GCSE Geography: Challenge of Resource management

What is economic wellbeing?

a person's or family's standard of living based primarily on how well they are doing financially

What is social wellbeing?

the level of harmony and progress in a country, including health and income, migrant and refugee populations, public services and facilities, gender and cultural diversity

What is the significance of food in social and economic wellbeing?

Too little food can impact social wellbeing including stunted growth and heart problems.

Too much food can cause obesity, more common in HICs.

What is the significance of water in social and economic wellbeing?

The three main uses of water are


1. agriculture
2. industry
3. domestic.

==In the UK, 75% of water is used by industry.==

What is the significance of energy in social and economic wellbeing?

Energy heats homes, powers transport and is used to process food and manafacture goods

What is the difference between malnourished and undernourished, and how many people are?

Undernourished is not having enough calories. 1 billion people are undernourished.

Malnourished is having the right amount of calories, but not eating the right mix of calories, e.g. only eating carbs. 2 billion people are malnourished

Why does the world's population growth lead to global resource inequality?

As the world's population grows, the pressure on the supply on resources becomes greater. The rate of growth means the supply of resources struggles to keep up with demand, and being unable to meet this demand leads to problems caused by the unequal distribution and consumption of these resources.

How does climate affect the potential of an area of the world for food production?

Annual patterns of temperature and precipitation influence how much and when food can be produced.
The most productive areas are those without extreme temperature changes, with predictable patterns and long growing seasons. Climate change means these factors will become less predictable.

What factors influence food demand?

Food demand is driven by increasing population size but also by changing consumption patterns due to economic growth.

Increasing population means globally we will need 69% more calories in 2050 than we needed in 2006.

Economic growth due to the population of the world seen as middle class growing bigger means the demand for higher quality food grows. This follows an increase in disposable income which means people can afford a healthier diet.

How does soil fertility affect the potential of an area of the world for food production and give an example?

Large-scale river valleys with wide flat landscapes and fertile soils have huge food production potential, e.g. Ganges basin in South Africa, but most are already used close to maximum potential and produce vast amounts of food for local and global populations.

How does access to technology affect the potential of an area of the world for food production?

Technology can increase food production yields and allow areas of land to be used more efficiently and sustainably.

What is your water footprint?

A measure of the consumption of water throughout the day, including domestic uses, the water it takes to produce food and energy.

Why is there a global inequality in water supply?

The global supply for freshwater is limited and unequally distributed. As the world's population grows and becomes richer, the demand for water increases and more people have a shortage of water.
Another reason for the imbalance of water supply is due to variations in climate and as climate changes the predicatability of water supplies becomes harder.

What patterns are there in global water usage?

Low and middle income countries use the most water for agriculture compared to high income countries where the most water is used in industry.

Why patterns are there in global energy supply? Give a statistic for global energy inequality.

As NEEs become more industrialised, the demand for energy increases.

The richest 1 billion people consume 50% of the world's energy whereas the poorest 1 billion people consume 4% of the world's energy.

What patterns are there between global supply and consumption?

The majority of HICs are self sufficient, with these larger territories having a larger population of resource distribution to meet their own demand. HICs with a higher population have a larger consumption, whereas LICs have a lower consumption with a lower population. LICs depend on farming as a major income, and supply a high percentage of resources despite not consuming as much. However LICs consume a high percentage of water for agricultural production.

Is the UK self sufficient in food?

Despite the UK's productive farming sector, it is not self-sufficient for food supplies. The UK imports 40% of the total food consumed.

Why does the UK import 40% of its food?

Supermarkets import cheaper food abroad to compete for low prices.
UK climate is unsuitable for production of foods such as cocoa and bananas.
Demand for seasonal produce all year round, such as strawberries.
A demand for a greater choice of foods and more exotic foods, which may have been due to migration.

What problems are there with UK importing 40% of its food?

