Following the presentation of a one week UNESCO-sponsored roving course for Africa on 'Geological Parameters for Environmental Protection' in Windhoek (Namibia) in January 1999, Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) in January 2000 and Cairo (Egypt) in January 2001, a three day version of the course was presented by Dr. Mike Heath, University of Exeter, at the Centre for International Postgraduate Studies of Environmental Management (CIPSEM), Technical University of Dresden (Germany), between 19th and 21st February 2001.

The course, which was originally developed for engineers, scientists, managers and technical staff working in mining, water supply and natural resource development and environmental protection in anglophone countries of Africa, formed part of the 24th annual International Postgraduate Programme on Environmental Management for Developing Countries sponsored by UNEP, UNESCO and Bundesumweltministerium (BMU), the German Federal Environment Ministry, and was made possible through the kind cooperation of the programme director, Dr. Heiner Kluge. This year, 21 participants have enrolled for the programme, providing 21 participants from 20 different developing countries for Geological Parameters for Environmental Protection. The course was presented as a series of lectures over a three day period and included a field excursion on the afternoon of Monday 19th February 2001 focusing on a landfill and recycling plant at the village of Grobern, near Meissen.

Environmental management is one of the key requirements of sustainable development, but the pressing need for exploitation of indigenous natural resources places great pressure on the environment in many developing countries. This course aims to provide an understanding of the geological, hydrogeological and geochemical bases for successful environmental management, with particular reference to water resources, mining, oil and gas development, waste disposal and the management of contaminated land. Each element of the course is planned to provide sufficient depth of knowledge to leave participants with an appreciation of the subject in a way that will continue to serve them throughout their professional lives.

The course was supported by UNESCO's Division of Earth Sciences under the supervision of Fernando L. Repetto in Paris.
 

Geological Parameters for Environmental Protection - Course Content

(1) Environmental Geology

• introductory overview
• rationale

• surface water
• groundwater

• geochemical processes
• geochemical behaviour of key substances

• hazards and risks
• sources of pollution
• pathways through the geosphere
• targets and impacts
• interactions

• environmental impact assessment
• environmental audits

• water resources
• mining
• oil and gas
• waste disposal
• contaminated land

(8) Geological framework for environmental management systems