Core - Resources Essays

Question 1

Discuss the pattern of change in global wealth, including reduction in poverty and the ‘new middle class’.

Answer 1

Dramatic change last 50yrs - bns lifted out poverty. Rise NEEs - rise middle class in China & elite. SS Africa struggled to keep pace.
1987 - 1.7bn e. poverty
2013 - 766mn This is due to rise of China & S & SE Asia. Fallen 889mn to 71 mn.

Question 2

Rise of China & NEEs

Answer 2

China’s opening up, SEZs, rural to urban migration. Led to rise in middle class in China & India. Both have huge domestic market.s 2020 OECD - China & India 40% world graduates. India high end engineering & services & China high value manufactured goods = flat world.

Question 3

Sub-Saharan Africa & rise of poverty.

Answer 3

Extreme poverty has risen - 50% from 252 million in 1987 to 388 million in 2013. Due to high debt, reliance on price vulnerable resource exports, conflicts, ne-colonialism…

Question 4

Middle class sqeeze in the West

Answer 4

Pew research states household income held by the middle income has fallen 62% to 43%. High income groups, whose numbers are dramatically lower hold more. Europe, austerity measures in many countries have frozen public sector earnings, as greater inequality emerges the middle income groups lose out. In addition, according to LAC equity Lab, the growth of the middle income groups in Latin America and the Caribbean plateaued.

Question 5

Discuss the challenges relating to the application of the water, food and
energy nexus in regard to resource security at different scales. OR Examine how the water-food-energy nexus helps to explain increasing resource tensions at a range of scales (10)

Answer 5

Intro: Definition- inextricable link between water, food and
energy security.central component of sustainable development & application is relevant at a range of scales . The issues of its
application, are complex and its challenges relate to equity the of resource access and distribution, conflict resolution and corporate and geopolitical power and
interest.

Question 6

Focus on Water & the challenges

Answer 6

Water is needed for energy, energy is needed to treat and transport water and virtual
water and oil is hidden in all of our food. Nexus application relates to effective policy
designs to sustainably manage water so can eco can grow..
Central to the success of the accessand its equitable distribution.

Question 7

Water - Nexus challenges case studies -National Tarna River Delta ( Kenya).

Answer 7

Water conflicts - range of scales - Dhaka, Bangladesh or Darfur in Sudan. Tarna river Delta, Kenya - Conflicts due to dev of HEP dams - water has dried up, levaing local villagers with none. 50% of country’s energy produced in area so geopolitically important. Local people, often illiterate, being ignored and not included - pushed away from subsistence agriculture. Nomadic and arable farmers = conflict. Neus thinking needed and will only work here if inlcude local interests.

Question 8

Further Nexus challenge - Mekong River ( international)

Answer 8

International, rusn through 6 countries. Source China & Mouth Vietnam. Geopolitical importance as supports 60 mn. China = industrialisation & 8x HEP. Without seasonal floods which dams can prevent will have negative impact o agriculture. Struggles - as internatinal & each country has own domestic priorities e.g. China with no concern for those downstream.
Same on the Nile - Ethiopians have built the Grand Renaissance dam - Egypt says if they hold back the water it wil see it as a threat to their national soverignty

Question 9

Nexus Challneges - geopolitical - biggest obstacle with CC.

Answer 9

Oil & gas exploration in Arctic. Russia who continue to expand both onshore and offshore rigs in the region and whose national priorities are evident in their militarization of the region. Control of Arctic energy reserves are of such national importance
to Russia that they are placed ahead of their climate change commitments. Crating conflicts - EEZs - 200 nautical miles & international watres/ shipping routes.

Question 10

Challenge - Interests of TNCs

Answer 10

Conflict in Niger Delta - Nigerian farmers & fihserman with Shell - responsible for 100s of oil spills. No priority being given to Nexus thinking - economic might/ libreral economics.
Large agri business - food production in Kerala India or rose production in Kenya.
Overall, twart with challenges.

Question 11

Compare and contrast the levels of resource security in two countries.

Answer 11

Intro: demand for food & energy expt to increase by 50% 2030 and water
by 30%, the issues of resource security are not going to go
away, especially with the onset of the effects of climate change. UK and South Africa
both face different challenges concerning resource security.

Question 12

Food security

Answer 12

UK long history of farming, so low risk. Spend only around 12% of our income on food. Drought 2022 shown things could rapidly change in the future. Fruit & veg died on the vine and 2/3 soil water deficit. Future more worrying. South Africa spend 20% income on food & has medium risk, yet struggles to feed 50% population. It future is more worrying due to it high water risk, unreliable rainfalls and CC. Demand expected to outstrip supply by 2025.

