Professional Documents
Culture Documents
2024
IGCSE Geography
Case Studies Vol.1
Edited by Kwak Sang In
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THEME 1:
Overpopulation in Bangladesh
Under population in Australia
Antinatalist Policy in China
International Migration from Mexico to USA
THEME 2:
THEME 3:
Employment Structure - UK
Farming - Andhra Pradesh, India
Food Shortage - Ethiopia
Industry (Input, Process, Output) - Toyota - Burnaston
High Tech Industry - M4 Corridor
National Park - Peak District National Park
Tourism - Portugal
Energy supply - Canada
Water Supply - Singapore
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THEME 1:
1. Overpopulation in Bangladesh
Location:
• 8" most populous country in the world
• 147 million people, population growth rate of 2% per annum
Causes:
• LEDC, lacks resources
• Lack of contraceptives because of staunch religious beliefs
• No state pension system in Bangladesh so couples have more children to support them in old age
• GDP per capita is very low (US$ 240). Country lacks good medical facilities and vaccination centers
• IMR is very high (around 46 deaths per 1000 live births)
• Adult literacy rate is 41% so people are not educated about family planning
Problems:
• Over-cultivation near Ganges and Brahmaputra leading to fall in crop yield
• Migration to Dhaka putting pressure on their medical facilities and education facilities
• People forced to live near Bustees located on the edge of Dhaka. It has sub-par facilities, poor hygiene and sanitation
Solutions:
• Provide education about contraceptives
• Encourage family planning
• Invest in technology like HYVs and agrochemical
Causes:
• 45% of Australia is inhospitable desert
• Land Severely degraded
• Thin soils
• Heavy dependence on primary sector, over 40% of land modified for agricultural use
Problems:
• Shortage of workers which has led to lower optimum productivity.
• Conflicts caused in major cities such as Sydney by need to attract foreign workers.
• Not possible to exploit all resources and large areas of outback undeveloped/underutilized. Australia as many mines- it is
rich in coal, iron ore, gold, meat and alumina. Many mines in Goldfields, Peel and Pilbara regions. Olympic Dam in South
Australia is a major metal mine
• Less people paying tax. 43% of the labour force will be due to retire in next 20 years.
• Taxes will have to be raised to fund retirement.
• Schools and hospitals may close because there are not enough people to support them.
• Public transport links might close because of less customers.
• It is unlikely that new transport systems will develop as there is not enough people to support them. This increases
peoples reliance on cars.
• There may be less innovation and development.
• Hard to defend country.
Solutions:
• Relax Immigration laws
• Pro natalist policy
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3. Antinatalist Policy in China
Background:
• After China were invaded and occupied by Japan in the World War II, they wanted to strengthen their military so that it
never happened again.
• To do this they encouraged citizens to have more children, because a bigger population potentially meant a stronger
army.
• This policy would have been fine if China had the resources and technology to match. However, they did not and coupled
with the crippling policies of the cultural revolution, mass famines ensued.
• It is estimated that up to 30 million died during the 1960's and 1970's.
• This was not a sustainable policy, so the Chinese government was forced to introduce an anti-natalist policy.
Policy:
• The policy China decided to introduce was extremely strict and probably not possible in a non-communist country.
• The government stated that from 1979 all couples were only allowed to have one child.
• They also increased the marriageable age of men to 22.
• To get married and to have a child, citizens had to apply to the government. If you applied by these rules you were
entitled to free education, healthcare, housing and given a job.
• If you did not follow the rules, then benefits would be removed and females who were found to be pregnant were given
forced abortions and even sterilized
• To enforce the policy the government relied on community enforcement.
• Often elderly residents who were trusted within the community were asked to inform, elderly female informants were
nicknamed 'granny police'.
• The strict enforcement of the policy led to a problem of female infanticide. Males ensured the family name was
maintained and were able to work manual jobs, whereas females would be lost after marriage (females normally went to
live with their husbands family).
Exceptions:
• There were a number of exceptions to the rules, if you had twins or triplets this was fine, if your first child had a
physical or mental disability you could have a second, families in rural areas (farming areas) were often allowed a second,
ethnic minorities were allowed a second and often couples who bribed officials could have a second.
• The policy has been relatively successful, birth rates have fallen from a peak off 44 in the 1950's down to just 12.