Carbon footprint- transport used to import food into the UK adds over 19 million tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere every year

The UK being too dependent on imports- there could be a major food shortage if there is a problem in the supplying country, e.g. a shortage of grains from Ukraine during the war

How has the increase in demand for non-seasonal products had an impact on LICs (positive impacts for economy and costs on farmers)

UK imports out-of-season, exotic and cheaper food from places such as Kenya. This means land previously used to produce food for local people is used to produce high-value food for people in the UK that contribute more income to the local economy. Jobs are created in farming, packaging and transport, supplying wages for local people. Taxes from these wages fund facilities for the country such as schools and hospitals.

But an increase in demand causes costs for the Kenyan farmers:term-18
Kenyan farmers are paid very little.
Less land is available for locals to grow food to eat.
Agriculture uses huge amounts of water, leaving even less for sanitation when supply was already poor.

What are food miles?

The distance food travels from producer to consumer

What is organic farming?

Food produced without the use of chemicals such as pesticides and fertilisers.

What are some methods of organic farming?

Methods of organic farming include:
Using natural predators and mechanical weeding instead of pesticides and weed killers.
Crop rotation to maintain the fertility of the soil, and using natural fertilisers such as compost to avoid using harmful fertilisers.
Farming animals without the use of antibiotics and hormones to increase growth.

How does organic farming reduce the challenges of importing foods?

It is a much more sustainable method, focused on protecting wildlife and the environment. There is a trend towards healthy eating and being environmentally responsible. Organic food meets the demand for pure, healthy food, but it is expensive due to low yields, but people are prepared to pay extra for organic foods for the reduced impact on the environment.

What is agribusiness?

Application of business skills to agriculture.

What are some methods in agribusiness?

It treats food production like an industrial, large scale, capital-intensive business. It focuses on having the biggest yield with the lowest costs through:
Increasing field sizes by removing hedgerows and buying up smaller farms
Using the latest technology and best seeds
Using huge amounts of chemicals such as pesticides and fertilisers
Using modern production methods and mechanisations

How does agribusiness reduce the challenges of importing foods? Does it come with costs?

It reduces the need to import food with huge advantages in food production, giving the UK more food security and cheaper prices for customers.

However, this comes at massive cost to the environment and jobs in agriculture. Many farmers have been forced out of business, leading to a decline in local food production as bigger companies have more power.

What are the alternatives to eating importing food?

Eating seasonal produce grown in the UK.
Limiting imported foods to only those that cannot be grown in the UK.
Eating locally produced food to reduce the amount of food miles and subsequently carbon emissions.
Growing food at home or in an allotment.

What is water deficit?

Where demand exceeds supply

What is water surplus?

Where supply exceeds demand

What is water stress?

Long term shortage of water, area undergoing serious water deficit

Why is UK water demand increasing?

People are wealthier so use more water intensive machines e.g. dishwashers and washing machines
Changes in personal hygiene, people use showers and baths a lot more often.
Demand for out-of-season food requires additional watering in greenhouses.
Increased industrial production.

Give a statistic to describe the increase in UK demand for water

The amount of water used by the average household in the UK has increased by 70% since 1985.

Where are the areas of water surplus and deficit in the UK?

More rainfall in the North and West, whereas higher population in the South East. This means North and West are water surplus, whereas South east is water deficit. 1/3 of the UK's population live in the South East.

Why do the North and West of the UK recieve more rainfall?

Prevailing wind in the UK is South West, bringing moist air absorbed from the atlantic ocean. The wet air condenses over the highland North and West areas, that recieve more rainfall.

What is a transfer scheme and why are they needed?

Transporting water from resevoirs in areas of surplus to areas with deficit. They attempt to solve water shortages due to uneven distributions of rainfall and uneven population densities.

Why might water transfer schemes be concerning?

Massive costs of building infrastructure.
Impact on the environment of the river basin in the source area, large scale environmental disruption, potential droughts in river source basins caused by removal of water to other areas.
Displacement of local communities.
Increased carbon emissions linked to pumping water over long distances.

What are the causes of water pollution?

