Resource Reliance Flashcards
Why has the population grown rapidly since 1900?
Lower death rates due to vaccination programmes, better medical knowledge, better nutrition, better living conditions, etc.
However, birth rates remain high (i.e. above replacement) in many countries, particuarly LIDCs
Why has energy demand risen recently?
Because as LIDCs and EDCs develop, they need more energy for their industries and the way of life becomes more like that of AC countries (e.g. holidays, more meat consumption, cars, television) which requires more energy.
Why is the availability of fresh water reducing?
It is becoming more polluted and contaminated. There is an increased demand and it’s a finite resource.
Name 5 developed factors that may lead to the global food supply being unable to keep up with demand.
- Climate change - less food can grow due to unpredictability
- Soil erosion - fertile top soil washed away
- Crops being used as biofuels - rather than food
- Increased meat consumption - particularly in EDCs/LIDCs as they want more luxurious AC life
- Human population growth - food availability can’t match rise in population
Has ‘peak oil’ passed? Why?
Yes. The demand for oil is decreasing. It is becoming more scarce and expensive.
What is subsistence farming?
Farming only for what you need
What effect does mechanisation of farming have on these abiotic factors: soil, water and air?
Soil - more soil erosion and leaching occurs as land is more exposed to wind and rain, less nutrients in soil
Water - run-off from fields carry fertilisers and pesticides into water algal blooms reduce oxygen levels in water
Air - increased air pollution
What effect does mechanisation of farming have on these biotic factors: plants, insects, animals?
Plants - lack of biodiversity due to use of single mono-cultures
Insects - pesticides are used, killing insects
Animals - herbicides and pesticides may get into food chain or reduce availability of food
Name the 4 ways that commerical fishing can effect marine ecosystems.
By-catch - use of nets, sometimes wrong fish are caught
Overfishing - more fish are caught than can be replaced, can lead to extinction
Bottom tawling - weighted nets that trawl along seabed to catch fish, but damage it [seabed]
Poisons and explosives - This is indiscriminate and damaging to marine habitats. This is illegal.
Why are fish farms no the solution to obtaining greater numbers of larger fish?
You need to collect a much greater mass of smaller fish to feed the larger fish.
Name 3 ways animals are effected by deforestation.
- Removal of habitat
- Changes to migration corridors - restricts animals’ ability to hunt, gather food and mate
- Mercury poising - moves up food chain
Name 3 ways plants are effected by deforestation.
- Removal of vegetation - loss of biomass
- Contamination of soil - reduce biodiversity
- Soil erosion and fertility loss - reduce biodiversity and vegetation cover
What is vegetation cover?
The percentage of soil covered by green vegetation
How does mining affect water, soil and air? (2 for each)
- *Water:**
- waste material washed into river
- groundwater can become contaminated and affecy plant growth
- *Soil:**
- toxic chemicals from rocks contaminate soil and affect plant growth
- total removal of soil in mining, difficult to re-establish
- *Air:**
- dust from mining contain sulfur and arsenic, get into lungs
- acid rain forms from burning fossil fuels
In what 2 ways does acid rain affect the ecosystem?
- kills plants
- pollutes water
What are the three main uses of water?
Agriculture. Industry. Domestic (e.g. cooking, cleaning)
(in order from largest to smallest)
Name four effects to a river ecosystem of building dams
Floods - polluting the river and damaging the buildings and habitat
The dam releases oxygen-starved water killing fish
Water temperatures rise on surface, drop deep down, threatening species with extinction
The water traps sediment, the river has more energy, increasing erosion.
Why are EDCs investing in water transfer projects?
As the population of megacities continues to climb and industry grows in them, more water needs to be transferred there for personal use and to attract investment.
What is the definition for food security?
To have physical and economic access to food that meets dietary needs and food preferences
What are the 3 pillars of food security?
Food availability - is there enough food?
Food access - is food affordable?
Food utilisation - is food nutritious and healthy?
Name 4 physical factors that affect food security
Temperature, soil, water supplt, pests/diseases/parasites
Name 6 human factors that affect food supply
- Poverty
- Distribution and infastructure
- War and conflict - disrupts distribution
- Land ownership - land may be owned by TNCs, less land for local people to grow food
- Food being wasted
- Climate change - affects rainfall patterns
Generally, as the GNI (PPP) of a country increases, the average calorie consumption…
Increases
Name one wealth and one health indicator of food security
Wealth:
- GNI/capita (PPP)
- % of population living on - % of household income spent on food
Health:
- Average daily calorie consumption
- life expectancy
- mortality rate
What 4 indicators are used in the global hunger index to give a score?
Undernourishment (% of population)
Child wasting (% of u5 population who have low weight for their height)
Child stunting (% of u5 population who are short for their age)
Child mortality (u5)
Child heath measures are used as they are more vulnerable to malnourishment than adults
Describe the Malthus theory.
It is pessimistic about a potential food supply crisis
Populaton always rises at greater (geometric/exponential) rate than the food supply (arithmetic rate).
When the population is greater than the needed food supply, famine and starvation occur (positive checks), decreasing population, before it rises and the crisis point is reached again.
Preventative checks must be taken
Describe the Boserup theory
Optimistic about potential food crisis
When crisis point nears, new technology will be developed that averts the crisis.
“What is Tanzania’s staple crop?”
