Geography EDXCEL B - Development (2.3) JR

Question 1

Define Top-down development?

Answer 1

Top-down development schemes are usually very expensive and a country often has to borrow money from large organisation like the World Bank or from companies in developed countries. The decisions related to any top-down scheme will usually be made by the government and any external groups involved. Local people who will be affected by the scheme will have little say in the process and had little influence in the project

Question 2

Define Bottom-up development?

Answer 2

Bottom-up development schemes are projects that are planned and controlled by local communities to help their local periphery area. They are not expensive because they use smaller, more appropriate technology, which the local people will have to pay for. Because the project is on a smaller scale compared to a top-down project, the environmental damage is often much less.

Question 3

Characteristics of Top-down development?

Answer 3

• Decision makers identify a country’s needs or opportunities (maybe to develop energy sources and transport, or to improve food security)
• Experts planning changes
• Local people being told about plans, but having no say in whether, or how, they happen

Question 4

Characteristics of Bottom-up development?

Answer 4

• Consultation of the local community, the community essentially is the heart of this project
• Commonly uses intermediate technology - low tech solutions using local materials, labour and expertise to solve problems

Question 5

Summary of Top-down development?

Answer 5

• Usually large and expensive
• Often involve overseas loans from Inter-Governmental Organisations (IGO’s), government banks and agencies that work together, or large companies (TNC’s - Transnational Companies

Question 6

Summary of Bottom-up development?

Answer 6

• Usually small scale for the community

* Run by Non-Government Organisations (NGO’s), such as charities and universities

Question 7

Problems of Top-down development?

Answer 7

• Often relies on external links and technology
• Uses machinery rather than providing jobs for the local people
• Country gets into debt as it borrows from organisations
• As these areas grow, they take the resources away from peripheral areas
• Potentially environmentally effective as they use cheaper fuels
• Dams can provide electricity needed for a country to develop
• Some Top- Down development schemes have bad reputations as they sometimes bring more problems than benefits

Question 8

Problems of Bottom-up development?

Answer 8

• Very small impact on national poverty levels
• Low cost
• Involves the local people
• Appropriate technology for the local skill level

Question 9

Named Top-down development scheme?

Answer 9

Sardar Sarovar Dam, Narmada River, Gujarat, India

Question 10

Named Bottom-up development scheme?

Answer 10

Biogas, ASTRA (Application of Science and Technology in Rural Areas), Rural India

Question 11

Economic impacts of the named Top-down development scheme?

Answer 11

Benefits - Cities are able to afford electricity

Problems - Fee rural families can afford electricity

Question 12

Social impacts of the named Top-down development scheme?

Answer 12

Benefits - Dam provides 3.5 billion litres of drinking water and also hydroelectric power
Problems - 234 villages flooded, 320,000 forced out, religious and historic sites have been lost. Majority of benefits are for communities further away, the local community is left with the problems

Question 13

Environmental impacts of the named Top-down development scheme?

Answer 13

Benefits - Network of canals will irrigate 1.8 million hectares of farmland (normally drought and dead crops)
Problems - Farmland has been flooded, seismologists believe that these large dams cause earthquakes

Question 14

Social impacts of the named Bottom-up development scheme?

Answer 14

Short term - No ash, there’s less cleaning up, heating is instant and faster/efficient
Medium term - No time gathering wood, girls can have more time at school
Long term - Cooking with gas produces smoke free kitchen, therefore no lung infections (large killer in India)

Question 15

Economic impacts of the named Bottom-up development scheme?

Answer 15

Short term - The biogas is free and is can be replenished
Medium term - Farmers earn more money now as a result of the biogas being reliable
Long term - Use biogas to power electricity, to water plants, now get three crops a year

Question 16

Environmental impacts of the named Bottom-up development scheme?

Answer 16

Short term - When cattle dung is fed into digester, microorganisms that cause disease are destroyed
Medium term - Sludge is far more richer in nutrients than raw dung (better fertiliser)
Long term - Cattle kept in family compound rather than graze and prevent tree growth

Question 17

What’s involved in the Sardar Sarovar Dam?

Answer 17

In India most of the rainfall is seasonal, some parts are so dry that they’re known as semi-deserts. In May to September, the monsoon brings heavy rain across India, Dams make it possible to store this rain for the dry season. The government needs super dams to encourage economic development by providing drinking water and electricity for cities, and farm dry lands need to feed the population using irrigation

Question 18

What’s involved in the Biogas scheme?

Answer 18

Most rural families daily routine takes time (especially women and girls). Cleaning collecting fuel, preparing and cooking food, fetching water, tending cows, looking after crops - before may paid work. Therefore, rural girls have little education and few even complete primary school. The biggest job is collecting firewood (25-30 KG), biogas hopes to change that.

Question 19

What are TNC’s?

Answer 19

The majority of TNCs come from MEDCs such as the US and UK. Many multinational corporations invest in other MEDCs. However, TNCs also invest in LEDCs - for example, the British DIY store B&Q now has stores in China.
Factors attracting TNCs to a country may include:
• cheap raw materials
• cheap labour supply
• good transport
• access to markets where the goods are sold
• friendly government policies

Question 20

What are IGO’s?

Answer 20

Intergovernmental organization (IGO) refers to an entity created by treaty, involving two or more nations, to work in good faith, on issues of common interest. In the absence of a treaty an IGO does not exist in the legal sense. For example, the G8 is a group of eight nations that have annual economic and political summits. IGOs that are formed by treaties are more advantageous than a mere grouping of nations because they are subject to international law and have the ability to enter into enforceable agreements among themselves or with states.

Question 21

What are NGO’s?

Answer 21

A non-governmental organization (NGO) is any non-profit, voluntary citizens’ group which is organized on a local, national or international level. Task-oriented and driven by people with a common interest, NGOs perform a variety of service and humanitarian functions, bring citizen concerns to Governments, advocate and monitor policies and encourage political particpation through provision of information. Some are organized around specific issues, such as human rights, environment or health. They provide analysis and expertise, serve as early warning mechanisms and help monitor and implement international agreements. Their relationship with offices and agencies of the United Nations system differs depending on their goals, their venue and the mandate of a particular institution.