Master of Science degree in Land and Water Resources Management

Programme Overview

The programme aims to develop sound conceptual, technical, analytical and practical skills required for land resources assessment; land use planning and management and water resources management and development planning in dry areas in the face of climate change.

Entry Requirements

To be eligible for the programme, a candidate must normally be a holder of at least a lower second class (2.2) honours degree in Land and Water Resources Management, Environmental Sciences, Irrigation Management or any other related disciplines from a recognised university.

PROGRAMME STRUCTURE

The degree programme shall have 12 taught modules spread over the three teaching semesters.

Level 1 Semester 1

Code Description Credit

MLWRM 701 Soils and Soil surveys 18

MLWRM 702 Remote Sensing and GIS Principles 18

MLWRM 703 Environmental Water Quality 18

MLWRM 704 Climate Change and Variability    18

MLWR 705 Integrated Research Methods 18

Level 1 Semester 2

MLWR 706 Land Evaluation 18

MLWR 707 Irrigation Planning and Evaluation 18

MLWR 707 Irrigation Planning and Evaluation 18

MLWR 708 Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) 18

MLWR 709 Land and Agrarian Reform 18

Level 2 Semester 1

MLWR 710 Land Use Models and Development Planning 18

MLWR 711 Water Resources Assessment and Modelling 18

MLWR 712 Soil and Water Conservation 18

MLWR713 Field Survey 18

Level 2 Semester 2

MLWR 800 Dissertation 90

MLWRM 801 Seminars 18

 

PROGRAMME SYNOPSES

MLWR 701 Soils and Soil Survey

Soil formation; Soils of tropical environments; soil classification; soil catena; Zimbabwe soil classification system; USDA soil taxonomy; FAO Soil classification; other international soil classification systems; Soil properties; morphological, physical, chemical and biological; clay mineralogy; Pedological description of soils; soil survey and soil maps; Methods of soil surveys; Planning soil surveys; types of soil surveys; scales; accuracy; cost and returns; Strengths and weaknesses of soil surveys; case study.

MLWR 702 Remote Sensing and GIS

Principles; definitions and concepts; types of remote sensing imagery; Electromagnetic spectrum; Properties of Remote sensing imagery; Remote sensing systems; Interpretation of Remote sensing imagery; Vegetation and remote sensing; Energy interaction; digital image analysis; visual image analysis; Applications; GIS processes and application; GIS Database management; GIS GPS Application; GIS mapping; GIS and Remote sensing interactions.

MLWR 703 Environmental Water Quality

Principles and Procedures; Water law; Water flow and solutes; Water ecosystems; Water quality monitoring; bio monitoring; Water physical-chemistry; ecotoxicology; Ecological indicators and indices; Water resource protection.

MLWR 704 Climate Change and Variability

Principles; definitions; concepts; climate change and variability both temporal and spatially; climate variability and changes in relation to natural resources and agroecosystems management; vulnerability and adaptations to climate change and variability.

MLWR 705 Integrated Research Methods

Principles and procedures; concepts; Integrated research methodologies and techniques (both qualitative and quantitative) in natural resources assessment and management; Applied statistics in natural resources management. Biophysical resource and social survey methods; including participatory appraisal methods; Communication of research findings to influence policy.

MLWR 706 Land Evaluation

Planning environment; Principles and procedures; definitions and concepts; purpose of land evaluation; Types of land evaluation; Systems of land evaluation and their applications; Requirements of major kinds of land use; Productive potential of land; Problems of Land evaluation systems; Case study.

MLWR 707 Irrigation Planning and Evaluation

Definition and concepts; Irrigation project planning and public policy; Project appraisal; monitoring and evaluation; analytical techniques in project appraisal; Social cost-benefit analysis; Environmental impact analysis; Human health and irrigation projects.

MLWR 708 Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA)

Concepts of environmental assessment (EA) and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), Benefits of EA and EIA; Timing, Scope and compositions; Role of EIA in local development projects; Valuing environmental services and impacts; Principles and procedures in EIA; EIA in Zimbabwe; Socio-economic Impact assessment; Ecological Impact Assessment; Impact monitoring and auditing; Impact mitigation and management; Case study

MLWR 709 Land and Agrarian Reform

Historical background; land husbandry and land tenure laws; land ownership and land productivity; land reform and land redistribution; trends in land reform; agrarian change; trends in tillage system; evolution of crop and livestock cultures; crop and livestock breeding institutions; land reform and rural development; technological challenges and advancements; local and regional constraints.

MLWR 710 Land Use Models and Development Planning

Agriculture policy in Zimbabwe; Land use planning; principles and procedures; guidelines for land use planning; Land use planning in Zimbabwe; Land use planning in the SADCC Region; Surveys and analyses; Participatory Planning processes; Planning for development; Project cycle and management; Farming systems approaches; Risk analysis in dry-land farming systems; Agroforestry, Concepts of community involvement and participation; Self-Help promotion; PRA, Conflict management; Village land use planning; national and Regional land use planning; Farm planning; Resettlement Planning; Case study.

MLWR 711 Water Resources Assessment and Modelling

Principles, concepts, methods, approaches and strategies; Sources of water, Rainfall intensity, groundwater/surface runoff relationships; Rainfall/runoff relationships; Hydrograph analysis; Flood routing; Computer-based simulation models; Model selection for water resources management; Model parameterization; Floods and flood management.

MLWR 712 Soil and Water Conservation

Principles, concepts, methods, approaches and strategies. State of soil and water conservation in the SADC. Erosion assessment experimentation and modelling; Field methods, Physical models, Empirical models Wind studies, Conservation schemes, Case study

MLWR713 Field Survey Synopses

Students will embark on a field visit trip and carry out a field survey on a selected theme of study. a survey report and presentation will be the mode of assessment for the module.

MLWR 800 Dissertation

Students are required to identify a research topic, develop a research proposal, design instruments for data collection, engage in research work, and write a dissertation under the guidance of supervisors. Both internal and external examiners will evaluate the dissertation.

MLWR 801 Seminars

It is compulsory for students to attend all seminars as required.