Question 13

Water Security

Answer 13

Water supply in UK very good - 14.5mn cubic metres per day. 100% people access to clean drinking water in homes. Rely on rainfall, but is unevenly distributed. It is water secure, but is 20-40% of supply and summer droughts continue could be a future prob. S. Africa major concern with 40-80% withdrawl. high competition for water from diff stakeholders. Only receives 492mm 50% global average - semi arid nation. Not evenly distributed and cities not well situated. Demand expected to outstrip supply by 2025. 80% household access to water. Lion share needed for agri - 60%

Question 14

Impact of CC on water in South Africa

Answer 14

High evapotranspiration. More unreliable rains. More floods & droughts. Likely to impact agri and energy e.g. coal power stations. 2018-19 - Cape Town - drought - dams below 13% of normal capaciy, rationed to 50 litres a day. Crop failures, livestock died, farmers livelihoods heavily affected & govt support needed. 2/3 of game wiped out.

Question 15

Energy security

Answer 15

South Africa High Risk - uses more than it supplies. Relies on coal and little capacity for HEP. Needs to rethink and recue waste. CC going to mean more demand for air con, to purfiy water.. One produced enough to be self sufficient - ( oil, gas & coal) now relies heavily on important e.g. Norway for gas & Qatar & before Ukraine war - Russia. Now producing 42% from renewables & building new nuclear plant -shift will take time. Investing heavily in wind.

Question 16

The most important factor influencing the water-food-energy nexus is CC. To what extent do you agree with this statement?

Answer 16

Water-Food-Energy nexus (WFE nexus) - The complex and dynamic interrelationships between water, energy and food resource systems. Understanding of these interrelationships is essential if natural resources are to be used and managed more sustainably. Climate Change = changes in our temperature and rainfall patterns.

Question 17

CC important to Sout Africa

Answer 17

1. Climate Change is an important factor…
   Impacts of CC on South Africa’s resources
   * Models predict higher precipitation in the east, but 20% less in the west, overall in a decrease in rainfall, causing further water stress.
   * Water supplies will be impacted by higher evapotranspiration and decreased run-off.
   * Likely to be more floods and droughts, with more irregular rainfall, which will impact food production, causing food insecurity. In the short term crop failures and in the long term overall production decline. Which then could affect water resources and the distribution of pests and diseases.
   * More energy will be needed to purify water or pump water from greater depths.
   * There could be competition between energy use and agricultural use. 60% of water is used by farming, but only 10% have irrigation systems.
   * Likely to impact coal power stations, which depend on water for cooling ( a lot of water is lost during this process). Renewable energy requires less water and this will need to be an important consideration.
   * Hotter temperatures will increase demand for air con and refrigeration & thus more energy.

Question 18

Droughts S. Africa 2018-19

Answer 18

Droughts 2018-2019
* Cape Town – dams below 13% capacity and residents water allowance reduced to 50 litres per day.
* 2019 – dams in the country still 10-16% below 2018 levels.
* Northern Cape’s agriculture relies on rainfall and has suffered years of serious droughts, leading to livestock deaths, crop failures & financial ruin for farmers. It was estimated $40mn would be needed to alleviate the effects & sustain 60,000 jobs.
2/3 of the game in the area was wiped out.

Question 19

2.Another factor which can impact the Nexus in South Africa – Rise in Middle Class & urbanisation

Answer 19

Urbanisation 63% to 77% 2050.
Experienced rapid shift in diets from traditional to a western diet, ( meat, dairy, processed & packaged) due to urbanisation & increasing wealth.
This shift to high value, processed and packaged food places more stress on water and energy resources.
Energy use set to remain stable, but lacks security as relies on coal, & already demand exceeds supply.
* Cities are not well situated & receive little rainfall.
* Demand is expected to outstrip supply (17%) by 2025 & little has been done to manage this problem, with some areas already relying on water trucks.
* 60% used for agriculture, 12% domestic and the rest industry.
* 89% of households had access to drinking water in 2018.
* Average daily consumption was 235 litres compared to global average of 185.

Question 20

3. Geopolitical issues can influence

Answer 20

Vital component of the economy & thus a geopolitical issue. Can be seen at the moment – European gas supplies cut by Russia and the impacts on cost of living and thus consumer spending power.
In order to manage sustainable industrial output and domestic energy supply, there needs to be energy security.
Source regions, such as the Middle East are of huge geo-strategic importance to countries like the US and Russia, securing safe production and supply routes is therefore a priority. Domestic production of oil and gas, both fossil fuels, remains a national priority for resource rich countries despite the known impacts they have for climate change. For the USA this has meant huge capital investments into shale gas fracking, which now accounts for about 30% of its energy mix and 94% of it natural gas use, providing it with energy independence.
Thus a critical factor in many countries foreign policy.

