The overall objective of this course is to improve the capacity of professional and semi-professional foresters to apply the concept of Sustainable Use of Forest Ecosystem Services within the overall concept of Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) in the Asia-Pacific region by using an innovative pedagogical method through the combination of web-based learning in the areas of payments for ecosystem services (PES); economic valuation of forest ecosystem services; concept and theory of utility and welfare economics; types of economic value; and forest resource accounting.
As indicated before, the course will introduce you to 6 learning modules – Module #1 is designed to be introductory – revisiting the concept of sustainable development, and #6 focuses on application of forest ecosystem services valuation (including biodiversity), and involves a case study approach. The main focus of forest ecosystem services are in Modules #2 to #5. The course is designed as a 3-credit hour course, which would be undertaken on a weekly schedule of 3 one-hour sessions, with students putting in 6 – 9 more hours per week to digest additional reading material and resources provided in the course. Under this schedule, students should complete the 6 modules in 42 hours within 14 weeks. However, this is just a suggested schedule; you can move through the course at a pace that suites you.
Learning outcomes: By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
- Differentiate and evaluate the concepts and principles in the management and development of sustainable (tropical) forest resources;
- Elaborate on the principles and present the strategies for the use of the principles, and criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management;
- Elaborate on sustainable forest management concepts based on Inter-governmental and NGO-based processes, ISO, and regional or country led initiatives;
- Incorporate economic and financial principles in forest sector analysis;
- Explain and use an appropriate theory, principle, and concept of economic valuation of forest ecosystem services; and
- Discuss a case study on valuations of forest ecosystem services.