This course provides an introduction to ecological and landscape considerations in forest management, the Rio “Earth Summit”, definition, vision, principle, criteria and indicators for Sustainable Forest Management, and two types of approach - believers in a lost paradise and believers in an achievable paradise. The course covers topics such as sustainable water yield in afforested catchment, long term impacts of afforestation on stream flow, hydrological process studies, sustainable forestry and employees, forest certification, roots of forest certification, certification systems, certification of forest management, certification of the chain of custody, definition, concept and principle of sustained yield, methods of obtaining sustained yield, sustained yield versus progressive yield, sustainable management of industrial forest plantations, Montreal process (seven criteria for sustainable forest management), world forests, plantations and trade, sustainable management of tropical and subtropical moist natural forests, components of yield regulation systems, yield optimization strategies and associated issues, and the comparative assessment of yield regulation systems. The students will also be introduced to scenario planning for Sustainable Forest management, timber harvest scenarios, continuous forest cover, maintenance of forest cover, Sustainable Forest Management and communities, recognition of the rights of indigenous people and local communities in Sustainable Forest Management, and key issues in Sustainable Forest Management. The unit will also introduce students to water properties & cycle - molecular structure and states, adhesion and cohesion, water movement and its states, underground water resources - definition and types, groundwater recharge, Darcys law , watersheds characteristics and management - definition and types, water movement in a watershed, description of main watersheds in Fiji, rainfall estimation in a watershed - methods to calculate rainfall in a watershed, problems, water discharge in a watershed - estimation methods, integrated water management - watershed programs, rate programs in integrated water resources and comparison of different watersheds.
- Teacher: Seleima Rakaucoka