Challenge 3

Question 1

What are the approaches examined in challenge 3?

Answer 1

Approaches to conservation and development of UK national parks

Approaches to managing river and coastal UK flood risk

Question 2

What are the aims of National parks?

Answer 2

To protect and enhance the natural beauty and wildlife.
To promote the understanding and enjoyment of the parks.
To foster the social and economic well-being of the communities living in the National Parks.
To promote sustainable management.

Question 3

What pressures are there on National parks?

Answer 3

Control of pollution.

Maintaining recreational facilities.

Maintaining community services.

Supplementing the local community.

Managing quarries, housing, farming, water supply.

Matching the demand for attractive facilitie and services.

Ensuring public enjoyment of the park.

Question 4

How is the New Forest being sustainably managed?

Answer 4

New trees planted to replace those cut down
Tree felling controlled

Work restricted between April and August to not disturb birds

Pesticide use limited

Sustainable transport schemes

Landowners funded to plant native trees

Awareness raised by National Park Association.

Careful management by NPA.

Green Leaf Tourism Scheme - local products used.

Question 5

Which physical factors contribute to flooding?

Answer 5

Excessive, prolonged rainfall
Saturated soil
Local relative rise in sea level
Melting of snow
Frozen soil
Impermeable rock
Steep gradient
High drainage density

Question 6

Which human factors contribute to flooding?

Answer 6

River management
Deforestation
Urbanisation

Question 7

What types of management strategy are there?

Answer 7

Hard engineering
Soft engineering

Question 8

What has the environmental agency introduced to prevent excessive damage from flooding?

Answer 8

They have a flood warning system that displays on mobile devices, warning people of flood risks.

Question 9

What types of hard engineering are there?

Answer 9

Dams
Levees
River straightening
Concrete sides

Question 10

What are the pros and cons of dams?

Answer 10

Pros
Prevent water from moving into an area
Very visible, helps reassure public
Very stable
Can be used to store water in a reservoir and used for drinking to reduce scarcity

Cons
Could lead to a lack of water downstream
Could burst, having devastating consequences downstream.

Question 11

What are the pros and cons of levees?

Answer 11

Pros
Don’t cost that much
Prevent overflow
Not very disrupting

Cons
Not as effective as some water makes it over
Sometimes visually unappealing

Question 12

What are the pros and cons of straightening the river?

Answer 12

Pros
Reduces friction with bank
Increases velocity, moving water away from floodplains quickly

Cons
Expensive
May remove habitat

Question 13

What are the pros and cons of concrete sides?

Answer 13

Pros
Prevent water from eroding banks
Visible - preventing people from feeling unsafe
Resistant

Cons
Expensive
Hard to install
Need to be maintained
May be visually unappealing

Question 14

What are the pros and cons of afforestation?

Answer 14

Pros
Holds soil together, more water absorbed
Takes in CO2 - reducing greenhouse effect
Doesn’t disrupt landscape much

Cons
Need maintenance
Could fall into river, blocking the channel
Requires fertiliser that could lead to algal bloom in the river.

Question 15

What are the pros and cons of washland areas?

Answer 15

Pros
Doesn’t disrupt natural processes in the area
Useful for preventing erosion downstream
Cheap
Reduce runoff

Cons
Does not prevent erosion in certain areas
Sacrifices some areas that could be valuable

Question 16

What are the pros and cons of land use zoning?

Answer 16

Pros
Cheap
Doesn’t interfere with natural processes
Protects important infrastructure

Cons
Prevents use of certain fields for sport or leisure at certain times during the year.

Question 17

What are the pros and cons of sea walls?

Answer 17

Pros
Visible
Prevent erosion by absorbing wave energy
Very strong
Durable

Cons
Not visually appealing
Need repairs
Expensive

Question 18

What are the pros and cons of gabions?

Answer 18

Pros
Absorb wave energy
Very durable
Long lasting

Cons
Not visually appealing
Disrupts coastal processes
Reduce tourism

Question 19

What are the pros and cons of managed retreat?

Answer 19

Pros
Doesn’t interupt natural processes.
Cheap
Not visually unappealing
Doesn’t prevent erosion and deposition

Cons
Doesn’t do enough to protect the area in question
Loses areas potentially high in tourism
Potential loss of housing

Question 20

What are the pros and cons of beach nourishment?

Answer 20

Pros
Helps prevent a loss of the beach
Not visually disruptive
Maintains tourism
Doesn’t interfere with natural processes

Cons
Not effective at preventing erosion
Could lead to loss of housing or key industry
Not as effective as hard engineering.

Question 21

What types of soft engineering are there?

Answer 21

Sea walls
Gabions/rip rap
Managed retreat
Beach nourishment

Question 22

Who are National Parks owned by? Who funds them?

Answer 22

They are owned by farmers and private landowners.

They are funded by the government.

Question 23

Give 3 examples of National Parks in the UK

Answer 23

Brecon Beacons
Exmoor
Dartmoor

Question 24

What do the Environment Agency do?

Answer 24

They monitor weather and provide short and long term warning systems.

They help recover from extreme weather events.

Question 25

What is an example of an area affected by river flooding?

Answer 25

The Somerset Levels, where low-lying areas are prone to flooding.

In Winter 2013-14, 70000 hectares of land was flooded.