IB SL Geography Revision Notes

Populations in Transition:

Population trends:

- Global population change 1930-2020

o In most regions population growth has increased between 1930 and 1960, and then
again between 1960 and 1990 (Africa, South America, Australia, Asia) with the exception
of North America and Europe
o In contrast, the projected changes for 1990-2020 show that the population growth rate
will fall all over the globe
- Exponential growth
o Increasing /accelerating growth rate
o The world’s population
populatio n is growing rapidly, most of it being recent
rece nt
o Global pop. Doubled between 1650 and 1850, 1850 and 1920, and 1920 and 1970
(taking less and less time to double)
o Up to 95% of pop. growth is taking place in LDC
o This trend of growth is defined as exponential growth
gr owth
o In spite of this, world population is expected to stabilize at about 12 billion by around
2050-80
o This growth creates:
 Pressures on government to provide for their people
 Environmental pressure
 Increase risk of disease and malnutrition
 Greater differences between poor and rich countries
- Demographic change and global trends
o The annual growth rate is found by subtracting the crude death rate (% of deaths
de aths per
thousand people, also referred to by number of deaths per thousand) from the crude
birth rate (% of births per thousand people, also referred to by the number of births per
thousand) and is then expressed as a percentage
o The highest growth rates are found in Africa, and lowest in North America and Europe
Birth rates:

- Measurements of fertility
o Crude birth rate (CBR) = total number births/total population x 1000 per year (doesn’t
consider age and sex structure of population), total number of birth per thousand
o Standardized birth rate (SBR) in contrast to the CBR, gives a birth rate for a region based
on the premises that the region’s age composition is the same as that of the whole
country
o Total fertility rate (TFR) is the average
aver age number of births per woman
o The general fertility rate is the number of live births per 1000 women
w omen of reproductive
age in a country
 GFR = number of live births/number of women in reproductive age x 1000 per
pe r
year
o The age-specific birth rate (ASBR) = number of births/women of any specified age x 1000
per year
o In general, the highest fertility rates are shown in LEDCs (Less economically developed
countries) and the lowest in
in MEDCs (More economically developed countries), with the
TFR is MEDCs being an average of 1.7,
1 .7, and in LEDCs an average of
o f 5.8
- Changes in fertility
o Changes are a result of a combination of sociocultural and economic factors
- Sociocultural factors and fertility
o Status of women
 The status of women is assessed by gender-related
gender -related development index (GDI),
which measures the inequality between the sexes in life expectancy, education
and the standard of living.
 In countries where the status of women is low and few women are educated or
involved in paid employment, birth rates are generally
gene rally higher
 An example is Singapore, where the status of women has improved, and from
1960 to 2000, because of this improvement, the rate fell from 3.0 to 1.5
o Level of education and material ambition
 In general, the higher the level of parental education, the fewer the children
 Middle-income families with high aspirations but limited means tend to have
smaller families
 In order to improve standards of living, they limit family size
 Example is Ethiopia (2005) where uneducated women had TFR’s of 6.1 and
educated ones with a TFR of (2.0)
o Type of residence
 People in rural areas have more children than in urban
 This is because:
Birth rates:

- Measurements of fertility
o Crude birth rate (CBR) = total number births/total population x 1000 per year (doesn’t
consider age and sex structure of population), total number of birth per thousand
o Standardized birth rate (SBR) in contrast to the CBR, gives a birth rate for a region based
on the premises that the region’s age composition is the same as that of the whole
country
o Total fertility rate (TFR) is the average
aver age number of births per woman
o The general fertility rate is the number of live births per 1000 women
w omen of reproductive
age in a country
 GFR = number of live births/number of women in reproductive age x 1000 per
pe r
year
o The age-specific birth rate (ASBR) = number of births/women of any specified age x 1000
per year
o In general, the highest fertility rates are shown in LEDCs (Less economically developed
countries) and the lowest in
in MEDCs (More economically developed countries), with the
TFR is MEDCs being an average of 1.7,
1 .7, and in LEDCs an average of
o f 5.8
- Changes in fertility
o Changes are a result of a combination of sociocultural and economic factors
- Sociocultural factors and fertility
o Status of women
 The status of women is assessed by gender-related
gender -related development index (GDI),
which measures the inequality between the sexes in life expectancy, education
and the standard of living.
 In countries where the status of women is low and few women are educated or
involved in paid employment, birth rates are generally
gene rally higher
 An example is Singapore, where the status of women has improved, and from
1960 to 2000, because of this improvement, the rate fell from 3.0 to 1.5
o Level of education and material ambition
 In general, the higher the level of parental education, the fewer the children
 Middle-income families with high aspirations but limited means tend to have
smaller families
 In order to improve standards of living, they limit family size
 Example is Ethiopia (2005) where uneducated women had TFR’s of 6.1 and
educated ones with a TFR of (2.0)
o Type of residence
 People in rural areas have more children than in urban
 This is because:
 More rigid social pressures on women
 Greater freedom and less state control in rural areas (e.g. China’s one
child policy is enforced less rigorously in rural areas)
 Females in rural areas have fewer educational and economic
opportunities
 In some urban areas, such as shanty towns, there are high levels of 
fertility because of their youthful population structure
o Religion
 In general, most religions are pro-natalist
pro -natalist and favor larger families (are against
abortions, sterilization, etc.)
o Health of the mother
 Sometimes, women who are unhealthy and have some miscarriages become
pregnant more often to compensate
- Economic factors and fertility
o Economic Prosperity
 Not complete correlation, but there are some links
 Economic prosperity favours an increase in the birth rate, while increasing costs
lead to a decline in the birth rate
 The UN believe that a reduction in the high birth rates in the LEDCs can be
achieved only by improving the standards of living in those countries
 In addition, equitable distribution of wealth tend to lower the fertility rate
 Canada has higher level of GNP per capita (US$) than Tanzania (20 000 to 200),
and therefore has the lower TFR (1.6 in comparison to 5.5)
o The need for children
 High infant mortality rates increase the pressure on women to have more
children (replacement/compensatory births)
 Larger families in agricultural societies help provide labor for the farm

Mortality:

- Measurements of mortality
o The crude death rate (CDR) = total no. of deaths/total population x 1000 per year
(number of deaths per 1000 per year)
o Poor measurement of mortality (doesn’t consider many other factors, Pakistan’s crude
rate of 7.8% is less than
t han that of Denmark’s 11%
o Better measures are the
t he standardize mortality rate (SMR), and age-specific mortality
rates (ASMRs) such as the infant mortality rate (IMR)
o IMR = total no. of deaths of children <1 year old/total no. of live births per year x 1000
1 000
o The child mortality rate (CMR) = total no. of deaths of children aged 1-5 years/total
number of children aged 1-5 years x 1000
o Life expectancy (E0) is the average number of years that a person can be expected to
live, given the demographic factors are constant
- Patterns of mortality
o Patterns of mortality differ from MEDCs to LEDCs
o In MEDCs, the death rate falls steadily to 9% with high life expectancies (75+)
o In LEDCs the opposite can be seen,
see n, but due to a steady improvements over the past few
decades in food supply, water, sanitation and housing, the situation is improving
o However this trend has unfortunately been reversing as a consequence of AIDS
- Causes of death
o As a country develops, the major forms of illness and death change
o LEDCs are characterized by waterborne
wate rborne infectious diseases (cholera or gastroenteritis)
or vector-borne (river blindness, malaria, diarrhoea and vomiting).
o In MEDCs, fatal diseases are more likely t be degenerative conditions such as cancer,
strokes or heart disease
o The change in disease pattern from infectious to degenerative s known as the
epidemiological transition model (epidemiology is the study of diseases).
- Variations in mortality rates
o Age structure
 Some populations, such as those in retirement towns and especially
e specially in the older
industrialized countries, have very high life expectancies, but t his in turn results
in a rise in the CDR
 Countries with a younger population will have lower death rates (Mexico with
34% of the population under the age of 15 years, has a CDR of 5%)
o Social class
 The poorer people within any population have higher mortality rates than the
more affluent
 In some countries such as South Africa, this is also reflected in racial groups
o Occupation
 Certain occupations are hazardous (military, farming, mining etc.) and certain
diseases are specifically linked to these occupations
o Place of residence
 In urban areas, mortality rates are higher in areas of relative poverty and
deprivation (inner cities/shanty towns)
 Due to overcrowding, pollution, high population densities and stress
 In many rural areas where there is widespread poverty and limited farm
productivity, mortality rates are high
 Example is in the rural north-east of Brazil, where life expectancy is 27 years
shorter than in the richer south-east region
- Child mortality and infant mortality
o While the CMR shows small fluctuations over time, the IMR can show greater
fluctuations and is one of the most sensitive indicators of the level of development
o This is due to the following
 High IMRs are found only in the poorest countries
 The causes of infant deaths are often preventable
 IMRs are low where there is safe waters supply and adequate sanitation,
housing, healthcare and nutrition
 The CMR is declining (dropped about a quarter between 1990 and 2006)
 It fell by about a half in Latin America, Central Europe, the former Soviet Union
and east Asia (progress slower in sub-Saharan Africa has be en slower)

