2.2.2 There are many causes of uneven development

List the physical factors that affect development.

• Natural resources

• Natural hazards

• Climate

• Location and terrain

Expand on natural resources (physical factor).

• Access to clean water

• Availability of timber for fuel and construction

• Minerals and metals for trade, energy and manufacturing

• Fuel sources such as coal, oil and natural gas

Some which provides for the local people, but could also be sold to generate income and create job opportunities

Expand on natural hazards (physical factor).

• Risk of earthquake, volcanic eruption, tropical storms, floods which can limit development

• Frequent hazards then cause damage to infrastructure, cause injury, reduce industry and farming (loss of workforce/ job opportunities = loss of income)

• Benefits from volcanic ash and minerals, floodwaters bring rich soil

Expand on climate (physical factor).

Countries that have average rainfall and moderate temperature are able to support their population with fresh produce.

However, countries like Africa face frequent droughts, which limit vegetation therefore not enough food to eat, leading to death and crisis. The country therefore is unable to develop economically or socially.

Extreme climates also allow diseases like Malaria and yellow fever to thrive, making people weak and unable to work, that country is therefore unable to develop economically or socially, leading to uneven development.

Some climates with locations like tropical beaches attracts tourists, boosting the economy.

Expand on location and terrain (physical factor).

Landlocked countries may find importing, exporting and trading difficult as it cost more to travel to the coast but the country must also have good political links with neighbouring countries.

Steep, mountainous and rocky terrain make it hard to build any stable infrastructure and limiting farming, therefore hindering development

However, aesthetic scenery will attract tourist income

List some human factors that affect development

• Political (global links, democracy and trade)

• Culture

• Technology

• Healthcare

Expand on political - global links (human factor).

The more global links one country has, the more likely that country is developed.

It involves developing stable and effective representative governments.​

Most ACs are often members of international groups, for example, the EU and the UN. Meaning that they have stronger connections and the ACs are able to support each other.​

With strong global links, comes with economic development which involves increased employment, income and usually industrial growth​

Without global links, LIDCs and some EDCs struggle to make improvements and developments.​

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Expand on political - democracy (human factor)

Democracy, right to vote​

When there are corrupted government systems, with strong and controlling dictatorship, it means there might be the restricted access to information and encourage acts of violence. Therefore that slows down a country's development​.

With democracy, countries become more stable and any money is diverted in social and healthcare, overall leading to better development.

Expand on political - trade (human factor)

Transnational Corporations are large private companies that operate in multiple countries as well as their origin country, adidas, Apple and McDonald’s. ​

TNCs bring many beneficial effects for host countries, such as investment in infrastructure, generation of employment, and income. ​

If a country is being heavily dependent on TNCs for economic development, it can lead to dependency on foreign investment, if TNCs reduce their international investments or withdraw from the country, leaving the local economy vulnerable. ​

Some examples of unfair trade methods are: the false representation of a good or service, false advertising​

When trade is fair people are able to earn enough money to live and improve their lives. Fair trade happens when countries agree to buy goods at fair prices from companies that pay workers fairly and treat them well. This could lead to stable economics development.

Expand on culture (human factor).

Some cultures have a higher number of parents who believe that school is beneficial to their children more than some others.

As some parents hold the belief that children should be working instead, while some families just have no access to education.

This leads to countries’ illiteracy rates increasing and with less educated people, less likely to get a tertiary or quaternary job like doctors, teachers, engineers, making this cycle worse.

Some cultures and religions reject developments in healthcare, like birth control or vaccinations.

This leads to a growing culture with the lack of trust in medical professions, often leaving them more vulnerable to diseases and so a lower quality of living. Therefore, showing the lack of development.

Expand on technology (human factor).

Accessible transport options like trains and cars are crucial for people to commute to different areas, like to their jobs, to buy essentials, to hospitals, etc.

Without public transport provided by the government, it indicates that the country is less developed and has insufficient funds to invest in them.

Electricity provides easy access to light after dark and heating during colder periods.

Electricity powers shops, businesses, hospitals, etc.

Electricity also connects you to the rest of the rest via communications and the internet. The percentage of population with access to the internet can be a good indicator of how developed the country is.

Expand on healthcare (human factor).

Countries with easy access to sanitation and things like vaccines are more likely to be more developed. As vaccines are able to prevent the risks of any diseases developing at all or spreading any further. This means that the life expectancy will increase and infant and child mortality rates will decrease. This overall indicates a better quality of living and a higher HDI.

Especially, in highly crowded areas within the country, vaccines are extremely important as diseases spread quickly.

Exploitation of natural resources

We often manipulate natural environments in order to extract the resources we need for fuel, for construction and for industry.

It can generate wealth which can be invested in education, to create a skilled workforce, as well as spending money on exploring other countries and colonizing them, in turn, exploiting new raw materials in those places.​

However, as societies undergo industrialization, there will only be an increased demand for raw materials to fuel further for manufacturing, construction, and energy production.

Exploiting resources can lead to damage to the environment and ecosystems. For example, deforestation which cause the loss of habitats and then the extinction of some animal and plant species which could reduce the chance of discovering medicinal plants crucial to certain diseases.

Deforestation also lead to carbon dioxide levels to rise, increasing air pollution and contributing greatly to global warming.

Also, degradation of soil which increase pollution and sediment build-up in streams and rivers, clogging waterways and causing declines in marine species.

These consequences cause a further divide between ACs and LiDCs, as ACs continue to develop while LiDCs suffer from these consequences as they are currently being exploited of their natural resources.

Impact of colonialism on trade

Although countries mostly faced colonialism from the 16th to the 20th century, and later gaining independence. They are still affected by power struggles and civil wars as a legacy of hundreds of years of exploitation.

Colonial powers used the resources of their colonies to grow their own economies, such as gold, diamonds and oil.​

As a result, environmental degradation, economic underdevelopment, systemic racism, poverty and poor social infrastructure, manifested in unequal access to health care, education and social justice, hindering development.

What is aid?

Aid is when a country, organisation or individual provides resources to another country. They include support, goods, services, money, etc.

Short term aid

Short term aid immediate relief from a natural or human induced disaster. Usually involving essentials like food, shelter, search and rescue, bottled water and clean clothing.

Long term aid

Long term aid is sustainable and brings beneficial development to the economy, society or the environment. Involving local communities in education and skills. E.g. digging wells for water is more sustainable than bottled water.

Types of aid

• Official government aid - given directly from one government to another

• Voluntary aid - given by individuals to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) or charities who direct aid

• Bilateral aid - ‘tied aid’ where the receiving country has to give something back (usually illegal)

• Multilateral aid - provided by many countries and organised by an organisation like the United Nations

What is Goat aid and how does it improve development?

Goat Aid involves giving a pair of goats to a community, providing them with manure and milk, making the families self-sufficient.

But they are given particularly to young girls, in order for them to breed the goats and use the milk to produce surplus for sale, benefiting them financially.

The proceeds from the sale of the milk can be reinvested in more goats or fertiliser or clothing , or to pay for school, improving their quality of life, benefiting them socially.

This overall supports agriculture as well as the family that receives it.

Why can goat aid hinder development?

The goats are provided in areas where the local community might already be suffering from water shortages and desertification, so new animals to support may increase the demands for those life essentials.

They are still quite high maintenance as they require proper nourishment, large quantities of water, sheltering and veterinary care. Which could negatively impact the family’s finance and put a bigger burden on them.