7. Fragile environments

Question 1

What are fragile environments?

Answer 1

Natural environments that are sensitive to, and easily abused by, human activities.
eg those at risk from desertification, deforestation and climate change

Question 2

What is an ecological footprint?

Answer 2

A measure of the mark that humans make on the natural world.
Considers how much land and sea are required to provide us with the water, energy and food we need to support our lifestyle
World: 2ha
UK: 5.5ha

Question 3

What is desertification?

Answer 3

When once-productive land gradually changes into a desert-like landscape.

Question 4

Which regions are at risk from desertification?

Answer 4

Western USA and Mexico, Central Asia, North Africa, Middle East

Question 5

What are characteristics of desertification?

Answer 5

Absence of surface water
Soil becomes less usable
Increased soil erosion as bare soil is exposed to the wind
Increase in salt content of soil
Increasing presence of dry, loose sand
Lowering of the water table
Dried up watercourses and ponds
Vegetation becomes degraded or completely lost

Question 6

What are some natural causes of desertification?

Answer 6

Changing rain patterns: less predictable rainfall and more regular droughts may cause vegetation cover to die, leaving bare soil and triggering desertification

Soil erosion: changing weather patterns can lead to increased soil erosion, reducing support for vegetation growth so vegetation becomes degraded, triggering process of desertification

Changing intensity of rainfall: short intense bursts of rainfall are difficult for the soil to absorb, meaning vegetation may die, triggering desertification

Question 7

What are some human causes of desertification?

Answer 7

Population growth and immigration: puts pressure on the land to grow more food which can lead to overgrazing

Overgrazing: too much livestock can destroy vegetation by trampling and eating

Deforestation: trees cut down for fuel and housing, roots no longer bind soil, leading to soil erosion

Question 8

What are some impacts of desertification?

Answer 8

Reduced agricultural output: decline in soil condition plus increasing water shortage lowers agricultural productivity, meaning crops fail and livestock die.

Malnutrition and famine: decline in agricultural output leads malnutrition and then famine, causing starvation and death esp in the young and elderly

Migration: situation may become so bad that people move away in hope of finding somewhere with enough food

Question 9

What is deforestation?

Answer 9

The cutting down of trees.

Question 10

Which regions have experienced the most deforestation?

Answer 10

Deforestation has been most severe in the deciduous forests of the warm temperate parts of Europe, China and the USA.
coniferous forests of the cold temperate regions of North America and Eurasia remain relatively untouched.
Alarming speed of deforestation in tropical rainforests (Brazil, Indonesia)

Question 11

What are characteristics of deforestation?

Answer 11

Clear felling: forest completely cut down
Selective felling: only best trees are extracted so that some trees remain

Recent action: freshly sawn tree trunks and burnt saplings
Longer ago: large fields used to grow crops

Question 12

What are causes of deforestation?

Answer 12

Agriculture: land cleared for plantations
Commercial logging
Road building
Mining: minerals eg iron, gold and copper
Farming: land cleared to grow own food
HEP: rivers are dammed and huge areas of forest flooded as a result

Question 13

What are some impacts of deforestation?

Answer 13

Loss of biodiversity: 80% of the world’s species can be found in tropical rainforests, forests provide us with resources eg food, timber, medicines which we must conserve

Climate change: forests absorb carbon dioxide, burning trees also releases CO2, greenhouse gas emissions also contribute to global warming

Economic development: LICs can gain wealth by selling resources, however benefits are only short term unless trees are re-planted, provides jobs and goods from plantations

Increased soil erosion: without tree roots to anchor fertile soil, erosion can occur and sweep soil into rivers, 1/3 of the world’s arable land has been lost since 1960

Question 14

What is climate change?

Answer 14

Long-term variations in global annual weather patterns.

Question 15

What are natural causes of climate change?

Answer 15

Milankovitch cycles: variations in the Earth’s orbit around the Sun, which can be changes in the shape of the orbit or the tilt of the axis (obliquity), or wobbles as the Earth spins on its axis (precession)

Volcanic activity or cosmic material: dust and ash ejected into Earth’s atmosphere by eruptions can block solar radiation

Question 16

What is the greenhouse effect?

Answer 16

The retention of solar radiation (heat) in the atmosphere due to build-up of greenhouse gases.

Question 17

What are human causes of climate change?