Population pyramids:

- Population structure or composition refers to any measurable characteristic of the population

- This includes age, sex, ethnicity, language, religion and occ upation

-
- Population pyramids tell us a great deal of information about the age and sex structure of a
population:
o A wide base suggest a high birth rate
o A narrowing bases suggests a falling birth rates
o Straight or near-vertical sides show a low death rate
o A concave lope suggest a high death rate
o Bulges in the slope indicate high rates of immigrate
o Deficits in the slope show out-migration or age-specific or sex-specific deaths
- Population pyramids can also be used to show the racial composition of a population or the
employed population group
- Pop. Pyramids are important because the y tell us about population growth
- They help planners to find out how many services and facilities, such as schools and hospitals
will be needed in the future
- Demographic transition model
o 4 stages
o Stage 1: Pre-transition
 High BR
 High infant mortality rates
 High DR
 High fertility
 Many young, few old
 Upwards curving population pyramid
o Stage 2: Early-transition
 DR declines rapidly (better medical care)
 BR + FR remain high
 Many you people
 Infant mortality declines
 Triangle shape population pyramid
o Stage 3: Late-transition
 BR declines rapidly
 DR declines slowly
 FR declines
 Increasing older people
 Rounded triangular shape
o Stage 4: Post-transition
 Low BR + DR
 Fertility rate around 2.1 (replacement rate)
 Greying society
 Stable/slow pop growth
 Bullet shaped population pyramid
- Growth rates
o The growth rate is the average annual percentage change in the population, resulting
from a surplus or deficit of births over deaths and the balance of migrants entering and
leaving a country
o The rate may be positive or negative
o The growth rate is a factor in determining how great a burden would be imposed on a
country by the changing needs of its people for infrastructure, resources and jobs
- Doubling times
o The doubling time refers to the length of time it takes for a population to double in size,
assuming in natural growth rate remains constant. Approximate values for it can be
calculated using the following formula
o Doubling time = 70/growth rate in percentage
o Denmark growth rate is 0.1%, doubling time 700 years, Brazil’s is 0.9%, doubling
time 78 years, Uganda growth rate 3.0% and doubling time 23 years
- Population momentum (PMF)
o Population momentum is the tendency for a population to grow despite a fall in
the birth rate or fertility levels
o It occurs because of a relatively high concentration of people in the pre-
childbearing and childbearing years
o As these young people grow older and move through reproductive ages, the
more the number of births will exceed the number of deaths in the older
populations and so the population will continue to growth
o Population projections are predictions about future population based on trends
in fertility, mortality and migration
o PMF = CBR x average life expectancy at birth
o When PMF =1 natural increase >1 is positive momentum <1 is negative
- Three population pyramids
o Germany, by age and sex, 2006

o
o Refer to page 13 in study guide
- Case study: Papua New Guinea
o In 2000, 4-% under 15, suggesting future growth
o Pop. Distribution diff. from most countries
 Highest density near mountains rather than coastal
 Dense in high areas for safety
 Remote from roads/communications
 Rich volcanic soils, abundant rainfall, free from malaria
o Average pop, density so low its under populated
 Insufficient people to develop its resources
 Too little tax revenue for merit goods
 Too few roads
 Low prices for cash crops b/c of high transportation costs + lack of 
competition
o Some areas too populated
 Food shortages
 Over exploitation of land (soil erosion + land degradation)
 Land disputes
 Citizens tend to migrate from dense areas to less dense areas (urban-
rural migration)

Gender and Change:

- Gender and population growth

o High rates of population growth are associated with a low status of women in society
o The UN Decade for Women, from 1975 to 1985 recommended three important points
for action:
 There should be legal equality for women
 Further development needs to improve on the substandard role that women
play
 Women should receive an equal share of power
- Gender and social role
o In 1970, Esther Boserup identified women as having been left behind in the
development process
o The social roles that women have are mostly
 Biological reproduction
 Social reproduction
 Economic reproduction
o These three roles create a great deal of physical and psychological stress
o It is believed in sub-Saharan Africa that:
 Up to one-third of women are pregnant or breastfeeding at any one time
 Women comprise over half the workforce, sometimes 70%
 Women grow over 80% of the food eaten and contribute half of the region’s
cash crops
- Women and development
o Strategic or political change is needed to attain equality and empowerment
o Progress for sexual equality has been painfully slow
o For example, the illiteracy rate is much higher for girls than boys, and generally,
women are becoming poorer (supposedly)
o Gender inequalities in adult literacy are higher in African and Arab cities
- The reasons for slow progress
o Conditions are deteriorating in a large part of Africa
o As a result of structural adjustment programmes (SAPs), countries spend less
money on health and social welfare (disproportionately borne by women)
o There is a lack of commitment to women by man countries and by donors
o Women have to work as well as be the head of the household, but they have
little legal status

Gender Inequalities:

- The goal of gender equality

o Gender equality has gained wide acceptance as an important goal for many countries
around the world
o Participants at the 1994 International conference o n Population and Development in
Cairo agreed on the principle “that advancing gender equality and equity and the
empowerment of women, and the elimination of all kinds of violence against women,
and ensuring women’s ability to control their own fertility, are corn
o When women have frequent and numerous births, their life choices are often restricted
o When women have fewer children, they face fewer years of childcare and they are freer
to work
- Women’s work
o In order to remain competitive in the global marketplace, businesses in many countries
have capitalized on women as a source of labour willing to work in poor conditions for
low wages
o Many women have joined the workforce in unskilled, labour-intensive and poorly paid
 jobs
o This situation is made worse by the burden of the household, childcare and domestic
responsibilities
o In eastern Europe, the status of working women worsened drastically with the economic
transition
o Some 25% of the world’s households have women as their heads, in urban areas,
especially in Latin America and Africa, the numbers sometimes exceed 50%
- Feminization of migration
o Women account for almost half of immigrants around the world
o Increasingly likely to move for economic opportunity (not to join husbands/family as in
the past)
o Labor demands affect percentage of gender migration, for example 70% of Filipino
labour migrants are women
- Tenure
o Tenure is defined as the way in which the rights, restriction and responsibilities that
people have with respect to land (and property) are held
o Few African countries have legislation in place to assure women’s access to land and
property
o Those that do include Burkina Faso, Malawi, Niger, Tanzania and Zimbabwe
- Women and unions
o Working women are increasingly becoming unionized
o In India for example, SEWA (Self-Employed Women’s Association) operates as a trade
union and as an economic empowerment group

Responses to high and low fertility:

- Political factors and family planning

o Most governments in LEDCs have introduced programmes aimed at reducing birth rates
o Effectiveness depends on:
 Focusing on family planning and not just birth control
 Investing sufficient finance in the schemes
 Working in consultation with the local population
o Where birth controls have been imposed by the government, less successful (except
China)
o In MEDCs, financial and social support for children is often available to encourage a pro-
natalist approach
o However, where fears of negative pop. Growth (Singapore), more direct measures taken
to increase birth rates
- Dependency ratios
o The dependency ratio measures the working population and the dependent population
o Population aged <15 + population aged >60 (dependents)/Population aged 16-59
(economically active)
o In the developed world, there is a high proportion of the elderly
o In the developing world there is a higher proportion of youth
- Ageing ratios
o Future trend in old-age dependency ratio for the EU countries is increasing
o Currently for working individuals for each person 65 or o lder
o Will drop down to two, or worse, generally due to the low birth rates

Impacts of Youthful and Ageing Populations:

