2B.3 Sustainable Solutions to Unequal Development

Question 1

Define sustainable development.

Answer 1

Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Question 2

Define appropriate technology.

Answer 2

Technology that is suited to the skills, wealth and needs of local people.

Question 3

State 3 examples of appropriate technology.

Answer 3

• Labour intensive projects - to tackle high unemployment
• Low cost schemes - affordable to local people
• Local crafts and industries - involving local natural resources

Question 4

List 4 benefits of appropriate technology.

Answer 4

• Helps to conserve the natural environment
• Suited to the skills of the local people
• Uses local resources and renewable energy when possible
• Labour intensive meaning more people are employed

Question 5

Define fair trade.

Answer 5

People who make or grow a product are paid fairly for their work, cutting out the middlemen and ensuring money is invested in environmental protection.

Question 6

Describe how fair trade works.

Answer 6

• Producers get paid directly at fair prices, cutting out the middlemen who would have taken most profit. Producers get up to 40% of the profits instead of 5%.
• Providing co-operatives that provide safe and dignified working conditions.
• Encouraging producers to reinvest profits into their local communities.
• Shifting processing and packing activities to LEDCs to boost their income.
• Publicising human rights violations to consumers.

Question 7

Describe a named place example of a fair trade solution.

Answer 7

Gerado, coffee producer in Costa Rica:
• In the 1980s the price of coffee was so low in Costa Rica that it did not cover the cost of production. Many farmers abandoned the land to get jobs in the city. There was not enough money to improve education and infrastructure.
• Gerado became a member of his village Fair Trade cooperative in 2002, which is a member of the Fair Trade consortium COOCAFE.
• Fair Trade guaranteed a stable income.
• These farms were more environmentally sustainable, by planting more trees and reducing the use of pesticides by 80% in 10 years.
• The local community had enough money to repair the damaged infrastructure following a hurricane in 2005.

Question 8

Define aid.

Answer 8

The giving of resources by one country or organisation to another country, eg. money, expertise, goods.

Question 9

Define short-term aid.

Answer 9

AKA emergency aid, given in response to a particular immediate need, eg after natural disasters like floods and earthquakes.

Question 10

Define long-term aid.

Answer 10

Aid that takes years to be of benefit to a country, involving schemes designed to improve healthcare, education or infrastructure.

Question 11

State 3 reasons why some LEDCs need aid.

Answer 11

• To cancel their huge trade deficits.
• To improve their standard of living.
• To repair damage caused by natural disasters.

Question 12

State 3 reasons why MEDCs may donate aid.

Answer 12

• Political decision - to support allies.
• Economic reason - to maintain a strong link to a potential large market.
• Moral obligation.

Question 13

Describe BILATERAL aid.

Answer 13

Aid given directly from one government to another. EG. The UK government spends £3.5billion per year on bilateral aid projects, such as Pakistan (£1.4bn) and Ethiopia (£1.3bn).
+ Can foster strong links between donor and recipient countries.
- Large schemes use up land belonging to local people.
- Can lead to debt if LEDCs can’t afford to pay loans.
- Can encourage corruption.

Question 14

Describe TIED aid.

Answer 14

Aid given with ‘strings attached’. The donor country specifies what aid should be spent on. EG. A country might give £20million in aid but specify that the money must be used for building hospitals, schools and roads using companies based in the donor country.

• Can lead to debt.
• Forces the recipient to buy goods from the donor.

Question 15

Describe MULTILATERAL aid.

Answer 15

Governments donate money to world organisations or agencies and these bodies then distribute the aid, eg. the UN or WHO. EG. The UK gives around £3.5billion to multilateral organisations every year.
+ Helps LEDCs develop new forms of agriculture and industry.
- Products are often sent to MEDCs.
- LEDCs can become dependent on aid and fall into more debt.

Question 16

Describe VOLUNTARY aid.

Answer 16

Charity organisations funded by the general public, organising aid programmes. It accounts for just 6% of all aid, eg. Comic Relief, Oxfam.
+ Encourages low cost self-help schemes which are more likely to be sustainable.
+ More likely to go to those in need.
+ Deals with emergencies.
+ Encourages use of local skills and raw materials.
- Income uncertain.

Question 17

State 3 benefits of aid to LEDCs.

Answer 17

• Emergency aid in times of disaster saves people’s lives. EG. After the Haiti earthquake in 2010, medical aid helped to save the lives of people rescued under the rubble of collapsed buildings.
• Aid helps rebuild housing and livelihoods after a disaster. EG. The building of tsunami resilient homes in the Maldives after the Asian tsunami in 2004.
• Aid for agriculture can help increase food production and so improve quality and quantity of food in eg, Ethiopia after the famine in the 1980s. Proper nutrition allows people to work healthily and improve their quality of life.

Question 18

State 3 problems of aid for LEDCs.

Answer 18

• Aid can increase dependency of LEDCs on donor countries, meaning they can struggle to repay. EG. Tanzania was forced to repay money to Germany in the 1990s.
• Aid may not reach the people who need it most. Corruption may lead to local politicians using aid for their own benefit or for political gain. EG. Zimbabwe was led by the corrupt leader Robert Mugabe from 1995-2010.
• Tied aid may force LEDCs to buy inappropriate technology such as complex farming machinery that is costly and unsuitable to environmental conditions.