Question 21

4. Focusing on agriculture for exports….
   Tana Delta, Kenya

Answer 21

5 dams currently only producing 44% of energy needs rather than 50%, due to deforestation & agriculture upstream affecting the hydrological cycle.
There are also plans by the government to convert 20,000 hectares of land into sugar cane production for biofuels ( Ethanol to be exported to the UK).
Impacts: Rivers are disappearing and subsistence farmers are struggling to farm + facing higher food prices. These issues are causing conflict between farmers and the government, who is prioritising Energy over the local livelihoods..

Question 22

“Water security is the most important issue facing countries today”. To what extent do you agree with this statement?

Answer 22

Introduction – define water security = when people (the entire population of a country) has sustainable access to adequate quantities of acceptably clean water.
Complex, will depend on time & place & as Nexus thinking argues there is a dynamic interrelationship between food, water and energy, so can water alone be said to be the most important issue.

Question 23

Water security most important issue - S.Africa

Answer 23

S. Africa major concern with 40-80% withdrawn. High competition for water from diff stakeholders. Only receives 492mm 50% global average - semi arid nation. Not evenly distributed and cities not well situated. Demand expected to outstrip supply by 2025. 80% household access to water. Lion share needed for agri - 60%.
2018-9019 - Droughts - Cape Town dams below 13% capacity and residents water allowance reduced to 50 litres per day.
* 2019 – dams in the country still 10-16% below 2018 levels

Question 24

Water security not alwasy the most important issue.

Answer 24

2. Water security not a major issue for the UK at the moment -100% people access to clean drinking water in homes. Rely on rainfall, but is unevenly distributed. It is water secure, but is 20-40% of supply and summer droughts continue could be a future prob. CC in the future could affect our security. Could argue after the Russian Ukraine war broke out that energy security was a more important issue for the UK and other EU countries. UK relied on Russia for 4% gas, 9% oil& 27% coal , so not heavily like other EU countries, but Imports of electricity have x2 since 1990 due to fall in N. Sea gas reserves & the war did cause energy prices to rise. Germany imported 55% from Russia. Now all have found substitutes, so the importance of a certain resource does depend upon time & place.

Question 25

Water, Energy & Food all important challenges.

Answer 25

3. It could also be argued for some countries all three are important issues – China – population over 1bn + rising middle class + world’s factory – self sufficiency in food dropped to 68% - so now a key priority, especially as they have had to increase imports. Water is also a key issue, as there is an uneven distribution and the industrial heartland in the NE is lacking water – South to North Water project.+ sponge cities ( 80% of city area must capture & reuse water). It also suffers from water pollution ( agriculture & water chiefs) & cancer villages. Coal has been essential to energy security (60%) & biggest importer of oil – high reliance on imported energy. Huge demand.

Question 26

“The circular economy offers us the greatest opportunity to achieve sustainable resource consumption”. To what extent do you agree with this statement? Or
“A sustainable balance between population and resources can be best met by the circular economy.” To what extent do you agree with this statement?

Answer 26

Intro: Definition of circular economy & unpack sustainable resource consumption.
*consumers rent products from companies instead of buying them which means responsibility for recycling & then companies incentivised to design items to be used & used again, avoiding the landfill. Thus people become product users rather than consumers. Eliminate negative externalities – pollution. * outline of the relationship between population and resources that may take one or more of the views identified in the guide as part of the response structure (pessimistic ( Club of Rome), optimistic ( Boserup)and balanced views).

Question 27

Importance of circular economy.

Answer 27

1. Importance of circular economy – Summarise problems of current linear system ( Take/exploit, make, use & dump)…Supports SDG 12 – Responsible Consumption and Production.
   Economic benefits: 70% resource reduction & thus $630bn costs saved on raw materials. Job creation.
   Environmental benefits: fewer polluting materials used, energy efficient manufacturing & recycling will reduce energy use, renewable energy use, bi-products returned to system e.g. water..

Question 27

Circular economy examples - Bundles & Verticrop.

Answer 27

Bundles This company works with washing machines and tumble driers. collaborate with Miele to lease them alongside a smart energy monitor that can inform the user on how to save energy use. All repairs and returns this way stay with the manufacturer and so at the end of their lifespan components can be recycled or products can be upcycled allowing for a circular use of resources rather than a linear wasteful use.
Verticrop in Vancouver - hydroponic technology to grow vegetables and herbs in greenhouse rooftops, with the aim of producing some 70 tons of leafy vegetables per year. The company targets yields up to 20 times higher than normal (field) production volumes, with fewer resources—only 8% of normal water as well as no strong herbicides or pesticides. The vertical farms are much nearer urban centres, so they promote local sourcing and the supply of fresher food. The shorter transportation distances reduce costs, energy consumption and carbon footprint.