- Youthful populations
o In LEDCs, rapid youthful age structures are creating demand for many services and
facilities
o Depends on whether the country has resources to satisfy demand
o Often not the case in LEDCs, lack provision of goods such as schooling
- Advantages and disadvantages of a youthful population
o Advantages
 Large potential workforce
 Lower medical costs
 Attractive to new investment
 Source of new innovation
 Large potential market for selected goods
 Development of services such as school
o Disadvantages
 Cost of supporting infrastructure such as schools
 Need to provide sufficient resources to growing population
 High rates of unemployment
 Large numbers living in poor quality housing
 High rates of population growth
 High crime rates
- Ageing population in Japan
o Number of elderly who are living alone increased from 0.8 million (1975) to over 2.5
million (2000)
o By 2020, over 25% Japan’s pop. Over 65 (current 15%)
o Problems
 Inadequate nursing facilities
 Depletion of labor force (dependency load)
 Deterioration of the economy
 Migration of industry overseas
 Cost of funding pensions and healthcare
o Advantages
 Elderly may have skill, sometimes preferred in work
 Elderly may look after kids, allowing parents to work (Japan, South Africa)
 MEDCs elderly viewed as important market (many firms target their needs)

Managing Population Change:

- Number of ways government control population

- Wanting to increase size = pro-natalist
- Or limit size is anti-natalist
- Population growth and the status of women
o High rates of pop. growth are often associated with a low status of women. Reasons
include:
 A wife continues to bear children to prove her fertility, and to prevent the
husband from marrying another wife
 Wives in polygamous families compete to produce children
 Children provide labour for fetching firewood and water
 Children are an investment (provide in old age)
 Large families are likely to have high skilled jobs
 Women have no say in determining the size of the family
- Family planning in developing countries
o Attempt to limit family size (contraceptives, forced sterilization, abortion and
infanticide)
- Singapore
o Between the 1960s and 70s, government pursued anti-natalist policy
o However, as economy prospered and pop. Growth fe ll, adopted pro-natalist stance
o Despite incentives (love cruises), found difficult to incur growth
o Marriages increased, birth rate did not
o Increased status of women results in less births (enjoy their own fruits of labor…
sludem)
- China
o Operates sever family planning programme
o 1979, one-child policy was imposed
o Birth rate fell from 33% in 1970 to 17% in 1979
o Urban areas most families have only one child
o Countryside remains traditionally focused on male heirs (in contrast to urban
areas)
o Policy is being relaxed however
o Most rural areas families can have two children without penalties
o Rule has been estimated to have reduced population growth in a country of 1.3
billion by 300 million in first 20 years
o Cased disdain for female infants; abortion, neglect, abandonment and even
infanticide (female infants only ….)

Migration:

- Types of movement
o Migration is the movement of people, involving a permanent (more than one year)
change of residence
o Internal or external (international), voluntary or foced
- Patterns of migration according to Ravenstein
o Most migrants proceed over a short distance
 Due to limited technology and transport, (poor communications), people know
more about local opportunities
o Migration occurs in steps
 Typically from rural to small town, to large town to city (people become “locked
in” to the urban hierarchy)
o As well as movement to large cities, movement away (dispersal)
 The rich move away and commute from nearby villages and small towns
o Urban dwellers migrate less than rural dwellers
 Fewer opportunities in rural areas
o Women are more migratory than men over short distances
 Especially for marriage and in societies where the status of women is low
o Migration increases with advances in technology
 Transport, communications, spread of info
- Migration according to Lee (1966)
o Described migration in terms of push and pull factors
 Push factors are negative features causing a person to move away from a place
(unemployment, natural hazards etc.)
 Pull factors are the attractions (better wages, schools etc.)
- Limitations of models
o Models have many assumptions
 Are all people free to migrate?
 Do all people have skills, education etc. allowing them to move
 Are there barriers to migration
 Is distance a barrier to migration?

Impacts of International Migration:

- International migrations can have a range of positive and negative impacts on both the source
area and the destination
- Impacts on source area
o Positives
 Population pressure reduced (Ireland 1950’s and 60’s)
 Remittances sent home (e.g labor migrants from Malawi in South Africa)
o Negatives
 Removal of younger, more educated people (e.g. Indian software experts to the
USA)
 Decline in local market/pulling power (e.g southern Italy)
 Reduced workforce (Swaziland migrants to South Africa)
- Impacts on destination
o Positives
 Population growth (e.g. Turks to West Germany in 19 70s)
 Larger workforce (USA)
 Increased demand for housing (e.g. Silicon valley in California)
 Increased demand for services (M4 corridor in the UK)
 New industry and investment attracted to the area
 New skilled, younger workforce (e.g. Italians in Bedford in 1950s)
 Multicultural enrichment (Toronto)
o Negatives
 Racism and segregation (LA, USA)
 Cultural disharmony
 Overcrowding and ghettoization
 Spread of disease (flue to Amazonian tribes or those of Easter Island)
- Benefits and costs
o Emigrant countries
 Benefits
 Individual:
o increased earning and employment opportunities
o Training
o Exposure to new culture
 For the country:
o Increased human capital with return migrants
o Foreign exchange for investment via migrant remittances
o Increased output per head due to flow of unemployed and
underemployed labour
o Reduced pressure on public capital stock
 Costs
 Individual:
o Transport costs
o Adjustment costs abroad
o Separation from relatives and friends
 For the country:
o Loss of social investment in education
 Loss of “cream” of domestic labor force
 Social tensions due to expectations of return
migrants
 Remittances generate inflation by easing pressure
on financing public sector deficits
o Immigrant countries
 Benefits
 Individual:
o Cultural exposure
 For the country:
o Permits growth with lower inflation
o Increased labour force mobility and lower unit labour costs
o Rise in output per head for indigenous workers
 Costs
 Individual:
o Greater labour market competition in certain sectors
 For the country:
o Dependence on foreign labour in particular occupations
o Increased demands on the public capital stock
o Social tension with concentration of migrants in urban
areas
- Migrant workers
o Migrant workers are those who migrate to find work
o Movement can be
 Temporary/permanent
 Long or short distance
 Internal or international
o Migrant labour has been vital for economic development in many countries,
especially the MEDCs such as USA, Australia and the UK
- Spatial and temporal variations
o Migrant labour is important for capitalist development
o As development is generally uneven spatially and temporally , labour must be
mobile in order to meet demand with supply
o Migrant labour (fulfilling this need) has been very important to Western Europe
and the USA
o Britain has relied on Ireland, eastern Europe and Pakistan for migrant labour
o Germany depended on Greece and Turkey for the labor
o The US, as well as using cheap labour from Mexico, has relied heavily on sources
of labour from the Caribbean
o Increasingly, skilled ICT labour from India has been fuelling growth in the
computer industry in California’s Silicon Valley
o A report in 2002 showed that without labour migration the US economy would
be much worse off 
- Freedom of movement
o Unlike other forms of migration, the main motive for migrant labourers is the
search for better working conditions
o As such, workers move freely or voluntarily to other countries
o Many well-established patterns of migrant labour, such as the migration of the
Irish to mainland Britain
o Within EU there is freedom of movement, so in theory nationals of any EU
country can migrate to another
- Trends
o The main trends with migrant labour include
 Globalization of migrant labor
 The acceleration of migration
 Differentiation of migration into different subcategories
 The feminization of migration
- Advantages and disadvantages of migrant labour
o Source country
 Costs
 Economic costs
o Lost of young labour
o Lost of skilled labour slows development
o Out-migration leads to a vicious circle of decline
o Loss of skilled labour deters investment
 Social cost
o Creates a culture of out-migration
o Females left as head of household, mother and main
provider
o Unbalanced population pyramid
o Returning on retirement places a burden on services
 Benefits
 Economic benefits
o Reduced unemployment
o Returning migrants bring back new skills
o Remittances (money sent home)
o Less pressure on resources such as land
 Social benefits
o Low birth rate and reduced population pressure
o Remittances may improve welfare and education
o Retiring population may build new homes
o Some returnees may develop new activities such as
recreation, leisure and tourism
o Destination
 Costs
 Economic costs
o Costs of educating children
o Displacement of local labour
o Money sent to the country of origin; pension outflow
o Increased pressure on resources
 Social costs
o Racism, discrimination and conflict
o Male-dominated states (e.g. oil-rich economies)
o Loss of cultural identity, especially among second
generation
o Creation of ghettos and ghettoized
 Benefits
 Economic benefits
o Undesirable posts often filled
o Skills gained at little cost (e.g. doctors to the USA)
o Some retirement costs transferred to source country
o Dependence on guest workers
 Social benefits
o Creation of multicultural societies
o Cultural awareness and acceptance
o Providers of local services
o Growth of ethnic retailing and restaurants

