Economic activities and natural resources

Economic activities

Economic activities are what people do to earn a living

There are three groups of economic activities:

• Primary economic activities

  • Jobs which involve working directly with the Earth’s rocks, soils and waters

  • Example: Farmers, Fisher, Forestry worker and Miner

• Secondary economic activities

  • Jobs which involve making or manufacturing something

  • Example: Carpenter, Factory worker, Baker and Builder

• Tertiary economic activities

  • Jobs which involve a service that is useful to people

  • Example: Teacher, Garda, Solicitor and Shopkeeper

Natural resources

Natural resources are in things in the natural world which are useful to people

There are two types of natural resources:

Renewable resources

• Can be used over and over again

• If looked after in a sustainable way they will never run out

• Also called infinite sources

• Example: Water

Non-Renewable resources

• Can only be used once

• Will eventually run out

• Also called finite sources

• Example: Oil

The use of natural resources is called exploitation. If they are over-exploited they might not be available in the future. Over-exploitation is unsustainable.

Water: a renewable

Potable water: water that is safe for people and animals to drink

The water cycle

Water is continuously recycled making it a renewable resource. This recycling is called the water cycle. There are 4 main stages:

1. Evaporation

   • Occurs when the sun heats up water in lakes, rivers and seas and turns it into water vapour

2. Condensation

   • The vapour rises into the air. As the air rises it cools and condenses to form clouds. The wind blows the clouds toward land.

3. Precipitation

   • This occurs when so much water has condensed that the air can’t hold it anymore. The clouds get heavy and the water falls back onto the Earth in the form of rain, hail, dew, sleet or snow

4. Run-off

   • This water may go back into the seas, lakes or rivers or it may end up on land. When it falls on the land it will either soak into the soil or become part of the groundwater that plants and animals drink or it may run off into the seas, lakes or rivers so the cycle starts again

Water in Ireland

Irish Water is responsible for the public water supply in Ireland.

Sustainable water exploitation in Ireland

Water is a very important natural resource, so its very important to exploit it sustainably so there’s enough for the future generations

Local water supply example: Limerick City

Water and the sustainable development goals

In 2015 world leaders agreed to work together to make sure that people around the world can live better without damaging the planet. Countries will work together to achieve the Global Goals for Sustainable Development between 2015 and 2030

Irrigation

Some parts of the world experience shortages of rainfall and drought. They use irrigation, the artificial water of the land.

Example: Central Valley, California

Fishing in Ireland

History of fishing in Ireland

Ireland’s waters have great conditions for fishing as Ireland is located next to the continental shelf which means there are shallow waters as well as the fact that there is a lot of plankton, small fish and micro organisms that fish and whales feed on.

Ireland has many fishing ports. Fishing is a very important source of income and employment for many villages and towns.

Over-fishing

Fish are a natural resource. When fish are over exploited it’s called over-fishing, fish are taken from waters faster than they can reproduce.

Reasons for over

• Membership of the EU

  • When Ireland joined the EU they gave up control over their waters. Foreign trawler could now fish in Irish water. This led to more fish being caught.

• Modern technology

  • Improvement in technology such as sonars and radars means more fish can be caught quicker and easier.

  • Increase of trawler size means they can hold more fish and stay out at sea longer

  • Factory ships can process fish meaning they can stay out at sea really really long

• Mesh sizes

  • Small mesh sizes led to small and underdeveloped fish being caught. Which means fish were not were not able to replace their stocks

• Seasons

  • As there was no closed season for fishing, fish could be caught all year round, so fish had no time to replace their stocks

• Quotas

  • Lack of quotas meant that there was no limit to the amount of fish that could be caught

Sustainable exploitation of fish

Many types of fish are endangered because of over-fishing, such as:

• Cod

• Herring

• Haddock

So the Government and EU put a limit to the amount of fish that could be caught. More steps were put in place to, such as:

• Conservation zones

  • In 2003 a conservation box was created outside Ireland south-west coast. Fishing in this area is restricted and strict quotas have been put in place to help fish stocks recover. It’s about 100,000km2.

• Introduction of yearly

• Shortening of fishing seasons

• Ban on catching endangered species

• Increase in mesh size

Farming

Farming is an example of an important primary economic activity. It provides food supply and employment.

5.7% of people are employed in agriculture and 12.3% of Ireland exports are agri-food products

Farms run on as a system of inputs, processes and outputs:

• Inputs

  • Things that need to be put into a farm

  • Examples: Machinery, animals and money

• Processes

  • Tasks done by the farmer on their farm

  • Examples: Milking, ploughing and cutting silage

• Outputs

  • Products that the farmer sell

  • Examples: Milk, vegetables and livestock

Types of farms

• Dairy: Cows for butter, milk, cheese, ect.

• Arable/tillage: Maize, wheat, barley, ect.

• Horticulture: Vegetables, flowers, flowers, fruits, salad

• Pastoral: grazing sheep or cattle

• Livestock: cattle, sheep, pigs, horse

• Mixed: livestock, crops, vegetables

Impact on the environment

Farming is essential but can result in damage to the environment

• Insect sprays can end up in food and kill of too many insects

• Fertilisers can run-off into streams and rivers

• The illegal dumping of silage, slurry and milk can pollute rivers and kill fish

Sustainable agriculture

Ireland is a member of the Eu’s Common Agriculture Policy (CAP). The main aims of the CAP are:

1. Provide income to farmers

2. Ensure guaranteed market prices in the EU

3. Provide rural development programmes

4. Supply the Europe with quality

In 2013 the CAP decided to focus on ‘Greening’. Farmers are rewarded for being more sustainable.

1. Diversifying crops

2. Farmers must keep permanent grassland

3. Farmers must protect water sources on land

Forestry

The forestry industry employs 12,000 people. Wood is an important natural resource.

Types of Irish forest

Deciduous

Consists of trees that lose their leaves in winter:

• Beech

• Birch

• Oak

• Ash

• Ect.

Coniferous

Consists of evergreen trees:

• Spruce

• Pine

• Ect.

Ireland forest

Ireland has the lowest forest cover of all European countries:

• 10.7% in 2016

Impact of deforestation on the global climate

• Trees absorb Co²

  • Green house gas => global warming

• Trees release O²

• $$More trees less Co²

Reforestation in Ireland

Some places in Ireland are unsuitable for agriculture, so they are used for forestry

Coillte is a semi-state body and offers grants for farmers to plant more trees