China's population is also expected to peak in the next 20 years and then slowly start to decrease. Because of its
success there have been further relaxations including:
Effects on USA
• Illegal migration costs the USA millions of dollars for border patrols and prisons
• Mexicans are seen as a drain on the USA economy
• Migrant workers keep wages low which affects Americans
• They cause problems in cities due cultural and racial issues
• Mexican migrants benefit the US economy by working for low wages
• Mexican culture has enriched the US border states with food, language and music
• The incidents of TB has been increasing greatly due to the increased migration
THEME 2:
1. Volcano Case Study (Mt. Etna, Sicily)
Location:
• Mount Etna is Europe's highest and most active volcano. It is a composite volcano
• It is above the city of Catania on the island of Sicily. It has been growing for about 500,000 years and is in the midst of
a series of eruptions that began in 2001.
• Nearly 25% of Sicily lives on its slopes
Volcanic Eruption:
• Very Active volcano
• Erupted 13 times between 1970 and 2000
• Major eruption on 27* October 2002
• No warning of eruption
Plate Boundaries:
• African Plate (Oceanic) subducts beneath the Eurasian Plate (Continental)
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Management/ Response by Government:
• During the 2002 eruptions, dams of soil and volcanic rock were put up to protect the tourist base at Rifugio Sapienza
and helped to divert the flow.
• The Italians army's heavy earth moving equipment was brought in to block and divert lava flows.
• Local people have rebuilt their homes from salvaged materials or relocated elsewhere
• Government intervention has been rare.
Location:
• Southern Side of Honshu, Japan
• North shore of Osaka Bay
Earthquake:
• 17" January 1995
• Measured 7.4 on Richter Scale
• Epicenter was almost directly below Kobe
Plate Boundaries:
• Nojima Fault
• Above destructive plate margin where Philippines plate (oceanic) subducts under Eurasian Plate (continental)
Effects on People:
• 35000 people injured
• 200,000 Buildings and Hanshin Expressway collapsed despite their earthquake proof design
• Buildings destroyed by fires when gas mains fractured
• 316,000 people left homeless and refugees moved into temporary housing
• 120 out of the 150 quays were destroyed
• temperatures dropped to -2 degrees C and there was a shortage of short term aid
• Industries like Mitsubishi and Panasonic were forced to shut down
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• Employment in industry- over 300 factories in Kanpur along the river for salt, leather, metal works
• Religion: the river symbolizes purification to millions of Hindus who believe that drinking or bathing in its waters will lead
to moksha, or salvation. People also make income from running pilgrimages in Ganga
• Jobs in fisheries such as those in Allahabad
Flooding of Ganges:
a. Flood time:
• 1998- from July to September
b. Causes of Flood:
• Bangladesh is a very low lying country, with 70% of its land area being less than 1m above sea level and 80%
of it being floodplain.
• Bangladesh receives large amounts of water passing through it with two major rivers (the Ganges and
Brahmaputra) converging and forming a huge delta formed from silt deposited by the river as it enters the sea.
Both rivers have large volumes of water flowing through them to the sea as they have large drainage basins
which increasing the flood risk;
• Bangladesh has a monsoon climate and the annual torrential rains which result often result in the rivers
exceeding their capacity and flooding;
• In the spring, melting snow from the Himalayas further increases the flood risks as torrents of melt water enter
the rivers at their source.
• Deforestation due to increase in population
• Bangladesh is an LEDC and its lack of money and heavy national debt means that it has few flood defenses
put in place
d. Response by Government:
• International food aid programs
• the distribution of free seed to farmers by the Bangladesh government to try and reduce the impact of food
shortages - the government also gave 350,000 tonnes of cereal to feed people;
• volunteers / aid workers worked to try and repair flood damage
• Build 5000 flood shelters with stilts to save lives
• Improve forecasting with satellite technology
• Early warning system with megaphones
• Build dams
• Control water with sluice gates and water pumps
• Heighten embankments on side of river to 7m- more than 7500km already in place
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e. Management of flooding
• the creation of embankments (artificial levees) along the river to increase channel capacity and restrict flood
waters - however since 1957, 7,500km of flood embankments have been constructed and yet many were
breached in the 1998 floods;
• constructing flood protection shelters (large buildings raised above the ground) to shelter both people and
animals
• emergency flood warning systems and plans made for organizing rescue and relief services;
• providing emergency medical stores in villages
• building flood proof storage sheds for grain and other food supplies
• dam construction upstream and major embankments around Dhaka have been suggested however lack of
money has meant that these suggestions have not been taken further.