Disparities in Wealth and Development:

Measurement of regional and global disparities:

- The human development index

o Since 1990 the UN has urged the use of the HDI as a measure of development
o More reliable and comprehensive measure of human development and well-being than
GNI per head (gross national income)
o HDI includes three basic components of human development:
 Longevity (life expectancy)
 Knowledge (adult literacy and average number of years’ schooling)
 Standard of living (purchasing power adjusted to local cost of living)
o The UN 2007 table of HDIs shows Iceland at the top, closely followed by Norway and
Australia
o At the other end, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso and Guinea-Bissau had the lowest HDI
scores
- The infant mortality rate
o Refers to the number of children that die before their first birthday
o Expressed per thousand live births
o Used as indicator of development because:
 High IMRs are found in the poorest LEDCs
 The causes of deaths are often preventable
 Where water supply, sanitation, housing, healthcare and nutrition are adequate,
IMRs are low
- Global inequalities
o The gap between the rich and the poor has been increasing for the last two centuries
o In 1820 the difference between the richest and poorest country was about 3:1
o Had risen to 11:1 by 1913, 35:1 by 1950, and in 1999 95:1
o However, many poor countries have improved their GNI in recent decades
 The assets of the world’s three richest people are more than the combined GNI
of all poor countries
 The assets of the world’s 200 richest people are more than the combined
incomes of 41% of the world’s people
 By making an annual contribution of just 1% of the ir wealth, those 200 people
could provide access to primary education for every child in the world
- Richest and poorest countries, 1820-2007 (GDP per capita, US$)
o Richest
 1820
 UK – 1756
 Netherland – 1561
 Australia – 1528
 Austria – 1295
 Belgium – 1291
 1900
 UK – 4593
 New Zealand – 4320
 Australia – 4299
 USA – 4096
 Belgium – 3652
 2007
 Luxembourg – 80800
 Qatar – 75900
 Bermuda – 69900
 Jersey – 57000
 Norway – 55600
o Poorest
 1820
 Indonesia – 614
 India – 531
 Bangladesh – 531
 Pakistan – 531
 China – 523
 1900
 Burma – 647
 India – 625
 Bangladesh – 581
 Egypt – 509
 Ghana – 462
 2007
 Somali – 600
 Guinea-Bissau – 600
 Liberia – 500
 Zimbabwe – 500
 Congo – 300

Origin of disparities:

- Inequalities in development
o Despite considerable economic growth in many region, the world is more unequal than
it was 10 years ago
o Some countries left behind in “poverty cycle”, aren’t able to develop as fast as others
o Even within the group of countries that are commonly thought as poor, there is
variation in levels of poorness
o For example, both Taiwan and South Korea have extremely high levels of GNI per capita
- Employment
o Gulf between formal and informal economies
o Widening gap between skilled and unskilled labour
o Growing disparities in health, education and opportunities for social, economic and
political participation
o Inequalities between and within countries have accompanied globalization
o These have had many negative consequences in many areas, including employment, job
security and wages
o Unemployment remains high, especially youth unemployment
o Youths are two to three times more likely than adults to be unemployed and currently
make up as much as 47% of the total 186 million people out of work worldwide (most
labour markets unable to absorb them)
o Millions are working but remain poor (don’t reach the poverty threshold of 1$ a day)
o A large majority of the working poor are informal agricultural workers (globalization led
to explosion of informal economy)
o In many countries, wage inequalities (esp. between skilled and unskilled workers)
o Falling real minimum wages and sharp rises in the highest incomes
o Rich countries income gap pronounced, such as Canada, UK and USA
- Parental education and inequality
o Link between investment in education and poverty is extremely fundamental
o Education may raise incomes of those with it (and those with higher qualifications tend
to have less children)

Millennium Development Goals:

Goal Target
- Reduce by 50% the proportion of people
living on less than $1 a day
1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
- Reduce by 50% the proportion of people
suffering from hunger
- Ensure all children complete a full course
2. Achieve universal primary education
of primary schooling
- Eliminate gender disparity in primary and
secondary education by 2005
3. Promote gender equality and empower - Ensure literacy parity between young men
women and women
- Women’s equal representation in national
parliaments
- Reduce by two-thirds the udner-5
mortality rate
4. Reduce child mortality
- Universal child immunization against
measles
- Reduce the maternal mortality ratio by
5. Improve maternal health
75%
- Halt and begin to reverse the spread of 
HIV/AIDS
6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other - Halt and begin to reverse the incidence of 
diseases malaria
- Halt and begin to reverse the incidence of 
tuberculosis
7. Ensure environmental sustainability - Revers loss of forests
- Halve proportion without improved
drinking water in urban areas
- Halve proportion without improved
drinking water in rural areas
- Have proportion without sanitation in
urban areas
- Halve proportion without sanitation in
rural areas
- Improve the lives of at least 100 million
slum dwellers by 2020
8. Develop global partnership for
- Reduce youth unemployment
development

Global disparities and change:

- Changing global inequalities

o PPP: what a person can by with their income at local prices
o Until 200 years ago, Asia was the dominant world economic power
o Today rapid econ. growth rates are helping the region regain its former position
o Used to be Asia dominant, with Europe and Africa in 2nd and 3rd around the year 100
o Currently, Asia is almost dominant, with Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the US
combined in second, then after that Europe, Latin America, Japan, Africa and USSR
- Income Inequalities (“Twin Peaks” of rich and poor)
o The greatest contributors to income inequality are t he largest countries at either end of 
the spectrum, the “Twin Peaks”
o One pole represents the 2.4 billion people whose mean income is less than $1000 a year
and includes people living in India, Indonesia and rural China. With 42% of the world’s
population, this group receives just 9% of the world’s PPP incomes
o The other pole reps 500 million people whose annual income exceeds $11500
o Group includes USA, Japan, Germany, France and the UK
o Combined, account for 13% of the world’s population but use 45% of the world PPP
income
o In the last 25 years, the main changes in come between diff. regions of the world
include:
 The continued rapid econ. growth in the already rich country relative to most of 
the rest of the world
 The decline in real income of sub-Saharan Africa and eastern Europe
 Relatively modest gains in Latin American and Arab state s
o Some most important global disparities relate to lack of decent work and low incomes
o According to ILO (international labour organization), about 200 million people don’t
have any form of work
- Social inequalities
o Despite some progress, health and education inequalities have widened, especially
within countries
o Sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Asia are in the worst predicament
o Wide gaps in access to immunization, maternal and childcare, nutrition and e ducation
o Gender gaps in access to education have narrowed somewhat, but persist
o Indigenous people, persons with disabilities, older people and youth are typically
excluded from decision-making processes that affect their welfare
- Environmental impacts
o Today’s disparities are also closely linked to human impact on environment
o Poor frequently end up with poor land, water, fuel and other natural resources (limit
productivity)

Trends in life expectancy, education and income:

- Life expectancy
o More babies surviving infancy and childhood
o In first half of 20 th century, rich countries saw average life expectancy increase by over
20 years
o In 1950 female life expectancy continued to rise, but gains in male life expectancy
levelled off 
o In most MEDCs, women outlive men by 5-9 years
o Oldest old (aged 80+) are fastest growing segment of many nations’ populations
o In Scandinavian countries, France and Switzerland, the 80+ are approx. 4% of total pop.
o Increases in life expectancy not uniform within countries
o For example, indigenous people living in rich countries, have pop. pyramids more typical
of developing countries
o Example, American Indian, Inuit and Aleut populations have an age structure more like
Morocco than the USA
- Education and income
o Inequality of education in India, in terms of opportunities and standards implies social
loss from underdevelopment and underutilization of human capital
o Since 1960, Korea has channelled two thirds of education expenditure into compulsory
basic education
o In 1990s, subsidies to primary students were two to three times that of college students
o Before economic reforms in 1978, China had achieved a higher development level than
countries at similar income levels
o Continued progress, but regional disparities widened
o Public education expenditure inadequate (2.4-2.8% of GDP), and urban bias in provision
o Underinvestment in primary, over subsidization of tertiary education
o Gini coefficients measure inequality (0-1, 1 being complete inequality, 0 being complete
equality)
Reducing Disparities:

