

This course covers international and national forest industry structure, trade and development and techniques and strategies for marketing of forest products. 
HOUR TOPIC

L

P

week
1 Introduction to Forest Industries and Marketing

1

1
2 World/Caribbean/Guyana forest sector industry

1

1
3-4 Practical

2

1
5-6 Specifications, nomenclature and grading of timber

2

2
7-9 Practical/field work

3

2
10-11 International/Caribbean/Guyana timber trade

2

3
12-13 Practical

2

3
14 Scale of operation

1

4
15 Industrial technologies

1

4
16-18 Value-added processing

3

4
19-22 Field work

4

5
23-25 Waste and residue use and management

3

6
26-27 Practical

2

6
28-29 Strategic and business planning, management and control

2

7
30-31 Practical

2

7
32 Role of government

1

8
33 Trade associations

1

8
34 Demand and supply, marketing strategies, niche markets

1

8
35-36 Practical

2

8
37-38 Certification as a marketing tool

2

9
39-40 Development of industry and marketing in Guyana and the Caribbean

2

9
41-45 Field work

5

10
46-47 Lesser-known species

2

11
48-50 Practical

3

11
51-53 Small-scale forest industry development, NTFPs

3

12
54-55 Health and safety

2

12
56-60 Practical/Field work – small-scale development

5

13
Revision

14
Exam

15
TOTAL

30

30

 

Forest Conservation -FOR 315

INTRODUCTION

This course introduces concepts of conservation and develops techniques for the management of conservation in forests

HOUR

 TOPIC

L

P

WEEK
1 Introduction to Forest Conservation

1

1
2-3 Definitions, types, history and paradigms of conservation

2

1
4-5 Current status of conservation in Guyana

2

1
6-7 Field work

2

2
8-10 Conservation and utilisation - conflicts and complements

3

2
11-15 Practical/field work

5

3
16-17 Plant and animal diversity – definitions and measures

2

4
18-20 Field work

3

4
21-22 Identification of protected species, gene conservation

2

5
23-24 Practical

2

5
25-26 Identification of protected areas/biodiversity reserves

2

6
27-29 Practical

3

6
30-33 Management of protected areas/biodiversity reserves

4

7
34-36 Practical

3

8
37-38 Identification and management of parks and extractive reserves

2

8
39-42 Practical/field work

4

9
43-44 Economic dimensions of conservation

2

10
45-46 Practical

2

10
47-49 Political dimensions of conservation

3

11
50-51 Practical

2

11
52-54 Integrated forest management techniques

3

12
55-56 Standards and guidelines, international perspectives

2

12
57-60 Field work – integrated forest management

4

13
Revision

14
Exam

15
TOTAL

30

30

 

Remote Sensing and GIS for Forestry -FOR 321

INTRODUCTION

This course provides a practical grounding to the theory and application of remote sensing (RS) and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) as they relate to forest management.

HOUR

 TOPIC

L

P

WEEKS
1 Introduction to Remote Sensing and Geographical Information Systems

1

1
2-4 Types and theory of RS

3

1
5-6 Practical

2

1
7-8 Planning aerial photo acquisition

2

2
9-10 Practical

2

2
11-12 Aerial photo image capture

2

2
13 Practical

1

2
14-15 Image processing

2

3
16-17 Practical

2

3
18-19 Interpretation

2

3
20-23 Practical

4

4
24-25 Production and use of orthophotographs

2

4
26-29 Practical/Field work

4

5
30-31 Satellite image capture

2

5
32-33 Satellite image processing and interpretation

2

6
34-35 Practical

2

6
36-37 RS coverage of Guyana and the Caribbean

2

6
38-41 Practical/Field work

4

7
42-43 Fundamentals of GIS

2

7
44-46 Data acquisition and input for GIS

3

8
47-50 Practical

4

8
51-53 Map production with GIS

3

9
54-57 Practical

4

9
58-59 Elements of spatial analysis with GIS

2

10
60-64 Practical

5

10
65-70 Applications of GIS in forest management

6

11
71-77 Practical/Field work

7

12
78-79 RS and GIS on the internet

2

13
80-83 Practical

4

13
Revision

14
Exam

15
TOTAL

38

45

 

