301003 Sustainable Systems Spring 2021
Assessment Task 1: Individual Report
Due: Sunday 5 September 2021 at 11:59 PM via Turnitin on vWUS
As you continue with writing up your assessment task, we know your learning is done through research, critical thinking, reflection and justification. It is therefore very important to give credit to all the work you refer, whether it is a website, online publication or an article published in a journal. Please refer to the Harvard WesternSydU referencing style. Refer the guide from the WSU library website (https://library.westernsydney.edu.au/main/guides/referencing-citation) for intext referencing and citations. Please list all the references you have used at the end of your assignment.
Work should be your original work and plagiarism or copying someone else’s work is an offence and will be duly dealt with according to university guidelines. If you have worked with another student it should be specified. You may discuss ideas with other students, however what you submit as a written submission should be of your own effort and be original.
Go to page 2 for questions…
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Q1. Consider another country (it could be the one you are from and/or different from Australia) and list any three sectors that are affected due to climate change. Briefly discuss and write down the consequences of
climate change in those sectors using appropriate references. (5 marks)
Q2. Write a short summary of the current policies being discussed and implemented globally to tackle
climate change. (5 marks)
Q3. What is the significance of the following topics to understanding sustainable development? Choose
any two. (5 marks) a) Material flow
b) Flow of energy
c) Limits to growth
Q4. Choose a project anywhere in the world and assume an environmental impact assessment was carried out. You are required to evaluate if the EIA was effective or not by highlighting some strengths and weaknesses of the Environmental Impact Assessment process. Please provide all references. (5 marks)
Q5. Prepare a plan to conduct an environmental impact assessment (EIA). (15 marks)
For this task, choose and describe a developmental project*. Assume that this activity is to be planned in a geographical area close to a National Park in the state of New South Wales, Australia. (Provide a map highlighting the location of your project. Also indicate any important, historical, heritage listed places or sensitive environmental areas. You may use any drawings or sketches or photos.)
You are required to highlight the following:
a) What are the goals of the project and how would you decide if a full EIA is required or not?
b) Who would be the stakeholders for this project and how would you include them in the process?
c) Identify the geographical place on the map to monitor baseline conditions. What environmental, economic and social parameters would you measure for baseline conditions and why?
d) What are the potential impacts of the project? And what is the importance of ‘mitigation measures’ and ‘post-auditing’?
e) What main laws, legislation and regulations does this EIA need to comply with and why?
Notes for Q 5*:
• A developmental project can either be a new school, a sanitary landfill, a desalinisation plant, a new train or metro station, solar field for energy production, or a second airport. Selection should not include any existing or planned activities.
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