Maize
Why is food security more unlikely in rural villages compared to cities in LIDCs
Access: extreme poverty
Availibility: less international and domestic links
Utilisation: less range of food
“What has happened to Tanzania’s GHI score since 1995? Give exact figures”
It has decreased from 45 to 28 (2015). But is still high in contrast to other countries.
What is a bottom-up aid program?
A aid/development program carried out by NGOs in cooperation with local communities. Small-scale
What is a top-down aid project?
Run by Government or a large international organisation like the World Bank. Large scale
Name one local scheme to achieve food security.
Goat aid in Babati, Northern Tanzania
What was goat aid?
The charity ‘Farm Africa’ gave Toggenburg goats on credit (so they were treat as valuable and cared for properly) to farmers from 1999-2016.
How successful was goat aid at achieving food security?
Availability: tiling increased, 2x more crops
Access: 3x more profits for those in scheme due to surplus crops being sold for profit, howveer small scale
Utilisation: 3L of nutritious milk, however goats require milk which is a scarce resource
How are bottom-up aid schemes limited?
They are on a small-scale
Name one past attempt to achieve food security and describe what it was
Tanzania-Canada Wheat programme in Hanang District, Northern Tanzania
Top-down project
Ran from 1968-1993. $95m aid from Canada. Increased wheat production in Tanzania.
What is the main problem with the Tanzania-Canada wheat program?
It used wheat, not maize, which is the staple crop of Tanzania.
Side: It additionally disrupted the Barabaigs’ way of life
How sucessful was the Tanzania-Canada wheat program in achieving food security?
Access: 400 jobs created, however farms could not afford spare parts
Availibility: produced 60% of Tanzanian wheat, however crop was low
Utilisation: Not a staple crop
Name one present attempt to achieve food security in Tanzania. Give details
SAGCOT
Large strip of fertile land from East (Dar es Salaam) to West (Zambia border).
Top-down development strategy, so large-scale
How has SAGCOT been successful at achieving food security?
Availibility: Placed next to TAZARA railway so increased distribution, commercial farming on fertile land, so higher yields of crops can be produced
Access: surplus crops can be sold for profit
Utilisation: Nomadic tribes have had their soil grazed on and cannot produce as nutritious crops
Define ethical consumerism
Buying products that have a positive social, economic or environmental impact
What are the environmental [2], social [1] and economic [2] advantages of Fairtrade (fairer price for farmers)?
Environmental - farmers more trained in sustainable methods. Must stop using fertilisers to achieve MARK
Social - fairtrade premium benefits community with school buildings, media facilities, etc
Economic - farmers able to connect to international market and sell produce. Recieved fairtrade minimum price that covers cost of sustainable production - farmers can better plan for the future knowing this.
What are the 2 benefits of reducing food waste?
Farmers receive more income as more produce is sold, so in LIDCs and EDCs they could afford a better, healthier diet.
Better for the environment as growing food that is wasted uses energy and emits carbon dioxide.
What is intensive farming?
When the levels of farming are increased to produce higher yields of crops. It often uses lots of machinery and chemicals.
List the social, economic and environmental advantages of intensive farming?
Social - Huge amounts of food is produced, helping to achieve food security
Economic - fruit, veg and wheat are very cheap to produce
Environmental - it makes the most of the land, giving very high yields
List the social and environmental disadvantages of intensive farming?
Social - people eat chemicals if not washed properly. Can cause increase in cancer.
Environmental - Fertilisers are a major source of greenhouse gases
What is organic farming?
Farming that bans the use of chemicals.
What are the social and environmental advantages of organic farming?
Social - organic crops are healthier as less chemicals are used
Environmental - biodiversity increases with crop variety
What are the social, economic and environmental disadvantages of organic farming?
Social - organic pesticides are less effectiveness than chemical ones
Economic - can be more expensive for farmers to produce due to increased regulation
Environmental - yield is about 20% lower than intensive farming (at least in the short term), so more land is needed to grow the same amount of food
What are the environmental, social and economic advantages of GM (genetically modified) crops?
Environmental - they can be modified so that things such as flies are repelled from it
Social - biofortified crops increase nutritional value, impacting food utilisation
Economic - higher yields and efficiency will lead to cheaper food
What are the environmental, economic and social disadvanatges of GM crops?
Environmental - insecsts could form resistance to pesticides
Economic - lack of profits flowing back into the economy of these less developed countries who are buying the seeds, less food access
Social - Large companies have got small farmers’ ‘hands tied’ as they keep having to come back for more seeds
Why do farmers have to keep on buying seeds in GM Crops?
Because the ‘terminator seed’ is included in the plant which kills the plant - this makes it expensive
Explain how urban gardens attempt to achieve food security through social, economic and environmental factors.
Social - Diseases can spread in urban crops, lowering food availability
Economic - growing food does not cost much, raising food access
Environemntal - urban gardens remove CO2 from atmosphere
What is a permaculture?
Several crops are grown instead of one, maintaining a year-round supply to food. Fertilisers and pesticides are not needed.
Additional info: different plants attract different insects, so a bug attracted to one plant might be eaten by an insect attracted by another. Also. diseases get less chance to spread as they will only affect one type of plant. This means fewer pesticides are needed.
How do permacultures attempt to achieve food security in a social, economic and environmenetal way?
Social: using less chemicals is healthier for farmers (food utilisation) + high labour nput required so more stress for farmers
Economic: less chemcial makes it cheaper to produce food (food access)
Environmental: less chemcials means less pollution
What are preventative checks?
Preventative checks are things people can do to reduce population growth such as having smaller families.