Chemicals from pesticides and fertilisers run off from farming land into rivers after rainfall.
Sewage containing bacteria and untreated waste from industries can be pumped into rivers and the sea.
Runoff from roads and motorways, e.g. oil, heavy metals.
Hot water used in industry may be pumped into rivers.
Rubbish items that have been dumped.
Pollution such as oil from ships can end up in coastal waters.

What are the impacts of water pollution?

Toxic waste can poison wildlife and the supply of drinking water.
Pesticides can kill vital parts of the ecoystem.
Increased fertilisers can increase nutrients in water, speeding up the growth of algae and leading to eutrophication.
Fishermen who depend on a clean water supply may suffer.
Microbacteria in the sewage can cause the spread of infectious diseases in aquatic life, animals and humans.

What are strategies to manage pollution?

Legislation- Strict laws to limit factories in type of discharge they put into rivers.
Education campaigns- Inform public about damage caused and advise them to dispose correctly.
Waste water treatments- Water treatment plants remove suspended solids, e.g. bacteria, algae, chamicals, to produce clean water for human consumption.
Building better treatment plants- Investing in new infrastructure for better seweres and water mains can prevent spills and accidents, but can also lead to higher water and sewage bills to pay for the investment.
Polllution traps- Beds are installed when roads are built close to rivers to catch and filter out the pollution,
Green roofs and walls- Filter out pollutants naturally in rainwater, sustainable water management, reduces risk of flooding by reducing runoff from the roof.

How is demand for energy changing in the UK?

Energy demand has fallen despite an increase in population. Average household uses 12% less energy.

Why has the energy consumption fallen?

Better insulation. Low energy applicances.
Deindustrialisation.Increasing awareness.
Own ways of producing energy, e.g. solar panels.

What does the term energy mix mean?

The different sources of energy used by households, industry and other commercial users. In the UK, we use fossil fuels, renewable sources and nuclear energy.

Describe fossil fuels as an energy source in the UK.

Fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas) are used to provide heat or produce electricity. They are non-renewable. They can be used to power vehicles and machinery and generate electricity in power stations.

Describe renewable energy sources in the UK.

Renewable energy sources include sun, wind, waves, hydroelectric power and geothermal heat created underground. Methane produce in landfill sites is also burnt to generate electricity from vegetation. They are renewable because they will not run out and they are non-polluting. However they're expensive, return small amounts of energy, and take up lots of land.

Describe nuclear energy sources in the UK.

Nuclear energy uses uranium to produce heat in a nuclear reactor. The heat is then used to drive a turbine to make electricity. It is not a fossil fuel, but is considered non-renewable as the supplies of uranium are finite.

Describe how the UK's reliance on fossil fuels has changed over time using statistics.

In 1970, the 47% of the UK's energy was coal, but the use of coal has dramatically declined to 1%. Coal mines ran out of profitable coal, and proposed new mines are facing opposition on environmental grounds.

In 2008, UK was the biggest producer of coal and gas, but this has decreased from 68 milion m3 to 35 million m3 (metres cubed).

The supply of gas has almost halved due to a movement towards renewable resources.

A increase in the production of oil is because there has been an increase in the transport sector, from 10 million cars on the road to over 27 million, and oil is used for transport fuel.

Describe how the UK's reliance on renewable sources has changed over time using statistics.

There has been a large increase in the use of renewable wind and solar resources, from very little to 28%.

Explain the UK's reliance towards imported fossil fuels?

The UK had large reserves of oil and gas, but a reduction in these reserves and in the production of coal has led to an increasing reliance on imported fossil fuels. The UK's last coal mine closed in 2015. To reduce reliance on imported fuels and co2 emissions, the UK government is encouraging investment in renewable energy sources.

Trade deals, global relationships and international policies can effect production and the mix of energy sources used. e.g. in 2011, coal-powered stations worked to full capacity, knowing they were to be closed down soon due to EU regulations on emissions.

What are the economic and environmental issues of coal production?