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5. Case Study Coral Reef (Great Barrier Reef)
Location:
• The Great Barrier Reef is a mosaic of 2,900 individual reefs off the coast of Queensland in northeast Australia.
• The 2,300km-long ecosystem comprises thousands of reefs and hundreds of islands made of over 600 types of hard and
soft coral
Environmental threats:
• Climate change- elevated temperatures leads to coral bleaching (worst bleaching incidents from 2002-2006 where
65-90% of corals were bleached)
• Pollutions- runoff from farms can cause the water to become cloudy and can change pH
• Eutrophication
• Pesticides like mercury, arsenic and other toxins
Desertification Causes:
• Over-grazing: sedentarisation of agriculture increases land's pressure (e.g. in
Mauritania, land used by nomads is now used for cash crop cultivation); livestock numbers increase (due to meat
demand) and ranches are located on marginal (unprofitable) land.
• Over-cultivation: cash crop systems (growing the same crops on the same land for many years) expand, contributing to a
soil's nutrient loss; fallow periods are shorter, leading to nutrient exhaustion and smaller yields; the agricultural machinery
compacts the soil making it vulnerable to wind/water erosion; marginal (arid/steep) land is used for growing crops (e.g.
in Niger, millet fields have passed by 100km the official cultivation limit.)
• Accelerated soil erosion: deforestation (trees cut down to provide land for cultivation), over-grazing, over-cultivation,
usage of manure for fuel (which eliminates nutrients and affects soil structure) and growing crops on steep
slopes (plants cut off = water erosion.)
• Salinization: irrigation (excess water is left on soil's surface); poor drainage (where crops are poisoned due to salt
accumulation); deforestation (soil's temperature increases avoiding the absorption/reflection of insolation by trees.)
• : Crowing papuaten Befongraton (ram vars. g in Literial) bigger demand
• for food and fuel (wood.)
Effects
• Soil nutrients are reduced; soil erosion occurs when crop covers aren't big enough or due to agricultural machinery;
incorrect irrigation practices.
• Accelerated soil erosion: soil's depth is lost (e.g. in south-east Nigeria, more than 20% of agricultural land was destroyed
by landslides/sheet/gully erosions) as well as soil's fertility (organic matter & nutrients lost); soil moisture decreases and
soil's structure gets affected.
• Soils are intoxicated (most crops are intolerable to a big quantity of salt); pH increases (basic compounds remain in
salinized soils and alkaline pH affects crop production); soil structure is lost (salts + clay minerals = impermeable
soils); water supplies become less potable; salt weathering occurs quicker.
• Malnutrition and health problems (e.g. in Somalia there have been political conflicts, starvation problems and social
rebellions.)
Solutions:
• Afforestation (stabilizes soil, reducing wind/water erosion); using manure as fertilizer instead of fuel; terracing land;
locating salt traps (gravel + sand prevent salt from reaching soil's surface (contributing to water loss)); irrigation
improvements; switching over-grazing for rotational grazing (limiting livestock pressure on a certain area.)
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7. Tropical Rainforest Case Study (Amazon)
Location:
• The Amazon Rainforest is located in South America
• It is 5.5 million square kilometers in size
• The land is mainly used for grazing cattle and growing soya beans
• It is estimated that more than 1/3 of all species live in the Amazon rainforest
Climate
• Hot throughout the year - 26o ~ 27oc.
• Rainfall is heavy and mainly convectional although sometimes relief. Rarely frontal because little cold air. Total rainfall is
1773 mm.
• It rains nearly every day of the year, usually in the afternoon.
• No months are dry but there is a drier period between June and September.
• There are no seasons. It is always hot and always wet.