Question 28

Challenges of circular economy

Answer 28

cost effective nature of the current linear model and consumer model and the profit interests of corporations. Not achievable to design out waste in all sectors. E.g. paper can only be recycled for a certain amount of time & then discarded. 100% recycle rate might not make economic sense. Needs subsidies, as the switch is costly, need commercial incentive & for governments to intervene. Lacks social dimension. Some may argue ‘too little too late’.

Question 29

3. Population control & technological change –

Answer 29

Alternatively, could control population growth & possibly a better approach in a LIC with high pop growth – Club of Rome argue needed & was successfully done in Thailand..Boserup would disagree and argue we will always invent & overcome challenges to meet needs e.g. In-Vitro meat and GM crops.

Question 30

Conclusion - Circular economy most important.

Answer 30

Policy needs to be place specific – is a large pop the problem or is it overconsumption? Will depend whether HIC or LIC? Going to need to shift a mindset to stop people overconsuming in HICs, hasn’t yet happened in LICs and only starting in some NEEs so might be easier to achieve, whatever will need political will and support

Question 31

“Responding to climate change is more important than working towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals.” To what extent do you agree with this statement?

Answer 31

1. CC imp - env & linked to SDGs
2. CC imp - human & linked to SDGs
3. Imp of SDGs.
4. Possible to combine both - resource stewardship.

Question 32

Importance of CC - env

Answer 32

CC Important – Environmental impacts:
1. Arctic could be ice free by 2050,
2. Thermal expansion & melting sea ice = rising seas levels – Kiribati has lost 2 islands & Tuvalu – 4,000 islanders have been moved to NZ. – Impact on SDGs 1, 2, 6.
3. Biomes – Coral and bleaching ( +50%), forest fires in med, deserts spreading & animal migration – Canadien Geese UK & Atlantic Mackeral – Icelandic waters. SDGs - 15

Question 33

Importance of CC - human impacts linked to SDGs

Answer 33

4. More tropical storms cat4&5, heatwave Europe 2003 & 35,000 elderly died, more case of dengue fever in Europe, as Tiger Mosquito has spread to the continent, 1 case detected as early as March in S.Spain. SDG 3.
5. Threats to agriculture – Sahel region, High Andes & Himalayas as glaciers melt & lack freshwater & rising sea levels – Sundarbans. SDG 2
6. Migration – Bangladesh (Sundarbans) & Dhaka. – range SDGs – 1,6. Overall see CC is having huge impacts around the world and thus is very important to those places already facing the impacts, but these impacts also hinder us in achieving certain SDGs & thus both can be seen to be important.

Question 34

SDGs important

Answer 34

Importance & Purpose of SDGs - The 2015 action plan is based on 17 interrelated goals. Collectively, these address what experts view as the most urgent contemporary global challenges. They provide a ‘roadmap’ for human development by setting our priorities for action. The SDGs according to the UN are a blueprint to achieving peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future.The SDGs integrate & balance the 3 eco, soc and env dimensions of sustainable development.
1. End poverty in all its forms HEADLINE: The world was off track before pandemic to end poverty by 2030. Covid-19 pushed the number of people living in extreme poverty up by 71 million in 2020
2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and achieve sustainable agriculture
HEADLINE: Food insecurity was increasing before Covid-19. It rose from 23,2% in 2014 to 26.4% in 2018. Stunting and wasting in children is expected to increase.
3.Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all for all ages HEADLINE: Progress made but must be accelerated. Covid-19 could reverse healthcare progress by decades. Less than half of the global population are not covered by basic health services.
The SDG ‘Wedding cake’ shows the biosphere as the foundation of economies and societies and as the basis of all SDGs. Such a conceptualization adopts an integrated view of social, economic, and ecological development. Goal 13 – Climate Action is part of that.
Equally important as they are all wicked problems, and they are all interlinked

Question 35

Resource Stewardship - possible to combine both.

Answer 35

• Marine Protected areas & coral reef management.
• US Dept for Agriculture – Resource Stewardship evaluation – helps farmers identify conservation goals. Given a rating on soil management, wildlife habitat, water quantity, air quality…. Farmers can then see where they are doing well and where they need to improve. They are then offered support to make the changes.
• TNCs aligning to SDGs framework. Economic sustainability is important to them. AB Inbev has developed their own sustainability goals – 100% of packaging returnable or recyclable by 2025, 100% of electricity will be from renewable sources…

Question 36

Conclusion - things to think about

Answer 36

Are the SDGs too broad? (169 target & 17 goals) How do you prioritise? research that was led by an international panel including several Nobel laureate economists, found that there were only 19 specific targets within the 169 that would attain more than $15 of good for every dollar spent reaching it. But are the results of the COP conferences any better?….. Will all depend on time & place which is more important.