Waste heaps from coal mining can create visual pollution.
Opencast coal mines creat dust and noise, disturb local people and wildlife, and use huge areas of land.
Remaining supplies of coal are in hard-to-access areas deep underground which are expensive to mine. Access roads to sources destroy wildlife habitats.
Coal must be imported with the UK's last coal mine closed in 2015, presenting economic challenges. Miners suffer from diseases, increasing costs for the health service.

What are the economic and environmental issues of oil and gas production?

Costs of climate change, e.g. increased flooding requires more flood defences, emissions cause respiratory diseases which increase health service costs.
Risk of oil spills that are expensive to clean up.
Access roads to sources destroy wildlife habitats.
Gas and oil extraction can lead to large areas of land being destroyed for pipelines to transfer to the power stations.

What are the economic and environmental issues of nuclear energy production?

Huge economic costs of building nuclear power stations.
Expensive to transport and store nuclear waste.
Waste from nuclear power stations must be stored safely to avoid contamination and environmental issues.
If a nuclear accident occurs, radiation is released into the atmosphere which can have a long-term impact on wildlife.

What are the economic and environmental issues of renewable energy production?

High set-up costs such as wind turbines, solar farms, and power stations.
Wind turbines' on visual environment can impact tourism, many people don't consider them visually appealing.
Turbines are noisy and can disturb people and wildlife living nearby.

What is fracking and how does it work?

Hydraulic fracturing extracts gas locked in rocks deep below the Earth's surface. A hole is drilled deep into the rock, and a mixture of sand, water and chemicals are injected into it at high pressure, which splits the rock and releases the ga.

What are the economic and environmental issues of fracking?

Pollution of ground water, which can lead to contamination of drinking water with hydraulic fracturing fluids.
Requires use of large quantities of freshwater.

What percentage of the earth's water is freshwater?

2.5%

What are the uses of freshwater? What percentage of global water consumption are these uses?

Domestic use (6%)
-showers, flushing toilets, drinking, dishwashers, washing machines

Agricultural use (69%)
-drinking water for livestock, irrigating crops

Industrial use (20%)
- production of products in factories, heating and cooling

Energy use
- generation of hydroelectric power and providing cooling water in thermal power

What is water security?

Having access to enough clean water to sustain well-being, good health and economic development

What is water insecurity?

Not having enough clean water, caused by water insufficiency or poor water quality

Describe water surplus areas

Areas located in temperate and tropical wet areas with high rainfall and lower populations, e.g. the Amazon Basin/

Describe water deficit areas

Areas with low precipitation, high evaporation rates or high populations.

What is economic water scarcity?

What factors affect water availability?

Limited infrastructure- Poor countries may lack the infrastructure needed for transporting water to areas of need.

Poverty- Many poor communities don't have access to mains water or can only access shared water supplies.

Climate- Areas with low rainfall, low groundwater supplies and few lakes and rivers have less water available, which means most water must be expensively desalinated from the ocean. Areas with high rainfall usually have water surplus.

Pollution- Discharge of raw sewage, chemicals dumped from factories, agricultural run offs and littering pollute freshwater sources. In some LICs and NEEs, water sources are used as open sewers, leading to waterborne diseases such as cholera.

Geology- If the rock is permeable, then freshwater can be easily stored as groundwater.

Over abstraction- This is when water is used more quickly than it is replaced by rainfall.

What are the impacts of water insecurity on waterborne disease and pollution?

In countries where water supply is limited, there may be open sewers and high levels of pollution in rivers. 2.6 billion people lack access to sanitation. Poor water quality can lead to waterborne disease, which limits supplies of water. Drinking water contaminated by water parisites can cause life-threatening waterborne diseases such as cholera. There are over 3 million cases of cholera every year.

What are the impacts of water insecurity on food production?

Commercial agriculture is heavily reliant on a reliable water supply, needed to increase crop yields and water plants during drier seasons. Livestock quality may also decline without sufficient water for them to drink. Water shortages can threaten this and contribute to food insecurity. 1/3 of food production occurs where water is becoming scarce. Agriculture uses 70% of global water supply and suffers the most from water insecurity.

