Theme 3 Flashcards
3.2 A country or region suffering from food shortages:
Madagascar - general facts
- Locust plague
- Affecting food security of 13 million people
- 2012-2016
- Rice production decreased by 21%
- 80% below poverty line
3.2 A country or region suffering from food shortages:
Madagascar - causes
Drought
- Crop yields can be drastically reduced without adequate rainfall (rice production fell by 21%)
Tropical hurricanes/cyclones
- High winds, torrential rainfall and storm surges can devastate farm land and crops
Pests
- E.g. locusts and disease such as mildew
- Without expensive pesticides and sprays, rural communities can suffer
3.2 A country or region suffering from food shortages:
Madagascar - solutions
FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation) and WFP (World Food Program) are leading help by:
- Provision of food assistance to the most vulnerable people, specifically children and pregnant women
- Construction/rehabilitation of community infrastructure such as irrigation canals, dams etc.
- Food for work/cash for work schemes
- Introduction of more efficient water management schemes
- Provision of adequate support to farmers to increase production of staple crops
3.5 Energy supply in a country or area:
Three Gorges Dam, China - general facts
- 32 huge water turbines, each with a capacity of 700 megawatts (nuclear reactor generates about 650MW)
- Capacity to produce 22500MW when turbines are running at full capacity
- Cost equivalent of $32 billion
- 300 species of fish in Yantze
3.5 Energy supply in a country or area:
Three Gorges Dam, China - advantages
- Renewable, clean, non-polluting
- Cheap (to run after setting up)
- Help with flood control
- Provide water for farming and industry
- Recreational activity/tourism
- Jobs created running/setting up
3.5 Energy supply in a country or area:
Three Gorges Dam, China - disavantages
- Expensive to build
- Lakes cover large areas of natural habitats and farmland, destroying wildlife habitats
- People may have to move, and whole towns/communities may disappear (1.3 million people in Three Gorges Dam area)
- Sediment carried by river may build up
- Reservoirs behind the dams create large areas of still water, where mosquitos can breed, with malaria.
- Visually most dams are not appealing
3.6 Water supply in a country or area (supply, challenges, management):
California - general facts
California State Water Project
- Water storage and delivery system
- 21 dams and 1300km of canals
- Provides additional water to 25 million people
- 70% for industry and urban areas, 30% for irrigation
3.6 Water supply in a country or area (supply, challenges, management):
California - challenges
- Evaporation from dams (loss of 2.45 trillion a year)
- Dry year 2012
- 2013 drought
- Removal of water during dry season has affected the Sacramento-San Joaquin river delta. Fish migration badly affected due to low water flows
- Central Arizona project: water from Colorado water being used by Arizona (1.85 trillion litres a year)
3.6 Water supply in a country or area (supply, challenges, management):
California - management
Reducing the amount of water used overall
- Reducing leakage of water (25% of water)
- Recycling water: greywater from industry and blackwater from sewage can be used to irrigate gardens, golf courses, flush toilets
- Reducing water subsidies: farmers pay for 10% of the water they use, if this increases they would find more efficient ways (drip irrigation, 100 times more efficient)
- Growing less water-dependent crops rather than rice and alfalfa
- Desalination plants (expensive)
3.7 An area where economic development is taking place causing the environment to be at risk:
Three Gorges Dam, China
- Lakes cover large areas of natural habitats and farmland, destroying wildlife habitats
- People may have to move, and whole towns/communities may disappear (1.3 million people in Three Gorges Dam area)
- Sediment carried by river may build up
- Reservoirs behind the dams create large areas of still water, where mosquitos can breed, with malaria.
- 300 species of fish unable to travel downstream
- Loss of forests and agricultural lands will lead to erosion and the build up of sediment at the base of the river and reservoir, leading to increased risk of flooding upstream
3.4 An area where tourism is important:
Kenya - impacts
Positive
- Money generated can fund anti-poaching
- Creates local jobs
- Protects environment
- Generates money (2nd biggest economy)
- Aids immediate economy, leads to national economy
- Improves standard of living of people in villages
- Exposure to new cultures, languages, aspirations (+ direct negative)
Negative
- Keeping traditional Maasai people from their way of life (grazing lands restricted by national park boundaries leads to overgrazing and people having to abandon their traditional lifestyle and move into urban areas)
- Potential degradation of environment (trash, minibuses, too many people
- Can degrade unique culture (new social problems including prostitution, crime, drugs and alcohol abuse)
- Environmental degradation on coast (hotels leads to dirty beaches and sea, trash)
- Destruction of underwater ecosystems through uncontrolled diving
- Visual pollution
3.4 An area where tourism is important:
Kenya - management of negative impacts
- Not overburdening natural environment
- Limiting number of people
- Sustainable carrying capacity
- Minibuses kept on trail and at least 25m from animals
- Highways well managed to the parks
- Foreign tourist companies able to profit, then invest in the country
- Buildings fit into local environment so they are not ugly and destructive (tented camps over hotels)
- Jobs only taken by local people
- Protecting lives of tribes people by finding ways to share the land efficiently
- Banning tourists from hunting
Tourism in Kenya
- People
- Animals
- Coast
- National parks
Violence, war, terrorism
- Separation from Britain 1950s
- Peaceful compared to neighbours
- Terrorism will deter tourists for couple of years
Controlling Tourism in Kenya
Control
- Money spent on tourism infrastructure
- Poaching
Cannot control
- Terrorism
- Global economic forces
- Climate change