- Trade and market access

o Unfair trading patterns one cause of development gaps
o MEDCs account for 75% of world’s exports and 80% of manufactured exports
o Pattern is complicated by flows of FDI and internal trade with TNCs and MNC
o Most profit flow back to MEDCs, while increasing shares of FDI is to NICs (newly
industrialized countries)
o Regulatory bodies
 International regulators such as IMF or WTO
 Coordinating groups of countries such as the G8
 Regional trading blocs such as the EU, NAFTA, and Association of South East
Asian Nations (ASEAN)
 National government
o However, despite these bodies, most trade and money exchange is done by the world’s
main banks (ex. Barclays Bank’s investment bank sector, Barclays’ c apital deals with
over $360 billion of investment through its 33 offices located worldwide
o Criticism that many of the regulatory bodies have limited power when faced with a
powerful MEDC or TNC
- Fair or ethical trade
o Fair or ethical trade can be defined as trade that attempts to be socially, economically
and environmentally responsible
o Trade where companies take responsibility for wider impacts of their business
o Attempts to address the failings of the global trading system
o Good examples include Prudent Exports and Blue Skies, both pineapple-exporting
companies in Ghana
o Prudent Exports which grows and exports, has introduced better working conditions for
farmers, including longer contracts and better wages
o Has its own farms, buys pineapples from small holders and exports directly to European
supermarkets
o Appears some retailers are driving force behind fair trade as they seek out good practice
in their suppliers in terms of social health and safety of the work, employment of 
children, pay and conditions etc.
o Nevertheless, some conflict of interests
o For most Western consumers, fair trade is the banning of pesticides and child labour
o Yet in many LEDCs it is normal for children to work, as in the UK in the late 19th early 20th
centuries
o Most LEDCs families prefer to send their kids to school, but cannot avoid the situation of 
having their kids work
o If western consumers want fair trade, they may have to pay higher prices for the food
they buy
- Remittances
o Transfer of money or goods by foreign workers to their home countries
o Total global remittances reached $318 billion in 2007, up from $170 billion in 2002
o The three countries receiving the most are India, China and Mexico (account for 1/3
remittances to developing world)
o Largest recipient region was Latin America and the Caribbean, but since 2002 transfers
to Europe and central Asia have increased the fastest
- Trading blocs
o Arrangement among a group of nations to allow free trade between member countries
but to impose tariffs on other countries wishing to engage in trade
o For example, EU
o Many established after WW2 as countries used political ties to further their economic
development
o Allows free access to other nations within the trading bloc if a member
o Some believe unfair bc deny access to non-members (i.e. developing countries)
o In order to limit protectionism, the WTO has tried to promote free trade
- Export processing zones and free trade zones
o EPZs and FTZs are important parts of the new international division of labour, and
represent what are seen as relatively easy paths to industrialization
o EPZs have been defined as labour-intensive manufacturing centres that involve the
import of raw materials and export of factory products
o Free trade zones are where manufacturing does not have to take place in order for
trading privileges to be gained in LEDCs, and hence, such zones have become more
characterized by retailing
o Creation of EPZs has been a popular policy for governments of LEDCs because they
represent a relatively easy path to begin industrialization in a country
o The MNC provides technology, capital, inputs and the export market
o Although EPZ may be beneficial in short term, problems initiated regarding economic
sustainability
o The MNCs attracted by the special conditions of the EPZ, creating a reliance on low-
skilled, labour-intensive assembly
o EPZs gained popularity by:
 Problems of indebtedness and serious foreign exchange shortfalls in LEDCs in
1980s
 Spread of new-liberal ideas in 1990s that encourage open economies, foreign
investment and non-traditional exports
 Search by MNCs for cost-saving locations (i.e. EPZs in LEDCs)
 In addition, benefits for MNCs in EPZs included:
 Elimination of customs duties on imports
 Liberalization of capital flows and occasionally access to special financial
credits
 Important investment in provisions of local infrastructure (by
government of host country)
 Reduction/exemption from taxes
 Limitations on labour protecting legislations
o EPZs have been established in a wide range of environments: from border areas (north
Mexico) to locations adjacent to large cities to extremely underdeveloped rural areas
o Most common location is on the coast
o EPZs most concentrated in the Asia-Pacific region (1990 40% of EPZs located there, 2/3
employment in EPZs there)
o Latin America and Caribbean is the next most significant region for EPZs

Impact of Aid and Debt Relief:

- Effectiveness of aid

When aid is effective When aid is ineffective

Allow countries to postpone improving economic
Provides humanitarian relief  management and mobilization of domestic
resources
Provides external resources for investment and Can replace domestic saving, FDI and commercial
finances projects that could not be undertaken capital as the main sources of investment and
with commercial capital technological development
Project assistance/helps expand much-needed Provision of aid might promote dependency rather
infrastructure than self-reliance
Food aid has depressed some agricultural prices,
Contributes to personnel training and builds resulting in greater poverty in rural areas and a
technical expertise dependency on food imports (increased risk of 
famine in future)
Sometimes turned on/off in response to political
Can support better economic and social policies and strategic agenda of the donor country,
unreliable fund (interruptions to development)
Emergency aid does not solve long-term economic
development problems of a country/Too much aid
tied to purchase of goods and services from the
donor country
A lot of aid does not reach those who need it most

- Poor countries’ debt

o Sub-Saharan Africa includes most of the 42 countries c lassified as heavily indebted and
25 of 32 countries severely indebted
o In 1962, SSA owed 3 billion, 1982 $142 billion, today 235 billion
o Most heavily indebted are Nigeria (35 billion), Sudan (18 billion)
o Many LEDCs borrow in the 70s and 80s (encouraged by western lenders)
o Ran into problems of low growth in industrialized economies, high interest rate s in
70s/80s, rise in oil prices and falling commodity prices
- Solutions
o Since 1988, Paris Club of government creditors has approved a series of debt relief 
initiatives
 World bank lent more though concessional lending arm
 International Development Agency has given loans for up to 50 years without
interest but with 3-4% service charge
 Lending risen from $424 million in 1980 to $2.9 billion, plus a further $928
million through the African Development Bank
 IMF introduced soft loan facility conditional on wide-ranging socio-economic
reforms
o Structural adjustment programs (SAPs)
 Designed to cut government expenditure, reduce state intervention and
promote liberalization and international trade
 SAPSs consist of four main elements
 Greater use of a country`s resource base
 Policy reforms to increase economic efficiency
 Generation of foreign income through diversification of the economy
and increased trade
 Reducing active role of the state
 Sometime divided into two main groups:
 Stabilization measures
o Short-term steps to limit further deterioration on economy (e.g.
wage freezes; reduced subsidies on food, health and education)
 Adjustment measures
o Longer-term policies to boost economic competitiveness (e.g.
tax reductions, export promotion, privatization etc.)
- HIPC initiative
o Launched in 1996 by IMF and World Bank (endorsed by 18 0 governments), has two
main objectives:
 Relieve certain low-income countries of their unsustainable debt to donors
 Promote reform and sound policies for growth, human development and
poverty reductions
o Debt reliefs occur in two steps
 After decision point, country gets debt service relief after demonstrating
adherence to an IMF programme and progress in developing a national poverty
strategy
 Country gets debt stock relief upon approval by the World Bank and IMF
o Stock relief is cancelling of specific debts; will achieve a reduction in debt service over
the life of a loan
o Of the 42 countries participating, 34 in SSA, one had PPP above 1500 in 2001, and all
rank low on the HDI
o Expanding market access is essential to help countries diversify and e xpand trade
o Trade policies in rich countries remain highly discriminatory against developing country
exports
o MEDCs should set targets to:
 Increase ODA
 Remove tariffs and quotas on agricultural products, textiles and clothing
exported by developing countries
 Finance debt reduction from HIPCs having reached t heir completion point to
ensure sustainability
- Achievement of LEDCs
o Average real income more than doubled in past 40 years despite pop. growth overall in
the poor world
o Under-5 death rates have been cut by 50% or more in every region over the past 40
years
o Average life expectancy has risen by more than one-third in every region since 1950
o Percentage of people with access to safe water supply has risen from about 10 to 60% in
rural areas of the developing world since 1975

Patterns in Environmental Quality and Sustainability:

Atmosphere and Change:

- Global warming
o Refers to the increase in temperatures around the world that has been noticed over the
last 50 years or so, and in particular since the 1980`s
o Greenhouse effect is the process by which certain gases (water vapour, CO2, methane
etc.) allow short-wave radiation from the sun to pa ss through to heat up the earth, but
trap an increasing proportion of long wave radiation from the e arth
o Enhanced greenhouse effect is increase amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere
due to human activities
o CO2 levels have risen from about 315 ppm in 1950 to 355 ppm and are expected to
reach 600 ppm by 2050
o Caused by burning of fossil fuels, deforestation (also removes trees that c onvert the CO2
to oxygen)
o Methane is second largest contributor to global warming (increasing rate of 1% per
annum)
o Cattle convert 10% food they eat into methane, emit 100 million tonnes of methane
each year
o Natural wetlands and paddy fields also emit 150 million tonnes annually
o CFCs are synthetic chemicals that destroy ozone and absorb long wave radiation from
the earth
o Increasing at rate of 6% per annum, and are up to 10000 times more efficient at
trapping heat than CO2
- Effects of global warming
o A rise in sea levels, causing flooding in low-lying areas such as Netherlands, Egypt and
Bangladesh (over 200 million could be displaced)
o Increase in storm activity
o Changes in agricultural patterns (decline in US grain belt, increase in Canada`s growing
season)
o Reduced rainfall over the USA, southern Europe
o Extinction of up to 50% of species of wildlife
- Implications of climate change
o Global warming
 Climate change
 Extreme events
 Long term change
o Temperature, wind, pressure, precipitation, humidity
o Storms, drought, fire, erosion, landslides, sedimentation,
avalanches, pests and diseases
 Sea level rise
 Coastal erosion, flooding, salination
 River flooding, bank erosion,
 Waves, Tsunami
- Policies to combat climate change
o Emission of main anthropogenic (man-made) GHG, CO2, influenced by size of human
population, amount of energy used per person, level of emissions resulting from that
use of energy
o Variety of options which could reduce emissions, especially from the use o f energy, are
available
o Reducing CO2 emissions can be done through:
 Improved energy efficiency
 Fuel switching
 Use of renewable energy sources
 Nuclear power
 Capture and storage of CO2
o Another measure involves increasing the rate which natural sinks take up CO2 (i.e.
increase number of forests)
Soil Degradation:

- Types of soil degradation

o Soil degradation Is decline in quantity and quality of soil
o Includes:
 Erosion by wind and water
 Biological degradation (loss of humus and plant/animal life)
 Physical degradation (loss of structure, changes permeability)
 Chemical degradation (acidification, declining fertility, changes in pH,
salinization and chemical toxicity)
 Many types of water erosion, including surface, gully, rill and tunnel e rosion
o Water and wind erosion account for more than 80% of the 20 million km2 of degraded
land worldwide
o Acidification is the change in chemical composition of the soil, which many tr igger the
circulation of toxic metals
o Salt-affected soils are typically found in marine-derived sediments, coastal location and
hot arid areas, where capillary action brings salts to the upper part of the soil
o Soil salinity been major problem in Australia following removal of vegetation in dry land
farming
- Universal soil loss equation (USLE)
o USLE –> A=RKSLSCP is an attempt ot predict the amount of erosion that will take place
in an area on the basis of certain factors which increase susceptibility to erosion

Factor Description
Rainfall totals, intensity and seasonal distribution.
Maximum erosivity occurs when the rainfall is
most intense (especially when land has just been
Erosivity of soil R ploughed, or full crop cover is not established).
Minimum will occur when rains are gentle and fall
onto frozen soil/land with natural vegetation or
full crop cover.
Susceptibility of soil to erosion. Depends on
infiltration capacity and the structural stability of 
the soil. Soils which have high infiltration
Erodibility K
capacities and structural stabilities allow them to
resist the impact of rain splash, giving them the
lowest erodibility values.
Slope length and steepness influence movement
and speed of water down the slope, and thus
Length-slope factor LS ability to transport particles. The steeper the slop,
the greater the erosivity; the longer the slope, the
more water received on the surface.
Most control can be exerted over the cover and
Crop Management C management of the soil, factor relates to type of 
crop and cultivation practices. Established grass
and forest provide the best protection against
erosion; of agricultural crops, those with the
greatest foliage, and thus greatest ground cover
are optimal. Fallow land or crops that expose the
soil for long periods after planting or harvesting
offer little protection.
Soil conservation measures, such as contour
Soil Conservation ploughing, bunding, use of strips and terraces, can
reduce erosion and slow runoff water.

- Causes of degradation
o Reduction of natural vegetative cover; which renders the topsoil more susceptible to
erosion
o Unsustainable land-use practices such as excessive irrigation, the inappropriate use o f 
fertilizers and pesticides and overgrazing by livestock
o Groundwater over-abstraction, which may lead to dry soils, resulting in physical
degradation
o Atmospheric deposition of heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants, which make
soils less suitable to sustain their original land cover and land uses
o Overgrazing and agricultural mismanagement affect more than 12 million km 2
worldwide
o Situation is most sever in Africa and Asia, where 20% of the world’s pastures and
rangelands have been damaged
o Huge areas of forest are cleared for logging, fuel wood, farming or other human uses
- Effects of loss of cover
o Increases surface runoff and stream discharge
o Reduction of water infiltration and groundwater recharge
o Development of erosional gullies and sand dunes
o Change in surface microclimate that enhances aridity
o Drying up of wells and springs
o Reduction of seed germination of native plants
- Managing soil degradation
o Abatement strategies, such as afforestation, for combating soil er osion are lacking in
many areas
o To reduce risk of soil erosion, farmers encouraged towards more extensive management
practices such as organic farming, afforestation, pasture e xtension and benign crop
production
o Nevertheless, need for policymakers and public to intensify efforts to combat the
pressures and risks to the soil resource
o Methods to prevent erosion can be mechanical (physical barriers such as embankments
and windbreaks), or they may focus on vegetation cover and soil husbandry
o Overland flow can be reduced by increasing infiltration
o Mechanical methods
 Include bunding, terracing and contour ploughing, and shelter belts such as
trees or hedgerows
 Key is to prevent or slow the movement of rainwater downslope
 Contour ploughing takes advantage of the ridges formed at right angles to the
slope to prevent or slow down the accretion of soil and water.
 However, in areas with heavy rainfall, such as the monsoon in South-East Asia,
contour ploughing is insufficient and terracing is used
 Slope is broken up into a series of flat steps, with bunds (raised levees) at the
edge
 The use of terracing allows areas to be cultivated that would not otherwise be
suitable
 In areas where wind erosion is a problem, shelter belts of trees or hedgerows
are used, acting as a barrier to the wind to reduce its flow and speed
o Cropping techniques
 Generally focus on
 Maintaining a crop cover for as long as possible
 Keeping in place the stubble and root structure of the crop after
harvesting
 Planting a grass crop – grass roots bind the soil, minimizing the action of 
the wind and rain on a bare soil surface
 Increased organic content allows soil to hold more water , preventing aerial
erosion and stabilizing structure
 Care must be taken with using machinery, as to not damage soil structure
o Managing salt and chemical affected soils
 Flushing the soil and leaching the salt away
 Application of chemical such as gypsum (calcium sulfate) to replace sodium ions
on the clay and colloids with calcium ones
 A reduction in evaporation losses to reduce upward movement of water in the
soil
- Land degradation in Barbados
o Most significant are of land degradation in Barbados is within the Scotland District
o Changing land-use practices and the application of inappropriate agricultural techniques
(growing sugar cane on very steep slopes for example), have resulted in significant and
visible loss of soils
o Controlling it
 One effective method to control is increasing vegetative cover within affected
are
 Farmers taught methods to keep soil covered, incorporating organic matter to
assist with percolation and reducing the use of fe rtilizers
Water usage and change:

- Changing supply and demand

o Use of water has increased six time in past century, world population tripled
o Some rivers that formerly reached the sea no longer do so, diverted for our use
(example of Colorado in the USA)
o Half world`s wetland disappeared, today 20% of freshwater species are endangered or
extinct
o Many aquifers are being depleted, and water tables in many parts of the world are
dropping at an alarming rate
o World water use is projected to increase by about 50% in next 30 years
o Estimated by 2025, 4 billion people will live under conditions of sever w ater stress
(conditions particularly severe in Africa, Middle East and south Asia)
o May fuel armed conflicts
o Currently estimated 1.1 billion people lack access to safe water, 2.6 billion without
adequate sanitation, and more than 4 billion do not have their waste water treated to
any degree
- Water supply
o Depends on several factors in water cycle, including rates of rainfall, evaporation, use of 
water by plants (transpiration), river and groundwater flows
o Less than 1% of freshwater available is available for people to use (everything else
locking in ice sheets and glaciers)
o Globally, 12500 km3 of water are considered available for human use on an annual
bases
o About 6600 m3 per person per year
o Only 4800 m3 likely per person 2025
o Freshwater not evenly distributed around the world
o Three quarters of rainfall occurs in areas containing less than one third of the world`s
population (whereas two thirds of world`s population live in areas receiving only one-
quarter of the world`s annual rainfall)
o 20% of global average runoff each year accounted for by the Amazon Basin, a vast
region with fewer than 10 million people
o India gets 90% of rainfall during summer monsoon season (other times rainfall
extremely low)
o Water stress
 When per capita water supply is less than 1700 m3 per year, an area suffers
from ``water stress”, and is subject to frequent water shortages
 In many areas, actually less than 1000 m 3 per capita, causing problems for food
production and economic development
 2.3 billion people live in water stressed areas
 Water stress will affect 3.5 billion people (48% of world pop.) projected by 2025
- Water use
o Currently, quantity of water used for all purposes exceeds 3700 km3 per year
o Agriculture is largest consumer (two-thirds of all water from rivers, lakes and
groundwater(
o 1960, water used for crop irrigation risen by 60-70%
o Industry uses about 20% of available water, and municipal uses about 10%
o Pop. growth, urbanization and industrialization have increased the use of water in these
sectors
o As world pop. and industrial output have increased, by 2025 global availability of 
freshwater expected to drop 25% from year 2000 figure to 5100m3
- Water scarcity
o Two types of water scarcity affect LEDCs in particular:
o Physical water scarcity
 Occurs where water consumption exceed 60% of the usable supply
 To help meet water needs, countries such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait import
much of their food and invest in desalinization plants
o Economic water scarcity
 Country physically has sufficient water, but additional storage and transport
facilities needed (embarking on expensive water development projects, of too
high a cost)
o In addition, in LEDCs access to adequate water supplies is most affected by exhaustion
of traditional sources such as wells and seasonal rivers
o In many poor countries farmers use, on average, twice as much water per hectare as
industrialized countries, but their yields are three times as low (six times difference in
efficiency of irrigation)
- Water quality
o Needs to be adequate quality for consumption
o WHO estimates 4 million deaths each year attributed to water-related diseases (cholera,
hepatitis, malaria and other parasitic diseases)
o Real problem of drinking water and sanitation in developing countries is too many
people lack access to safe and affordable water supplies and sanitation
- Global water supply and sanitation
o Urban areas are better served than rural ones, and countries in Asia, Latin America and
Caribbean are better off than African countries
o Many piped water systems however do not meet water quality criteria, leading more
people to rely on bottled water (as in major cities in Columbia, India, Mexico, Thailand,
Venezuela and Yemen)
o Some cases, poor pay more than rich for water
o Port-au-Prince, Haiti, survey have shown households connected to water system
typically paid around $1.00 per cubic metre, while unconnected customers forced to
purchase water from mobile vendors paid from $5.50 to $16.50 per cubic metre
o Sanitation and population growth
 Fewer people have adequate sanitation than safe water, and global provision of 
sanitation is not keeping up with pop. growth
 Between 1990 and 2000 number of people without adequate sanitation rose
from 2.6 billion to 3.3 billion
 Least access to sanitation occurs in Asia (48%), especially in rural areas
 Still pressure points, especially in areas of rapid pop. growt h
 Squatter settlements in many of world’s poorest citie s, local authorities unable
to or legally prevented from providing sanitation, situation is likely to
deteriorate rapidly

The World’s Riches: Biodiversity and Change

- Biodiversity
o Variety of all forms of life on earth (plants, animals, micro-organisms)
o Refers to species (species diversity), variations within species (genetic diversity), and
interdependence within species (ecosystem diversity) as well as habitat diversity
o Estimated up to 30 million species on earth
o Only 1.4 million identified thus far
o Tropics rich in biodiversity – contain over 50% of world’s species in 7% of worlds land
(80% insects and 90% primates)
- Value of tropical rainforests
o Industrial uses
 Charcoal
 Saw logs
 Gums, resin and oils
 Pulpwood
 Plywood and veneer
 Industrial chemicals
 Medicines
 Genes for crops
 Tourism
o Ecological uses
 Watershed protection
 Flood and landslide protection
 Soil erosion control
 Climate regulation (carbon sink)
o Subsistence uses
 Fuel wood and charcoal
 Fodder for agriculture
 Building poles
 Pit-sawing and saw-milling
 Weaving materials and dyes
 Rearing silkworms and bee-keeping
 Special woods and ashes
 Fruits and nuts
- Deforestation of tropical rainforest
o Destroyed at rate over 11 million hectares a year
o Increasingly scattered and fragmented
o Amazon rainforest is exception, although it is imploding
o Causes of deforestation in Brazil
 Agricultural colonization by landless migrants and speculative developers along
highways and agricultural growth areas
 Conversion of forest to cattle pastures, especially in eastern and south-eastern
Para and northern Mato Grosso
 Mining (example Greater Caras Project in south-eastern Amazonia, including a
900 km railway and extensive deforestation to provide charcoal to smelt the
iron ore; another threat comes from small-scale informal gold mines, also
causing contaminated water supplies)
 Large –scale hydroelectric power schemes such as Tucurui Dam on the
Tocantins River
 Drought (increases risk)
 Climate change (can cause drought)
 Timber exploitation (fires used to overcome laws about clearing timber for sale)
 Selective logging (artificially dry forests by opening up canopy)
 Lightning
 Land clearing
o Trends of Brazil deforestation
 Recent
 Partly promoted by government policies
 Wide range of causes
 New areas of deforestation as well as extension of previously deforested areas
 Land speculation and granting of land titles to those who occupy parts of the
rainforest is major cause of deforestation
- Effects of deforestation
o Disruption of circulation and storage of nutrients
o Surface erosion and compaction of soils
o Sandification (rain wash away finer particles, leaving behind coarser and heavier sand)
o Increased flood levels and sediment content of rivers (in dry season, rivers
murkier/turbidity)
o Climatic change (reduction of water that is re-evaporated from vegetation, recycling of 
water dimish)
o Loss of biodiversity
- Amazon’s rescue reversed
o 3235 km2 of rainforest were lost between August and December 2007, because of soy
planting and cattle ranching
o 20% has already been destroyed mostly since the 70s
o A further 40% could be lost by 2050 if the trend is not reversed
- The cost of environmental inaction in Nigeria
o Because of the high cost of undertaking environmental protection measures, Nigerian
government and private sector have been reluctant to take these measures
o However there are also economic, social and ecological costs to not acting
o Recent study by World Bank shows risks and costs if no remedial actions is taken
o Long-term losses to Nigeria of not acting are estimated to be around $ 5 billion annually

Patterns in Resource Consumption:

Ecological Footprints:

- Calculating ecological footprint

o Everything used for our daily needs comes from natural resources
o Ecological footprint measured in acres or hectares, calculates amount of earth`s bio
productive space needed to keep a population at its current level of resource
consumption
o Calculation takes into account:
 Arable land
 Amount of land required for growing crops
 Pasture land:
 Resources required for growing animals for all forms of consumption
 Forests:
 For fuel, furniture etc., also providing many ecosystem services such as
climate stability, erosion prevention
 Oceans:
 For marine products
 Infrastructure needs:
 Based on built-up land used for these needs
 Energy costs:
 Land required for absorbing carbon dioxide emissions and other energy
wastes
- Ecological footprint, global and national
o Planet`s biological productive capacity (biocapacity)is estimated at 1.9 ha per person
o Currently, countries are using up to 2.2 ha per person, beyond the planet`s biocapacity
to sustain us by 15%
o Deficit is showing up as failing natural ecosystems – forests, oceans, soil, water etc.
o Planet`s bio capacity affected by global population as well as rate of consumption
o Increased consumption depletes planet’s carrying, renewal and regeneration capacities
o Ecological footprint estimated available to each person would bhae reduced to 1.5 ha
by2050
o If we continue at the consumption rates of the rich Western countries, we will need 4 to
5 earths to sustain ourselves
o USA is country with largest per capita footprint in the world – 9.57
o If everyone lived like Americans, Earth could only support 1.2 billion people, but if 
everyone was like those in Bangladesh, it could support 22 billion people (footprint of 
0.5 ha)
o Global ecological footprint grew from about 70% of c apacity in 1961 to 120% in 1999
o Future projection show growth to about 180 to 220% by 2050