What are the impacts of water insecurity on industrial output?

Water is used heavily in manafacturing industries, and for Hydroelectric Power generation. Power stations use 20% of China's water. As water supplies become scarce, economic output will go down, with prices of water rising, reducing sales and affecting the profitability of economic activities.

What are the impacts of water insecurity on potential for conflict where demand exceeds supply?

Water conflicts can occur between countries that share a water source that crosses national and political borders, e.g. a river, sea, or groundwater basin. For example, the river Nile flows through several countries, risking conflict for the countries where water supply does not meet demand.

What are statistics and key knowledge about the impacts of water insecurity on the River Ganges?

Flows through North India and Bangladesh. it is polluted with both human and industrial waste. Major polluting industry is leather industry where toxic chemicals leak into the river. Nearly 1 billion litres of untreated raw sewage enter the river every day. Health risks are increased, it is dangerous to drink or bathe in the Ganges.

Explain how the impacts on water insecurity in the River Ganges affect people/economy/environment.

Untreated wastewater is used for irrigation and stunts the growth of crops. This would lead to farmers using more fertilisers, which would run off and further pollute the water, causing a dangerous cycle.

Damages health, more money therefore is spent on healthcare than on sanitation or infrastructure to treat water and solve the problem.

How can water supplies be increased by diverting supplies and increasing storage?

Moving areas with water surplus to areas with water deficit through water transfer schemes. Water can be moved by pipelines, taking water from one river basin to another, e.g. from mountains with heavy rainfall to large urban populations.

In some areas, surface water or groundwater evaporates rapidly and is lost. This water can be stored in resevoirs or in permeable rocks (aquifers) underground, stored for use in drier periods.

e.g. in Oklahoma, rainfall is infrequent but heavy. So, it is diverted by a water transfer scheme into underlying soils with good water-holding capacity where it can be stored.

What are the negatives of water transfer schemes?

Expensive.
Environmental impacts in water surplus region- damaged fish stocks from reduced supply of water and increased pollution from transport.

How can water supplies be increased by dams and resevoirs?

Dams control water flow by storing it in resevoirs. The dams block rivers and cause the water carried by rivers to back up and flood the valley behind a dam, creating a resevoir.

Rainfall can be collected and stored when it is plentiful and released gradually during drier periods. The control of water flow prevents flooding, and the water can be used to produce Hydroelectric Power. Dams generate 16% of the world's electricity.

What are the negatives of dams and resevoirs?

Require vast financial resources, expensive.
Displacement of huge numbers of people where valleys are drowned.
Valley ecosystems are destroyed by flooding.
Resevoirs with large surface area lose a lot of water through evaporation.

How can water supplies be increased by desalination?

Desalination is the removal of salt and minerals from seawater to produce freshwater suitable for consumption and irrigation. It requires vast amounts of energy and is only used when there is a serious shortage of water.

What are the negatives of desalination?

It requires vast amounts of energy, which is expensive and adding to carbon emissions.
Only wealthy countries can afford the expensive technology needed for the process.
Environmental impacts on ecosystems when salt waste is dumped back into sea.
High costs of transporting desalinated water to inland areas.

What is the Lesotho Water Project?

A large scale water transfer scheme aimed to solve the water shortage in South Africa.

Lesotho has water surplus. The mountains recieve high rainfall and the demand foe water is low.

It involves the construction of dams, resevoirs and pipelines. It will take 30 years to complete.
By 2020 there will be 2000 million m3 of water transferred to South Africa every year.

What are advantages of the Lesotho Water project for Lesotho, the area of water surplus?

Provides 75% of its GDP, improving standard of living.

Sanitation will increase from 15% to 20%.

Improvements to infrastructure with access roads built to construction sites.

Dam is sufficient to supply Lesotho with all Hydroelectric Power requirements.

What are disadvantages of the Lesotho Water project for Lesotho, the area of water surplus?

Construction of the Polihali Dam will displace 17 villages.

Destruction of valuable wetland ecosystem due to flooding in construction of the dams.

