Primary Economic Activities 

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\n* Will eventually run out\n* 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\n2. 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.
2. 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\n4. 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\n\n## 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\n\n# Fishing in Ireland\n\n## History of fishing in Ireland\n\nIreland’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.\n\nIreland has many fishing ports$. Fishing is a very important source of$income$and$employment for many villages and towns.\n\n## Over-fishing\n\nFish are a natural resource$. When fish are over exploited it’s called$over-fishing$, fish are taken from waters$faster$than they can$reproduce.\n\n### Reasons for over\n\n* 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.\n* Modern technology
• $Improvement in technology such as$sonars$and$radars$means more fish can be$caught$$quicker$and$easier.\n * 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\n * Small mesh sizes$led to$small$and$underdeveloped$fish being caught. Which means fish were not were not able to$replace their stocks\n* 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\n* Quotas
• $Lack of quotas meant that there was$no limit to the amount of fish that could be caught\n\n## Sustainable exploitation of fish\n\nMany types of fish are endangered because of over-fishing, such as:\n\n* Cod
  • Herring\n* 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:\n\n* 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$100,000km2.\n* Introduction of yearly\n* Shortening$of fishing$seasons
  • $Ban$ on catching endangered species\n* Increase$in$mesh size

Farming\n\nFarming is an example of an important primary economic activity$. It provides$food supply$and$employment.\n\n5\.7% of people are employed in agriculture$and 12.3$agri-food products

$Farms run on as a system of$inputs$,$processes$and$outputs:\n\n* Inputs

• Things that need to be put into a farm\n * ==Examples==: Machinery, animals and money\n* Processes

• Tasks done by the farmer on their farm\n * ==Examples==: Milking, ploughing and cutting silage\n* Outputs

• Products that the farmer sell\n * ==Examples==: Milk, vegetables and livestock\n\n## Types of farms\n\n* Dairy: Cows for butter, milk, cheese, ect.\n* Arable/tillage: Maize, wheat, barley, ect.\n* Horticulture: Vegetables, flowers, flowers, fruits, salad\n* Pastoral: grazing sheep or cattle\n* Livestock: cattle, sheep, pigs, horse\n* Mixed: livestock, crops, vegetables\n\n## Impact on the environment\n\nFarming 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\n * 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