Answer 17

Human activity causes enhanced greenhouse effect

Carbon dioxide: burning fossil fuels, burning trees
Methane: raising livestock and coal mining
Nitrous oxide: car exhaust fumes and using artificial fertilisers
CFCs: released from coolants in fridges, freezers and air conditioners

Question 18

What are some impacts of climate change?

Answer 18

Rising sea levels: melting of ice sheets and expansion of seawater as it warms, more than 3mm per year, aquifers contaminated so water must be desalinated (economic and social), costal areas flooded (environmental) which may cause forced migration (social)

More hazard events: more extreme weather, warmer seas means more intense storms, 3 day rainfall events increased since 1980, El Niño and La Niña more frequent, more heatwaves, more desertification

Ecosystem changes: push world’s biomes towards the poles, causes some positives such as resources eg oil more accessible and more shipping routes between North America and Eurasia

Reduced employment opportunities: significant amount of economic activity at the coast

Changing settlement patterns: massive migration due to retreat from coastal and low-lying areas, may cause conflict between countries

Health and wellbeing challenges: water scarcity may force us to use contaminated water, increasing water-borne diseases, food supply could be affected

Question 19

How can we deal with desertification?

Answer 19

Education: teaching people how to make land use sustainable
Reducing soil erosion: plant trees and maintaining permanent plant cover to protect soil from wind
Permaculture: growing a variety of crops in one field
Fuel: don’t use wood as fuel for cooking
Water conservation: use water-spreading weirs

Question 20

What are water-spreading weirs?

Answer 20

Stone and cement constructions that extend from one side of a valley to another
Reduce speed of water flow, deposit soil, water seeps into ground, water table is raised and extends into cultivable land

Question 21

How is the Amazon Rainforest managed sustainably?

Answer 21

1965 Forest Code: people who own rainforest land could only clear up to 20% of it, clearing of vegetation prohibited along rivers and on steep slopes

Restoring and replanting (REGUA): Project near Rio de Janeiro is recreating rainforest cover like the original by replanting samplings in deforested areas, hope to restore 12 million ha of land

Soy and cattle moratorium: soy industry pledged not to buy any soybeans produced on Amazon lands, similar rules on cattle

Expansion of indigenous reserves: indigenous people practice more sustainable, small scale cultivation

Question 22

What should every country do in response to climate change?

Answer 22

Join global effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
Protect and conserve forests
Identify fragile environments and decide what should be done to protect them
Identify coastal areas threatened by flooding or marine erosion and decide what action needs to be taken

Question 23

What was agreed at COP21 in Paris (December 2015)?

Answer 23

Limit global warming below 2℃
The need for global emissions to peak ASAP
All countries must submit a comprehensive national climate action plan
To undertake rapid reductions thereafter in accordance with the best available science

Question 24

What was agreed at COP26 in Glasgow (November 2021)?

Answer 24

Commitment to limit (phase-down) use of coal and to climate finance developing countries
140 countries pledge to reach net-zero emissions
100 countries (including Brazil) pledge to stop and reverse deforestation
40 countries pledge to move away from using coal

Question 25

How is the UK government responding to climate change?

Answer 25

Signed Kyoto protocol in 1995, treaty that commits countries to reducing GHG emissions
Climate Change Act (2008) committed to cutting emissions by at least 80% from 1990 levels
In 2019, legislated a target of net zero carbon GHG emissions by 2050

Question 26

How are UK organisations responding to climate change?

Answer 26

Urban Tree Challenge Fund: aims to plant 130,000 trees across England

Tesco:
Invested over £700mil since 2006
Reduced emissions by 41% per square foot
100% renewable energy

Question 27

How are UK individuals responding to climate change?

Answer 27

Collective action, eg extinction rebellion
Eat less meat, esp beef
Insulate homes
Solar panels
Clean transport
Vote for parties against climate change

Question 28

How is the Chinese government responding to climate change?

Answer 28

Responsible for 22.7% of global GHG emissions, nearly 80% of energy comes from coal

Adopted Paris agreement in 2016

Produced National Action Plan on climate change involving actions which should make China’s economic development more environmentally sustainable

Question 29

How are Chinese organisations responding to climate change?

Answer 29

Greenpeace East Asia: lobbying China to move away from coal and to invest heavily in renewable energy, get Mainland China and Hong Kong public to take personal action

Question 30

How are Chinese individuals responding to climate change?

Answer 30

74% of Chinese people surveyed are willing to pay extra for environmentally-friendly products
94% want to remain in the Paris Agreement
37% willing to give up meat