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Unit of study_
SUST5002: Food and Water Security
2025 unit information
Potentially the greatest challenge facing humanity is how to feed 10 billion people in a hot world. How do we reverse trends which suggest that essential resources are becoming scarce, consumers sicker and traditional systems of food production are breaking down? This is the situation that faces us in the 21 Century. This unit explores the imperatives and challenges of ensuring an adequate supply of safe water and nutritious food in the face of changes in the environment, human population and global markets. Factors influencing trends in supply and demand include environmental degradation, climate change, energy scarcity, technology, changes in population and the patterns of global prosperity, growing urbanisation, and increased consumption. The unit will consider the underlying policy, economic and market-driven forces that play an important role in affecting both supply and demand. The needs of low-, middle- and high-income nations will be compared and the role of international, national and regional mechanisms will be discussed. Placing emphasis on the relevance to Australia, the unit will explore available interdisciplinary and multi-sectoral actions across a range of organisational levels such as communities, governments, NGOs and international agencies.
Unit details and rules
Managing faculty or University school:
Science
| Study level | Postgraduate |
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| Academic unit | Science Faculty |
| Credit points | 6 |
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Prerequisites:
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None |
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Corequisites:
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None |
| Prohibitions:
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None |
| Assumed knowledge:
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None |
At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:
- LO1. Describe the challenges impacting on the ability to secure food and water faced with contemporary issues of environmental change, changing demands of populations and the impact of global markets
- LO2. Compare and contrast multiple information and data sources to distinguish the impact of contemporary resource, population, economic and social issues impacting on water, food and nutrition security
- LO3. Formulate cohesive arguments that demonstrate the challenges faced when securing food, water and nutrition and articulate the connections between the biophysical, economic and social dimensions impacting these contemporary challenges
Unit availability
This section lists the session, attendance modes and locations the unit is available in. There is a unit outline for each of the unit availabilities, which gives you information about the unit including assessment details and a schedule of weekly activities.
The outline is published 2 weeks before the first day of teaching. You can look at previous outlines for a guide to the details of a unit.
| Session | MoA ? | Location | Outline ? |
|---|---|---|---|
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Semester 2 2025
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Normal evening | Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney |
Outline unavailable
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Modes of attendance (MoA)
This refers to the Mode of attendance (MoA) for the unit as it appears when you’re selecting your units in Sydney Student. Find more information about modes of attendance on our website.
Important enrolment information
Additional advice
This unit of study involves essay and blog writing and group work. Academic writing skills equivalent to HSC Advanced English or significant consultation via the Writing Hub is assumed.
