A brief introduction to Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD) principles and the social, economic and political context in which they have arisen, and in which they are implemented. A non-mathematical introduction to developing methods and techniques (tools) being used by regional and corporate environmental managers to implement ESD principles in organisations and regions. These tools include a range of material accounting techniques that can be applied at a product level (Life Cycle Assessment), to a corporate and regional level (Materials Flux Analysis), to a regional and national level (Total Material Requirement, Ecological Footprints, Material Inputs per Service Unit). Physical indicators of the State of the Environment at these levels will be introduced. A comparison will be made with the use of economic indices, such as GDP and current account deficit, used in the National Accounts to control the state of the economy.

THIS COURSE WILL NOT BE OFFERED IN 2007