No application possible for this programme at the moment. For any inquiries, please contact: mls(at)hes-so.ch
This Major provides students with the skills to design and implement integrated and sustainable management of ecosystems and their production on a regional scale.
The environment is now under increasing pressure from human activities. Natural resources are both consumed and degraded, clearly questioning the sustainability of our societies. The Major offered by the Geneva School of Engineering, Architecture and Landscape - HEPIA focuses on the development of collaborative projects in environmental management, conducted in partnership with professionals (managers, SMEs, administrations, NGOs).
Objectives
The objectives of this Major «Natural Resource Management» are to provide the students with the following skills:
- Designing projects related to conservation or management of ecosystems. The learning module is conducted through the development and the planning of several interdisciplinary and participatory projects, conducted at the scale of the catchment.
- Characterising ecosystems and their interrelationships. The module includes the functioning of ecosystems, their integration into landscapes, their dynamics of degradation and their dysfunctions.
- Identifying legal framework, stakeholders and conflicts of interest related to the use of natural resources.
- Preserving and/or restoring ecosystems and their functions. The goal is to define the objectives of conservation, exploitation and/or restoration of ecosystems and landscapes, design appropriate measures, plan implementation and develop a monitoring system, at local and regional scale.
Specialization modules
Module | Professor | ECTS | Semester | Location | |
S17 | Ecological assessment: from ecosystems to landscapes | Beat Oertli | 4 | Autumn | Genève |
S18 | Conservation of natural- and agro-ecosystems | Claude Fischer | 4 | Autumn | Genève |
S19 | Conservation in context: Social Sciences tools for conservation | Yves Hausser | 4 | Autumn | Genève |
S20 | Ecosystem restoration (natural, rural or urban environments) | Pierre-André Frossard | 4 | Spring | Genève |
S21 | Sustainable use of the natural resources in agrosystems | Emmanuel Lierdeman | 4 | Spring | Genève |
Master thesis
The Master thesis is divided into three modules. Please follow the links below to access the module descriptions:
Cluster-specific modules
Module descriptions and further information are available on MSLS Community Centre.
Modules | ECTS | Semester | Location | |
E1 | Journal Club Environmental and Natural Resource Sciences | 3 | Autumn | Bern |
E2 | Life Cycle Assessment | 3 | Autumn | Bern |
E3 | Sustainable Natural Resource Management | 3 | Winter School | Zollikofen |
E4 | Ecological Infrastructure in Landscapes | 3 | Winter School | Genève |
E5 | Biodiversity | 3 | Spring | Bern |
E6 | Water Management for Households, Industry and Agriculture | 3 | Spring | Olten |
Professors
Dr Daniel Beguin | |
![]() | Dr Pascal Boivin Professor of Soil Science and Substrates. Soil physics, pedology, saline and sodic soils, irrigation, redox processes in soils, technosols for environmental and urban application. |
![]() | Dr Franck Cattaneo Professor in aquatic ecology. Competences in freshwater ecology (streams and rivers), management and conservation of fish populations, ecological connectivity, environmental flows. |
Nicolas Delabays Professor for the development and implementation of original and efficient agronomic solutions. | |
![]() | Dr Claude Fischer Professor of Zoology and Wildlife Management. Competences in ecology, management and monitoring of wildlife, as well as general & applied ecology. Coordinator of module E4 and of module S18. |
![]() | Pierre-André Frossard Professor in ecological restoration. Competences in restoration of streams and rivers, Bio-engineering, Technical framework and Execution of natural amenities. Coordinator of module S20. |
![]() | Yves Hausser Professor in Sustainable use of resources. Sustainable use of natural resources, management systems focusing on participatory approaches. Coordinator of module S19. |
Ernest Hennig | |
![]() | Dr François Lefort Professor of genetics, plant breeding, phytopathology and microbiological control. Competences in genetics, biological control, phytopathology and biotechnology (in vitro cell culture, molecular diagnostics and profiling) for applications in life sciences. |
![]() | Emmanuel Lierdeman Lecturer for agronomy and forestry: agro-ecology, livestock and pastoralism, agroforestry, complex systems, silvopastoralism, and forestry. Coordinator of module S21. |
![]() | Dr Beat Oertli Professor of Aquatic Sciences. Head of NRM specialization. Competences in ecological assessments, in the monitoring of waterbodies, in freshwater biodiversity. Coordinator of module S17. |
![]() | Patrice Prunier Professor of botanic and plant ecology. Competences in botanic, plant ecology & restoration. |
![]() | Dr Zsolt Vecsernyés Professor of Hydrology. Competences in numerical hydrology and flood routing, numerical and physical modeling of stream hydraulics sediment transport and driftwood management, numerical and physical modeling of inland water hydrodynamics. Urban hydrology and hydraulics. River revitalization. |
Contact
Dr Beat Oertli
Head of the major
Geneva School of Engineering, Architecture and Landscape - HEPIA
4 rue de la Prairie
1202 Geneva
T +41 22 546 68 83
beat.oertli(at)hesge.ch