What are advantages of the Lesotho Water project for South Africa, the area of water deficit?

Supplies water to an area with regular droughts, restoring the water shortage in South Africa.

Freshwater reduces acidity of resevoir that was polluted from industry and sewage.

Provides freshwater to 10% of the population that didn't previously have access to a freshwater supply.

What are disadvantages of the Lesotho Water project for South Africa, the area of water deficit?

Very epensive, costs will reach 4 Billion US dollars.

40% of the water is lost through leakages.

Increased water tariffs are too high for the poorest people to pay.

What is water conservation?

Maintaining a balance between consumption and supply.
Meeting present and future water demand as water demand will inevitably rise.
Protecting the environment from pollution and ensuring water remains of a good quality.
Storing water for drier periods in our changing climate.

What is groundwater management? Explain the strategies used.

Aims to ensure that groundwater supplies do not become stressed by overuse and pollution. Groundwater can be managed by:

Preventing contamination of groundwater which causes the water supply to not be drinkable.

Limiting use of groundwater. Excess pumping of groundwater exhausts the resource.

Reducing domestic use, e.g. showers, only using dishwashers when they are fully loaded, minimising water footprints.

Stopping leakages. 20% of England and Wales water supply are lost through leaking pipes.

Improving irrigation practices. Drip irrigation is much more water efficient than spray irrigation, where most water is lost through evaporation and only a small proportion reaches the crop's roots.

Controlling pollution. Too many factories discharge liquid wastes into streams and rivers. Agricultural chemicals also enter watercourses by runoff.

How can recycling water help increase water supply?

Recycled water is sewage water that has been treated to remove solids and impurities. It can be used:

- To irrigate crops
- To meet industrial needs
- For drinking
- To top up rivers where stream flow is low
- To top up groundwater aquifers

It is more sustainable than discharging treated sewage water into the sea.

How can grey water help increase water supply? Give 2 disadvantages of grey water.

Grey water is used water from sinks, showers, baths and washing machines. It may contain traces of dirt, grease, and cleaning products, but it can be collected and reused. Once processed, the water can be used to water the garden or flush the toilet, or be safely returned to groundwater.

Disadvantages:
- Expensive
- Quality of water declines as bacteria levels rise if left too long in a storage tank

Describe ways to conserve water at home.

Dual flush toilets (67% less water than normal flush toilets)
Rain water harvesting
Push taps to prevent water being left running
High-efficiency clothes washers
Low-flow shower heads

Why is a sustainable water scheme needed in the LIC Hitosa, Ethiopia?

Hitosa is a rural area in Ethiopia, Africa. It is one of the poorest countries in the world, where plains are hot and very dry. Local people shared one spring and seasonal rivers to collect water prior to the scheme. Modern technology was not accessible to overcome water deficit. LICs have extreme water shortages, 1/6 of the world's population cannot access safe water.

What is the water scheme in Hitosa?

It involves taking water from permanent springs on the slopes of Mount Bada, a mountain with water surplus. Under gravity, the springwater flows through 140km of pipeline to over 100 public tap stands.

What are advantages of the Hitosa Sustainable Water Scheme?

Construction was completed on time and within cost.

The scheme provides 65000 people with 25L water a day. This shows that it continues to provide a reliable supply of water after 20 years since construction.

Project is completely managed by local communities, ensuring job opportunities specifically for the local economy.

People are charged a small amount for the water, making it affordable to the local community. The money is used to maintain the physical infrastructure.

Time spent collecting water from rivers has been vastly reduced, making local people more productive and avoiding health risks from the long walks.

What are disadvantages of the Hitosa Sustainable Water Scheme?

The pipeline may be too costly to replace after its expected lifetime of 30 years.

The scheme did not include any accompanying education about hygiene and sanitation for local people, increasing risk of disease despite access to clean water.

It has been argued that agriculture is using too much of the water. This may lead to a local water conflict.

What is economic water scarcity?

When a country has water, but does not have the economic means to access it or make it safe to drink.