Effects:
• 30000 known species could be threatened
• May lose species that are as yet undiscovered
• Could lose the cure for diseases like Aids and cancer eg periwinkle found to cure Leukaemia
• Loss of Amerindians due to European diseases
• Loss of Amerindian traditions
• Soil erosion as lack of interception as canopy removed
• Loss of nutrients in soil
• Climate change and global warming
• Global balance of carbon and oxygen affected
THEME 3:
1. Employment Structure - UK
Location:
• Located in Northern Europe
• Neighboring countries are Begum, Denmark, France, Germany
Employment Structure:
• Primary 3%
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• Secondary 25%
• Tertiary 70%
• Quaternary 2%
Location:
• Coastal Andhra is near Godavari River and Krishna River
• Close Proximity to rapidly developing towns like Rajahmundry and Kakinada
Farms:
• Rice, Jawar, Sugarcane
• West Godavari District- Coconut and rice
• Paddy fields grow rice and pulses
Climate:
• Heavy tropical rains from July to September
• Temperature more than 21 degrees Celsius all year
• Rainfall of 500~1,000mm with hot summers and mild winters
Transport:
• East Coast Railway (ECoR) serves Srikakulam, Vizianagaram District and Vishakapatnam district and Vizag city
• Regional airports- Vishakapatnam Airport, Vijayawada Airport, Rajahmundry Airport
Causes:
• Northern region receives less rainfall of about 94-250mm annually
• 88% of population employed in primary sector along with very little profit, there is a lot of pressure to produce crops so
over cultivation occurs
• Drought reduces yield of crops, it extends to neighboring Eritrea s well
• Overgrazing occurs because there is too many cattle (considered a form of wealth) especially in northern region of Tigray
• Lack of investment in irrigation and farming practices are thus inefficient.
• Lack of funds because of extreme corruption so investment is not made to funding weed killers and pesticides
Effects:
• 10.1 million people affected by failure of harvests in 2015
• 400,000 children at risk of suffering acute malnutrition disorders like kwashiorkor and Marasmus
• Erratic rains causing massive fall in crop yield
• More pressure because of government having to support South Sudanese refugees after violence in December 2013
• Crop Production in Tigray dropped by 50-90% in some parts
Solutions:
• UN funding from UNICEF and WFP
• Adigrat Diocesan Catholic Secretariat(ADCS), a non-profit faith-based welfare organization trying to raise funds to assist
the farmers in Ethiopia's most northern Tigray region.
• Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP) is a welfare-for-work initiative enabling about 6 million people to work on public
infrastructure projects in return for food or cash
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• Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, FAO, released a 50 million dollar emergency response plan
• Government response has been slow- launched a huge national effort, allocating nearly $200m (£130m) to deal with the
food crisis in December 2015
Location:
• Toyota is the world’s third largest manufacturer of cars.
• It has its head office in Japan, and component factories, assembly plants and selling outlets throughout the world.
• The Toyota factory in Burnaston is near Derby in Central England.
• Toyota opened the Burnaston factory in 1992.
• It employs over 2,500 people and has over 200 suppliers, the majority of which are from the UK.
Inputs:
• 2.35 million m? of land
• £1.15 billion investment to build the Burnaston factory
• 2,590 workers
• 233 suppliers who provide tires, paint, etc.
• Some amount of supplies from Japan
Processes:
• Pressing (shaping) of metal panels
• Welding of metal panels and components
• Painting of car panels
• Assembly- Just in time system
Outputs:
• Waste like scrap metals sold as second hand
• Cars
• 15% sold in UK, 70% in Europe, rest sold worldwide
• Profits repatriated to Japan
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• Market - Much of the South of England is wealthy so there is a large potential market for new products.
• Existing Industries - There is already existing government research facilities and other research based companies like
British Aerospace and Rolls Royce in the area.
• Conglomeration - If hi-tech firms group together they can share associated services. Associated companies may range
from cleaning and security firms, to IT repair and research labs. By sharing services it should reduce costs and increase
the amount offered.
• The skilled workforce found in university towns of Oxford, Cambridge, Reading and Bristol.
• Close proximity and good access to London, where the major government functions and financial trading occurs.
• A very attractive natural environment, which would provide a very pleasant place to live for the workers. Areas such as
the Cotswolds and the Mendip Hills are in easy reach of the Sunrise Strip
Active recreation:
• A cycle hire scheme and special routes along disused railway lines or traffic free roads has been provided at 4 centres
(Parsley Hay, Upper Derwent, Ashbourne and Waterhouses) with around 55,000 hirings per year.
• There are 55 reservoirs of over 2 hectares in area in the National Park.
Fishing is allowed on twelve of these and sailing on five of them.
• There is a gliding centre at Great Hucklow, and several sites for hang gliding eg. at Mam Tor and Stanage.
• There are 14 stables with horses for hire in and around the Peak District.
Other Activities:
• Blue John Cavern for cave exploration abseiling and rock limbing
• Buxton- natural springs -nature photography
Providing accommodation;
• 65% of visits to the Peak District National Park are day visits, the remainder being visits by people staying on holiday
(4.8 nights on average).
