Semester I

Project Planning and Management and management skills are essential for planners and other environmental practitioners.

This course will develop conceptual knowledge and behavioral skills of students to assume responsibilities through efficient and effective management of contemporary projects.

the module will combine knowledge, tools and techniques common to managing successful real environmental Projects

1. Brief description of aims and content

The objective of this module is to provide students with basic skills in analyzing problems related to community development and integrated watershed management issues. The content of this module is oriented to the analysis of watershed issues related mainly to erosion problems and agricultural management.

2. Learning Outcomes

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed the module, students should be able to:

1. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of characteristics of watersheds in Rwanda
2. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of watershed functioning and management
3. Have solid knowledge in watershed conservation and tools and techniques (GIS and other appropriate software) applied land use management within watershed.

Cognitive/Intellectual skills/Application of Knowledge

Having successfully completed the module, students should be able to:

1. Collect spatial and non-spatial data from different sources and identify approaches and methods to analyze issues related to water flow and soil erosion within watersheds
2. Use GIS and Remote Sensing software in solving watershed  management issues
3. Use the above mentioned tools in a professional real-life.

Communication/ICT/Numeracy/Analytic Techniques/Practical Skills

Having successfully completed the module, students should be able to:

1. Produce results result explaining clearly the situation of water flow, soil erosion agricultural water management and their relationships within a defined watershed using different methods of watershed analysis including GIS and Remote Sensing techniques

General transferable skills

Having successfully completed the module, students should be able to:

1. Explain basic theoretical and technical methods for the assessment and analyzing of relationships between water management, agricultural management and soil erosion within a watershed.
2. Work autonomously under guidance of qualified practitioners in watershed management

3. Indicative Content

Theory

The following topics are introduced:

• Delineation, identification and characterization of watersheds (Hydrology)
• Watershed functioning (geomorphology, topography, land use, soil conservation, pollution, water uses)
• Soil and water management in tropical watershed
• Institutions for watershed and river basin governance

Practical

• Derive flow and delineation of watersheds within Nil drainage basin using the Digital Elevation Model (DEM)
• Map watershed of local rivers (Akagera);
• Analyze digital images of some rivers (Nyabarongo, Akagera, Nile, Congo, Amazon, etc…);
• Basic soil erosion modeling (RUSLE)
• Watershed Fieldwork 
• Seminars

4. Learning and Teaching Strategy

• Lectures providing theories and concepts of watershed management with the main focus on water, agricultural and soil erosion management within a watershed
• Set reading and self study to enable students to understand issues related to watershed management and watershed analysis
• Practical exercises of watershed analysis using different methods including GIS and Remote sensing techniques
• Assignments to encourage leaning by doing, sharing of experience and development of communication skills in presentation of assignment results
• Observation of the reality to the field by field observation through class excursion

Aim of the module

This module provides geospatial techniques and skills  applied to assessment of environmental management issues and environmental effects. This is achieved through the introduction of analytical methods and spatial modelling of environmental effects/factors.

Learning outcomes

Having successfully completed the module, students should be able to:

• Understand and explain the use of GIS for environmental management and monitoring 
• Define the kind of spatial data needed for research/applications related to environmental management
• Understand the steps for the development of (spatial) database and information system for environmental management
• Develop spatial models related to environmental management

The module will help students to be familiar with definition of basic terminologies, services, role of infrastructure in economic development, types of infrastructure, measurement of infrastructure capacity, bases for quantification of demand and supply of various types of infrastructure, Goals and objectives of services and infrastructure planning; Identification and quantification of the casual factors influencing the demand for infrastructure

Having successfully completed the module, students should be able to:

• Know urban infrastructure and services needs and standards over the world in general and in developing countries in particular
• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding in the development and evaluation of spatial interventions that are effectively addressing priority problems in services and infrastructure planning and management in urban areas.
• Use appropriate techniques to analyze, critique, but also make a diagnosis and plan services and infrastructure using GIS and make evaluation of alternative scenarios.
• Collect field data relating to urban services and infrastructure and organize them in a proper way for information extraction.
• Use computer and software in services and infrastructure planning as well as in writing a report and use visual equipment.
• Write a well edited report and communicate orally the results to specialist and non specialist audiences
• Act autonomously in application of knowledge in services and infrastructure planning and management, showing the ability to do extended and self-programmed work, locating information to answer questions, working with little supervision or direction and by working in groups.