Wood Science and Technology- FOR 322

INTRODUCTION

This course covers essential elements of wood structure and properties and how they relate to processing and working 

HOUR

 TOPIC

L

P

WEEK
1 Introduction to Wood Science and Technology

1

1
2-4 Macro and micro structure of wood

3

1
5-8 Practical

4

2
9-10 Identification of wood by structural properties

2

3
11-12 Practical

2

3
13-14 Chemical properties of wood

2

4
15 Practical

1

4
16-17 Physical properties of wood

2

4
18-20 Practical

3

5
21-22 Resistance to fungal and insect decay agents

2

5
23-27 Field work

5

6
28-30 Strength properties of wood

3

7
31-32 Practical

2

7
33-34 Response of wood to manipulation

2

8
35-36 Practical

2

8
37-39 Appearance, shrinkage, finishing

3

9
40-41 Practical

2

9
42-43 Wood use in construction

2

10
44-46 Wood as raw material in processing

3

10
47-50 Field work – construction and simple processing

4

11
51-53 Use of technology in processing

3

12
54-55 Recent developments in wood processing

2

12
56-60 Field work – technology in processing

5

13
Revision

14
Exam

15
TOTAL

30

30

 

Community Forestry and Extension- FOR 323

INTRODUCTION

This course provides a grounding in social elements of forest management and develops techniques for encouraging participatory management by forest-based communities and other stakeholders

HOUR

 TOPIC

L

P

WEEK
1 Introduction and definitions of CFM and Extension

1

1
2-4 Elements of rural geography and sociology

3

1
5-6 Practical

2

1
7-10 Rural livelihoods

4

2
11-12 Traditional forestry systems in Guyana and the Caribbean

2

2
13-19 Field work

7

3
20-21 Stakeholder identification

2

4
22-25 Practical

4

4
26-28 Techniques for community, stakeholder and user-group organisation and participation

3

5
29-31 Practical

3

5
32-34 Conflict resolution

3

6
35-37 Practical

3

6
38-41 Examples of CFM systems – successes and failures

4

7
42-43 Application of CFM in Guyana and the Caribbean

2

7
44-50 Field work

7

8
51-52 Approaches to extension

2

9
53 Practical

1

9
54-55 Extension systems

2

9
56-57 Practical

2

9
58-60 Examples of extension – successes and failures

3

10
61-63 Practical

3

10
64-65 Communication, dissemination, publicity

2

11
66-68 Practical

3

11
69-70 Organisation and management of extension

2

11
71-77 Practical/Field work

7

12
78-80 Evaluating success of extension programmes

3

13
81-83 Practical

3

13
Revision

14
Exam

15
TOTAL

38

45

 

Research Methods in Forestry -FOR 411

INTRODUCTION

This course provides an understanding of research methods, proposal and report writing in forestry as a precursor to individual research projects (FOR 410)

HOUR

 TOPIC

L

P

WEEK
1 Introduction to Research Methods in Forestry

1

1
2-3 Abstraction and problem identification

2

1
4 Practical

1

2
5-6 Objectives

2

2
7 Practical

1

3
8-9 Partnerships and funding

2

3
10 Practical

1

4
11-12 Hypotheses

2

4
13 Practical

1

5
14-15 Development of methodologies

2

5
16-17 Practical

2

6
18-20 Research planning

3

7
21 Practical

1

8
22-23 Data collection

2

8
24-26 Practical

3

9
27-29 Analysis and interpretation

3

10
30 Practical

1

11
31-32 Report writing

2

11
33 Practical

1

12
34-35 Oral presentations

2

12
36-38 Practical

3

13
Revision

14
Exam

15
TOTAL

23

15

 

Wildlife Management- FOR 412 (elective)

INTRODUCTION

This course covers the basic ecology and management of wildlife populations for protection and economic benefit. 