• A range of accommodation is provided for staying visitors: camping and caravan sites (114 authorized sites with
authorization for 4,646 caravans and 891 tents), 13 camping barns, 13 Youth Hostels and Bed & Breakfast in a large
number of private houses, pubs or hotels.
• The 1998 Visitor Survey showed that staying visitors spend on average £21-26/day compared with day visitors who
spend an average of £7.30/day in the Park
Traffic control;
• The South Pennines Integrated Transport Strategy (SPITS) has been devised by the Peak District National Park Transport
Forum to control visitor traffic over the next 20 years.
• The Hope Valley Community Rail Partnership aims to encourage the use of buses and trains within this popular valley.
Work includes publicity and marketing, enhanced service levels, special events, walks and local arts promotions
Footpath management;
• The Pennine Way, the most popular long distance path and with the greatest erosion problems, has been paved for most
of its length within the Park. This has prevented further erosion and has led to the re-vegetation of previously eroded
peat.
• Dovedale is a honeypot area where the footpath through the dale can be used by up to 1,000 people an hour. A better
path has been constructed to cope with this heavy pressure.
• A Local Countryside Access Forum has been set up to explore how the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 can be
implemented in the Peak District with the potential to open up a further 18000ha of land for public use.
7. Tourism - Portugal
Location
• Algarve is Portugal's southernmost region which experiences long hours of sunshine especially from June to September
• Low rainfall between April and October.
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Tourist attractions:
• The Western Atlantic coast is and rugged interior are less developed but they are popular spots for adventures such as
rock climbing, skydiving and cave scouting.
• The Sandy coves on the east have average temperatures of over 20°C during summer months. This encourages tourists
from colder climates and these areas are popular for sunbathing.
• Theres is little it pollution and clean blue seas os tourists can do water sports.
• The central coast between Lagos and Faro is lined with hotel villas, hotels, bars and waterfront restaurants/bars in
resorts like Albufeira for evening entertainment.
• There are attractive headlands with low cliffs near Lagos so people can enjoy a picturesque environment.
• These cliffs also have whitewashed fishing villages, which is rich with Portuguese fish and spice markets.
• The area is very well connected to Faro airport and there are excellent roads to Lagos, Majorca and Menorca are actively
practising eco-friendly tourism
• Just north of Mao on the coast is the Parc Natural de S'Albufera des Grau, a most important wetlands reserve area in
Spain.
• There is restricted access to sensitive areas by fencing them off and creation of marked paths such as those in
S'Albufera des Grau.
• These areas deal with fewer tourist firms so tourist numbers are restricted slowing the increase in pollution.
• Canada is the 5th largest producer of energy in the world, producing about 6% of global energy supplies.
• It is the world's largest producer of natural uranium, producing one-third of global supply, and is also the world's leading
(or #2) producer of hydro-electricity, accounting for 13% of global production.
• It is also a significant producer of petroleum, natural gas, and coal.
• Canada also has one of the largest tidal barrage power plants in the world-the 20-megawatt (MW) Annapolis tidal power
plant in Nova Scotia.
• Similarly, solar photovoltaic (PV) has grown substantially, reaching 765 MW in 2012
• 77 percent of Canada's electricity generation does not emit greenhouse gases. Canada is the world's third largest
producer of hydroelectricity, and it is positioned ninth globally in terms of wind energy installed capacity
Imported water
• Singapore has been importing water from Johor, Malaysia, under two bilateral agreements. The first agreement expired in
August 2011 and the second agreement will expire in 2061.
NEWater
• It is produced from treated used water that is further purified using advanced membrane technologies and ultra-violet
disinfection, making it ultra-clean and safe to drink.
• passed more than 100,000 scientific tests and surpasses World Health Organisation requirements, a testimony of its high
quality and reliability.
• NEWater is primarily for non-potable industrial uses.
• A small percentage of NEWater is also blended with raw water in the reservoir. The raw water from the reservoir then
goes through treatment at the waterworks before it is supplied to consumers as tap water.
Desalinated Water
• In September 2005, Singapore turned on its fourth National Tap, desalinated water, with the opening of the SingSpring
Desalination Plant in Tuas.
• This plant can produce 30 million gallons of water a day (136, 000 cubic meters) and is one of the region's largest
seawater reverse-osmosis plants.
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• The plan is to grow Singapore's desalination capacity, so that the Fourth National Tap will be able to meet up to 25% of
its future water demand by 2060.
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