Influence of Experiential Learning Activities in a Natural Resource Policy Course on Student Learning and Civic Engagement

There is a growing recognition that students in forestry and other natural resource management programs need an understanding of natural resource policy to become well-versed natural resource professionals. As such, instructors need to find creative ways to draw student interest in course content, which students may view as peripheral to their core professional interests. Experiential learning activities can help students engage with course content, increase student motivation and confidence, and develop professional skills. They can also be beneficial in policy courses to encourage civic engagement outside of the classroom. This study assessed student’s attitudes and perceptions about various experiential learning activities conducted in an undergraduate natural resource policy course. Data was collected from an online retrospective survey of student reflections after completion of the course. Results indicate a positive influence of experiential learning activities on student learning and likelihood of future participation in the policy process. Study Implications Students in forestry and other natural resource programs need good understanding of programs, players, and processes of policy-making to become well-versed professionals. Instructors of such classes, however, often struggle to draw student interest in course content, which students may view as peripheral to their professional interest of becoming a forester. By assessing attitudes and perceptions about various experiential learning activities conducted in an undergraduate natural resource policy course, this study demonstrates that incorporating experiential learning activities can positively affect student learning of policy course content as well as likelihood of participating in forest policy process in future.

Development of legislation on environmental insurance: experience of the European Union and Russia

This article analyzes the development of the environmental insurance legislation of the European Union and the Russian Federation. The advantages of this mechanism in matters of compensation for harm caused to the environment due to environmental offenses are determined. The analysis of Directive No. 2004/35 / CE of the European Parliament and the Council of the EU on environmental responsibility, aimed at preventing environmental damage and eliminating its consequences. A comparison of Russian legislation with the norms of environmental insurance adopted in the European Union is carried out. The conclusion is formulated that environmental insurance should become a priority direction of the state natural resource policy.

Water Security and Climate Change

Climate change is the dominant paradigm in natural resource policy. It is also obsolete and should be replaced by the water-security paradigm. The climate change paradigm is obsolete because it does not resonate sufficiently with the general public and because it does not adequately integrate sustainability challenges related to population growth and economic development. The water-security paradigm addresses these deficiencies by speaking directly to the reasons climate change ultimately matters to most people—droughts, floods, plagues, and wars. Additionally, water security integrates climate change concerns with economic development and population. The water-security paradigm reorients all natural resource policies toward achieving a sustainable quantity and quality of water at acceptable costs and risks. The water-security paradigm improves upon the climate change paradigm by replacing carbon footprints with water footprints as the metric for sustainability monitoring and reporting, and by restructuring natural resource governance at the watershed level with regional, rather than hierarchical, leadership.

Perspectives on Global Water Security

HighlightsASABE and ISAE convened the Global Water Security Conference for Agriculture and Natural Resources in Hyderabad, India, in 2018.Recommendations represent collective contribution of attendees and presenters in seven key priorities.Continuation of a narrow focus on technical aspects will likely prevent the success of technical solutions.Scientists and engineers should work together across all disciplines and boundaries to ensure global water security. Keywords: Climate change, Crop water productivity, Food security, Irrigation efficiency, Natural resource policy, Wastewater reuse, Water resource infrastructure, Water scarcity.