HOUR

 TOPIC

L

P

WEEK
1 Introduction to Wildlife Management

1

1
2-3 Wildlife definition and identification

2

1
4-5 Practical

2

1
6-9 Basic ecological concepts – predator/prey, trophic levels, food chains/webs

4

2
10-11 Practical

2

2
12-13 Animal behaviour patterns

2

3
14-15 Practical

2

3
16-17 Population dynamics

2

3
18-19 Practical

2

4
20-23 Measuring populations

4

4
24-29 Field work

6

5
30-33 Habitat and carrying capacity, habitat improvement

4

6
34-35 Practical

2

6
36-39 Wildlife/human interactions

4

7
40-41 Practical

2

7
42-45 Wildlife control

4

8
46-47 Practical

2

8
48-50 Economic valuation of wildlife

3

9
51-52 Practical

2

9
53-56 Captive breeding

4

10
57-58 Practical

2

10
59-61 Wildlife law

3

11
62-62 Practical

2

11
64-67 International perspectives

4

12
68-69 Practical

2

12
70-73 Wildlife management strategies and plans

4

13
74-75 Practical

2

13
Revision

14
Exam

15
TOTAL

45

30

 

Social and Environmental Forestry- FOR 413 (elective)

INTRODUCTION

This course investigates the impacts of forestry activities on the physical and social environment and seeks to provide answers to the question of sustainable forest management

HOUR

 TOPIC

L

P

WEEK
1 Introduction to Social and Environmental Forestry

1

1
2 Environmental service functions of forests

1

1
3-4 Climate, atmosphere/forest interactions, carbon sequestration

2

1
5-6 Practical

2

1
7-8 Environmental impacts of forestry operations I – roads

2

2
9-10 Environmental impacts of forestry operations II – logging

2

2
11-12 Environmental impacts of forestry operations III – settlements, processing plants

2

2
13-18 Field work

6

3
19-20 Codes of practice

2

4
21-22 Practical

2

4
23-24 Environmental impacts of non-forestry operations on the forest

2

4
25-26 Environmental Impact Assessments

2

5
27-28 Practical

2

5
29-30 Social and cultural impacts and indigenous/rural peoples

2

5
31-32 Practical

2

6
33-34 Social Impact Assessments

2

6
35-36 Practical

2

6
37-38 Habitats, fragmentation and stability

2

7
39-40 Keystone species and protected species

2

7
41-42 Practical

2

7
43-47 Ecosystem management

5

8
48-52 Watershed management

5

9
53-58 Field work

6

10
59-61 Conservation strategies

3

11
62-64 Environmental and social aspects of sustainable forest management

3

11
65-66 Practical

2

12
67-68 Environmental and social aspects of certification

2

12
69-70 Practical

2

12
71-73 Population and sustainable development

3

13
74-75 Practical

2

13
Revision

14
Exam

15
TOTAL

45

30

 

Agroforestry and Rural Development- FOR 414 (elective)

INTRODUCTION

This course covers agroforestry systems around the world and investigates the contribution of such systems to rural economic and social development

HOUR

 TOPIC

L

P

WEEK
1-2 Introduction to Agroforestry (AF) and Rural Development

1

1
3-4 Types and functions of agroforestry

2

1
5-7 Agroforestry systems – trees, crops, livestock

3

1
8-9 Practical

2

2
10-11 Fire, pests and diseases in AF systems

2

2
12-13 Practical

2

2
14-17 Soil maintenance and productivity in AF systems

4

3
18-19 Practical

2

3
20-25 Rural livelihoods

6

4
26-31 Field work

6

5
32-33 Poverty reduction

2

6
34-35 Practical

2

6
36-37 Empowerment

2

6
38-40 Gender issues

3

7
41-42 Practical

2

7
43-46 Regional and international perspectives

4

8
47-48 Practical

2

8
49-51 Development of agroforestry in Guyana and the Caribbean

3

9
52-53 Practical

2

9
54-57 Project design and appraisal

4

10
58-59 Practical

2

10
60-62 Project implementation

4

11
63-64 Practical

2

11
65-69 Project monitoring

5

12
70-75 Practical/Field work

6

13
Revision

14
Exam

15
TOTAL

45

30

 

