The document presents an overview of Natural Resources Management at KNUST, detailing its definition, types, and management strategies for renewable and non-renewable resources. It outlines the curriculum structure, including foundation and specialization courses in areas like agroforestry, fisheries, and forestry. Additionally, it discusses career opportunities and entry requirements for students interested in pursuing this field.

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An Introduction to
BSc. Natural
Resources
Management
at KNUST
By
Eric Kumeh Mensah
Year 4, Agroforestry
FRNR-CANR
KNUST

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Presentation Outline
 Introduction
 Definition
 Types of Natural Resources
 Renewable Natural Resource Management
 Foundation Courses (1st and 2nd years)
 Specialization (3rd and final years)
 Agroforestry
 Fisheries and Watershed Management
 Forestry and Silviculture
 Wildlife and Range Management
 Wood Science and Technology

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Presentation Outline
 Staff
 Opportunities after reading Nat. Res. Mgt.
 Entry Requirements
 Conclusion

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Introduction
 Natural Resource – a material source of
wealth, such as timber, fresh water, or a
mineral deposit, that occurs in a natural state
and has economic value.
 Management – “To manage is to forecast and
to plan, to organize, to command, to
co-ordinate and to control”
(Henri Fayol, 1916).

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Types of Natural Resources
 Non Renewable Natural Resource – finite
materials that occur in nature and are helpful
in wealth creation but cannot be replenished
by natural means ate the same rates they are
used.
 E.g. Fossil fuel, certain aquifers, minerals.
Cut Diamond

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Types of Natural Resources
 Renewable Natural Resources;
Plants and animals and their
support systems that have the
potential for wealth creation
and can be regenerated over
time by biological
reproduction or other
processes.
 E.g. Timber and Fisheries
Harvesting
of forest
products

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Renewable Natural Resources Mgt.
Renewable Natural Resource Management
The scientific control of life support
systems and their associated plants and
animals for the benefit of man.
A team of foresters
carrying out stock
survey

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First and Second Years
 Foundation Courses
They give you a firm footing to pursue the
applied courses. Most are taught with a few
involving fieldwork and field visits.
 Statistics
 Meteorology and Remote Sensing
 Ecology
 Communication Skills
 Principles of Land Surveying
 Computer and Computer
Applications
 Pathology and Microbiology
 Biological Chemistry

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Foundation Courses (cont’d)
 Literature-in-English
 Genetics
 Technical Communication
 Entomology
 Environmental Physiology …
 Introductory courses in
 Agroforestry (AGF)
 Fisheries & Watershed Mgt. (FSA)
 Forestry and Silviculture (FRM)
 Wildlife & Range Mgt. (WRM)
 Wood Science and Technology (WST)

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Other General Courses
 These are courses that are compulsory in all
departments during the 3rd and final.
They include:
 Environmental Issues in Nat. Res. Mgt.
 Application of Remote Sensing and GIS
 Natural Resource Policy and Legislation
 Experimental Design
 Business Management
 Natural Resources Economics
 Student Project
 Seminars (Presentation of Research Work) …

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Specialization Courses (AGF)
Agroforestry involves the deliberate integration
of trees or other woody perennials, agricultural
crops and/or animals on the same land
management unit in a manner that
ensures, productivity, sustainability and can be
easily adopted.
AGF Courses
 Collaborative resource management
 Agroforestry systems
 Agroforestry multipurpose trees
 Tree nursery establishment
 Integrated agro-aquaculture …

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Specialization Courses (FRM)
Forestry and silviculture involves the cultivation
and management of forest tree.
FRM Courses
 Principles of forest measurement
 Forest product harvesting
 Forest fire management
 Forest plantations
 Urban forestry
 Forest tree improvement
 Plantation silviculture

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Specialization Courses (FSA)
Fisheries and watershed management draws on
fisheries science in order to find ways to
protect fishery resources and catchments so
sustainable exploitation is possible.
FSA courses include:
 Biodiversity and conservation of fisheries of
resources
 Wetland conservation and management
 Fish nutrition
 Fisheries ecology
 Aquaculture engineering
 Fish pathology …

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Specialization Courses (WRM)
Wildlife and range management attempts to
balance the needs of wildlife with the needs of
people using the best available science. It
involves disciplines like game keeping, wildlife
conservation and pest control.
WRM Courses include:
 Range utilization
 Mammalogy
 Range utilization and improvement
 Wildlife survey
 Wildlife utilization
 Domestication and animal improvement

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Specialization Course (WST)
Wood science and technology is the study of
wood as a material that is renewable and of
biological origin, how man uses it and the tools
he utilizes.
WST courses include:
 Wood chemistry
 Wood physics
 Furniture & joinery design & production
 Pulp and paper making
 Timber grading
 Adhesives, finishes and wood
 Wood energy …

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Teaching and Learning NRM
Staff of the Faculty of Renewable Natural
Resources are approachable and provide a good
atmosphere for learning in and outside the
classroom with their open door policy.
A student asking a
question during a
field visit.
A lecture
demonstrating a
technique to students.

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Teaching and Learning NRM
Lecturers give assignments which
helps to improve student research
skills and understanding of subjects
under consideration.
A student
(Eric Kumeh Mensah)
presenting a research
assignment

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Opportunities After Reading NRM
After reading Natural Resources Management, one
has the prospects of working with the following
agencies;
Consultancy Firms
Ministry of Food and Agriculture
Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture
Forestry Commission
Mining Industries
Non-Governmental Agencies
Banks …
There is also the prospect for further studies
in NRM related fields and beyond.

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Entry Requirements
General Science General Agriculture
Biology
General Agriculture
Chemistry
Chemistry
Physics
Physics/Elective Maths
Elective Mathematics
Integrated Science
Core Mathematics
English Language
CUT OFF
EIGHTEEN (18)
OR
Diploma in Natural Resource Management

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Did You Know
 Bamboo can grow up to three feet in a
24 hour period (INBAR, 2012).

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Did You Know
 Electricity-
producing organ
of an electric eel
takes 80% of their
body. It is used
both for defense
against predators
and for stunning
of the prey.

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Did You Know
 One tree can absorb as much carbon in a year
as a car produces while driving 26,000 miles
(Save-a-Tree, 2014).

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Did You Know
 Grasshopper Mouse uses Scorpion Venom
as a “Painkiller”
(Michigan State University, 2013).

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Conclusion
The study of natural resources management is
the way forward to addressing challenges of:
 Depleting renewable natural resources
that support increasing world population;
 Conflicts arising from multiple use of
RNRs;
 Cost and benefits estimation of RNRs; and
 Achieving the much anticipated
environmental revolution.

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Thank
You