Unit 3 Area of Study 2 requires students to examine a selected environmental science case study from an Earth systems perspective. The case study is a central organising element for exploring sustainability principles, stakeholder decision-making and environmental management.
The case study approach in VCE Environmental Science enables students to:
- Apply abstract sustainability principles to real-world environmental challenges
- Investigate the interactions between human activities and Earth’s four interrelated systems
- Evaluate the effectiveness of management strategies against sustainability criteria
- Understand the complexity of environmental decision-making involving multiple stakeholders
All case studies must be analysed through the lens of Earth’s four systems:
| System | Description | Examples of Impacts |
|---|---|---|
| Atmosphere | Layer of gases surrounding Earth | Air quality, greenhouse gas emissions, climate regulation |
| Biosphere | All living organisms and their habitats | Loss of species, habitat degradation, altered food webs |
| Hydrosphere | All water (oceans, rivers, groundwater, ice) | Water quality, altered hydrology, contamination |
| Lithosphere | Earth’s solid outer shell including soils | Soil degradation, erosion, land-use change |
A key insight is that these systems are interconnected — impacts in one system cascade to others.
A well-structured case study overview addresses:
1. The environmental challenge: What problem is being addressed? What are its causes?
2. The management aim: What outcomes are the strategies designed to achieve?
3. Proposed strategies: What specific actions are proposed or implemented?
4. Systems perspective: How does the challenge affect each of the four Earth systems?
5. Stakeholders: Who is affected, who has decision-making power, and what are their values?
While any relevant environmental challenge can be selected, common themes include:
- Water management (e.g. Murray-Darling Basin Plan)
- Coastal development (e.g. Port Phillip Bay, Great Barrier Reef)
- Forest management (e.g. East Gippsland old-growth forests)
- Urban expansion (e.g. Melbourne’s urban growth boundary)
- Mining (e.g. coal mining rehabilitation; sand extraction from coastal dunes)
- Agriculture (e.g. nutrient runoff into waterways, land clearing)
Students must clearly connect:
- The aim: the overarching environmental objective (e.g. ‘restore water flow in the Coorong’)
- The strategy: specific actions to achieve the aim (e.g. ‘reduce water extraction by irrigators through water licence buybacks’)
Multiple strategies usually operate simultaneously, addressing different aspects of the environmental challenge.
STUDY HINT: When learning your case study, create a table mapping each strategy to the Earth system(s) it affects, the sustainability principle it upholds or compromises, and the stakeholder perspective it reflects. This structure will serve you well in the exam.