Advanced Forest Products and Processing- FOR 415 (elective)

INTRODUCTION

This course provides an in-depth coverage of certain forest products and processing techniques for adding value to timber in Guyana and the region

HOUR

 TOPIC

L

P

WEEK
1 Introduction to Advanced Forest Products and Processing

1

1
2-3 Timber and non-timber products, preservation and working properties

2

1
4-5 Practical

2

1
6-7 Principles of value-added

2

1
8-9 Kiln technologies

2

2
10-14 Practical/Field work

5

2
15-20 Finished timber in construction

6

3
21-26 Practical/Field work

6

4
27-32 Fittings manufacture

6

5
33-38 Practical/Field work

6

6
39-44 Furniture manufacture

6

7
45-51 Practical/Field work

7

8
52-56 Laminate manufacture

5

9
57-62 Practical/Field work

6

10
63-64 Processing of NTFPs

2

11
65-69 Practical/Field work

5

11
70-71 Small-scale processing enterprises

2

12
72-74 Practical

3

12
75-76 Quality control

2

12
77-78 Practical

2

13
79-80 Marketing and niche markets

2

13
81-83 Practical

3

13
Revision

14
Exam

15
TOTAL

38

45

 

Forest Concession and Reserve Management Plans -FOR 421

INTRODUCTION

This course provides the framework for producing management plans for forest concessions and forest reserves. It precedes the individual management plan exercise FOR 420

HOUR

 TOPIC

L

WEEK
1 Introduction to Management Plans

1

1
2 Types and purpose of management plans

1

1
3 Regulatory, economic and political context

1

1
4-5 Plan structure

2

2
6 Standards and guidelines

1

2
7-8 Multi-purpose management

2

3
9 Topographical and thematic mapping

1

3
10-11 Land capability, classification and zoning

2

4
12 Identification of management unit

1

4
13-15 Forest concession plans I - Inventory and sustainable yield regulation

3

5
16-17 Forest concession plans II - Road planning

2

6
18-19 Forest concession plans III - Harvesting panning

2

6
20 Forest concession plans IV - Protection measures

1

7
21-22 Forest concession plans V – Markets

2

7
23-25 Forest reserve plans I – Watershed management

3

8
26-27 Forest reserve plans II - Access planning and management

2

9
28-29 Forest reserve plans III - User conflicts

2

9
30-31 Forest reserve plans IV – Research and monitoring

2

10
32-33 Forest reserve plans V – Boundary maintenance and encroachment

2

10
34-35 Stakeholder analysis and participation

2

11
36-37 Social and environmental impacts

2

11
38-39 Economic analysis

2

12
40-41 Operational plans and staffing

2

12
42 Health and safety, training

1

13
43 Monitoring and control

1

13
44-45 Plan presentation and dissemination

2

13
Revision

14
Exam

15
TOTAL

45

 

Business Administration FOR 422

 

INTRODUCTION

This course provides the basis for understanding and administering forestry businesses for the professional.

