Theory and Practice of Biodiversity Conservation

This course will be jointly offered in the Law School and the Department of Environmental Sciences and co-taught by faculty from the Law School, the Department of Environmental Sciences, and the McIntyre School of Commerce. The class will start out examining legal, scientific, and policy frameworks related to conservation and restoration of species and ecosystems through a series of case studies taught by faculty. These case studies will focus on critical decisions related to biodiversity conservation and the scientific, political, economic legal, and other factors that come in to play in making such decisions. Over the course of these case studies, we will examine a variety of conservation tools, including regulations, incentive programs, markets, land conservation, and others. The class room component of the class will consist of fourth year undergraduates and law students. The primary work product for students will be a case study that serves as the basis for a written paper and a presentation to the rest of the class. Law students will work in teams on this case study under the supervision of Professor Szeptycki. Law students taking the course do not need any background in science or economics.