HOUR

TOPIC

L

P

WEEK

1

Introduction to Business Administration

1

1

2-3

Organisational behaviour

2

1

4-5

Management theory

2

1

6-7

Strategic planning, logical frameworks, risk management

2

2

8-9

Practical

2

2

10-11

Business plans

2

2

12-13

Practical

2

3

14-15

Finance

2

3

16-17

Practical

2

3

18-19

Operational management

2

4

20-21

Practical

2

4

22-23

Reporting and control systems

2

4

24-25

Practical

2

5

26-27

Marketing

2

5

28-29

Practical

2

5

30-31

Business law

2

6

32-33

Practical

2

6

34-35

Leadership

2

6

36-37

Practical

2

7

38-39

Team working

2

7

40-41

Practical

2

7

42-43

Negotiation

2

8

44-45

Practical

2

8

46-47

Industrial relations

2

8

48-50

Public relations

3

9

51-52

Practical

2

9

53-54

Managing change

2

10

55-56

Project cycle management

2

10

57-58

Practical

2

10

59-60

Institutional strengthening

2

11

61-62

Entrepreneurship

2

11

63-64

Practical

2

11

65-67

Starting a small business

3

12

68-69

Practical

2

12

70-72

Running a small business

3

13

73-74

Practical

2

13

75

Occupational health and safety

1

13

Revision

14

Exam

15

TOTAL

45

30

 

FOrest Policy and Laws- FOR 423

INTRODUCTION

This course provides the framework understanding the development and implementation of forest policy and laws in Guyana and the region.

HOUR

TOPIC

L

P

WEEK

1

Introduction to Forest Policy and Laws

1

1

2-4

Political and legal framework

3

1

5-6

Development and objects of forest policy

2

1

7-9

Guyana forest policy – development and current position

3

2

10-12

Practical

3

2

13-15

Guyana forest strategy and National Forest Plan

3

3

16-18

Practical

3

3

19-21

Regional and international forest policy examples

3

4

22-24

Practical

3

4

25-27

Related policies in Guyana and the region

3

5

28-30

Practical

3

5

31-32

Forestry legislation – development and objects

2

6

33-34

Practical

2

6

35-36

Legal terminology

2

6

37-40

Guyana forestry legislation

4

7

41-42

Practical

2

7

43-46

Regional examples of forestry legislation

4

8

47-48

Practical

2

8

49-50

Related legislation

2

9

51-52

Practical

2

9

53-54

Implementation of forest law

2

9

55-59

Practical

5

10

60-63

Policing and monitoring forest law

4

11

64-65

Practical

2

11

66-68

Prosecution and court procedures

3

12

69-70

Practical

2

12

71-73

International organisations and agreements

3

13

74-75

Practical

2

13

Revision

14

Exam

15

TOTAL

45

30

 

Project- FOR 410

INTRODUCTION AND LEARNING OBJECTIVES

The project is an individual piece of work designed to develop and test students’ ability to develop a clear project proposal, undertake personal research, undertake analysis and make intelligent conclusions. The students will be expected to present their findings in a clear and coherent oral and written reports

FIELD WORK

Students should plan extended field work for data collection during the inter-semester break. Depending on the nature of the project some students will also need to work on data collection outside this period.

CONTACT HOURS

There are no formal contact hours – though students should meet with their supervisors on a regular basis.

The Research Methods in Forestry course provides a basis for the individual projects.

After this course students are expected to work on their projects in their own time.

An approved project proposal should be produced mid-way through the first semester

DURATION AND CREDIT

30 weeks and 6 (six) credits

 ASSESSMENT

Project proposal – 10%

Oral presentation – 20%

Written report – 70%

 

Management Plan -FOR 420

INTRODUCTION AND LEARNING OBJECTIVES

The management plan is designed to synthesise knowledge and skills developed throughout the programme. A management plan that follows the relevant guidelines should be produced for an area of forest – either a forest concession or a forest reserve/park. A group information-gathering phase will be followed by an individual piece of work that is the final plan. Assessment will be made on the final written plan only.

CONTACT HOURS

The Management Plan course (FOR 421) is the only formal contact element of the management plan exercise. However, one member of staff should be responsible for supervising each group.

 ASSESSMENT

Written report – 100%

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