Environmental Sustainability:

- Environment sustainability index

o ESI produced by a team of environmental experts in Yale and Colubia
o Using 21 indicators and 76 measurements including natural resource endowments, past
and present pollution levels, and policy efforts, the report creates a “sustainability
score” for each country, with higher scores indicating better environmental
sustainability
o 10 most sustainable countries as ranked by the ESI are dominated by wealth, sparsely
populated nations with an abundance of natural resources
o Finland ranks first, with Norway, Sweden and Iceland all in the top 5
o The only developing nations in the top 10 are Uruguay and Guyana, which have
relatively low pop. densities and an abundance of natural resources
o Conversely, only densely populated countries that have received above-average
rankings are Japan, Germany, the Netherland and Italy, some of the richest countries on
the list
o Environmental sustainability is essential in aiding the poor
o Highly dependent on the environment and its resources which provide roughly two -
thirds of household income for the rural poor
o Climate change is dramatically reshaping the environment on which poor people
depend
o Climate change increases rainfall variability (droughts and floods), food security, spread
of disease, increased risk of accidents and damage to infrastructure
o Poor are most vulnerable to these changes and have limited capability to respond to
them
o Overfishing has led to the collapse of many fisheries, and one quarter of global marine
fish stocks are currently overexploited or significantly depleted
o About 60% of the ecosystem services resources evaluated by the UN’s Millennium
Ecosystem Assessment (a measure of how ecosystems benefit people), are being
degraded or are being used unsustainably
o Between 10% and 30% of mammal, bird and amphibian species face extinction
o Global timber production has increased by 60% in the past four decades, meaning
roughly 40% of forest area has been lost, and deforestation continues at a rate of 13
million ha per annum
- Challenges and solutions
o Environmental concerns are fundamental to long-term sustainable development
o Efforts must be made to improve understanding of environmental impact of 
development strategies and to recognize the link between environmental degradation
and poverty
o The poor, who are most dependent on natural resources and are most affected by
environmental degradation, lack the information or access to participate in decision-
making and policy development
o In contrast, those who have influence in policy development have little understanding of 
the costs and benefits associated with environmental policy
o Economic growth and environment are often still viewed as competing objectives
o But investing in environmental management can be cost-effective, and it contributes to
improving livelihoods
- Managing the Korup national park
o Created in 1986 by the government of Cameroon with the support of the WWF
o Under law, human activity in the park is limited to tourism, research and recreation
o Project aims to integrate the National Park into the local economy and regional
development plans
o Example of sustainable development in Korup is that of community forests
o These are large areas of forest in which villagers obtain and manage a part of the
communal forest in a sustainable way (reviewed regularly by government and WWF)
o Management of Korup is important, contains over 400 species of trees, 425 species of 
birds, 120 species of fish and 100 mammal species
o Over 60 species occur only in Korup, and 170 are considered to be endangered or
vulnerable

Malthus, Boserup and the Limits to Growth:

- Malthus
o In 1798 Thomas Malthus produced his essay on the principle of population
o He believed there was a finite optimum population size in relation food supply, and that
any increase in population beyond this point would lead to a decline in t he standard of 
living to war, famine and disease
o His theory was that population grows at a geometrical rate (exponential), and that food
supply grows at an arithmetic rate
o Suggested preventive and positive checks as to ways by which population could be
curbed once the ceiling had been reached
o Preventative check included abstinence from marriage, a delay in the time of marriage
and abstinence from sex within marriage
o Positive checks include lack of food, disease and war all directly affects population and
corrects it.
- Increasing the carrying capacity: Boserup
o A different view was that of Esther Boserup, who believed that people have the
resources of knowledge and technology to increase food production and that when a
need arises somebody will find a solution
o She suggested that an increase in population stimulated a change in agricultural
techniques so that more food could be produced, and hence this will always occur when
population increased and a higher food supply was needed, that innovation would occur
o Many things have been done since the time of Malthus to increase food production,
such as high-yield variety plants, making new foods such as soy, pest icides, fertilizers,
cross breeding of cattle etc.
- Limits to growth model
o Examined five basic factors that determining and ultimately limiting growth on the
planet: population; agricultural production; natural resources; industrial production; and
pollution
o Many of these factors were observed to grow at an exponential rate
o Food production and population grew exponentially until the rapidly diminishing
resource base forces a slowdown in industrial growth
o Because of natural delays in the system, both population and pollution continue to
increase after peak of industrialization
o Pop. growth finally halted by rise in death rate due to decreased food, water and
medical services
o Team concluded that if trends continue, limits to growth reached by 2070

Changing patterns of oil production and consumption:

- Production
o 2003, global oil production at 70 million barrels per day
o Eight producers, Saudi Arabia, USA, Russia, Iran, China, Venezuela, Mexico and Norway
accounted for over 50% of production
o Oil production limited or non-existent in many countries, notably Africa
- Oil refining
o Over 80% refining take place in Europe, North America and Japan
o Separation between production and refining causes problems
o Oil was considered cheap fuel and many countries became dependent on it, but as a
result of the oil price rise in 1972, many countries had to reassess their energy policy
o Oil reserves
 Found in geological structures such as anticlines, fault traps and salt domes
 At present rates of production/consumption, could last another 40 years
 Nearly 2/3 of world’s reserves found in Middle East, followed by Latin America
etc.
- The geographic implication of middle east oil
o Importance of Middle East as supplier of oil is critical
o Involvement in Gulf War is a case in point
o The organization of petroleum exporting countries (OPEC) controls the price of crude oil,
and this has increased its economic and political power
o Has also increased dependency on the Middle East by all other regions
o Provides incentive for rich countries to increase energy conservation or develop
alternative forms of energy:
 Countries need to maintain good political link with Middle East and strive for
political stability in region
 Involve Middle East in economic co-operation
 Reassess coal and nuclear power as energy options
- Consumption
o Seven countries, the USA, Japan, China, Germany , Russia, Italy and France account for
over 50% of global oil demand
o Oil demand roughly a function of population and level of development
o Oil consumption nearly tripled since 1965
o 2006, demand was almost 84 million barrels a day
o Significant share of oil demand assumed by Pacific Asian nations going through rapid
industrialization, particularly China (second biggest oil importer to USA)
- Environmental implication
o Importance of oil as world’s leading fuels has had many negative effects on the natural
environment
o For example
 Oil slicks from tankers such as the Braer (1993)
 Damage to coastlines, fish stocks and communities dependent on the sea
 Water pollution caused by tankers illegally washing/cleaning out tanks in North
Sea
 Gulf War damage – storage of oil and oil wells can be targets for destruction
causing immeasurable environmental damage
 Oil slicks hazard to wildlife

The changing importance of alternative energy sources:

- Renewable resources
o Include hydroelectric power, solar, wind and tidal
o World potential renewable energy
 Wind Energy the smallest, mostly in North America, Northern Europe, Japan
Australia and New Zealand, South America, China, India
 Biomass biggest, mostly South America, North America, Former Soviet Union
and Eastern Europe, Southern Africa, Northern Europe
 Hydroelectricity second largest, mostly North America, South Amer ica, Northern
Europe, Former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe
 Solar energy lowest with similar countries possessing the potential to use it
- Trends in renewable energy sources
o Renewable energy is growing fast
o Rates of development of renewable energy sources are far exceeding those of fossil
fuels such as oil, coal and natural gas
o 2006, wind and solar development grew by 20% and 40% respectively
o Market for renewable energy sources was about $55 billion worldwide 2006, forecasted
growth to $226 billion by 2016

Alternative energy:

- Solar power
o Energy from the sun is clean, renewable, and so abundant that the amount of energy
received by the earth in 30 minutes is the equivalent to all the power used by humans in
one year
o In UK, solar energy falling on buildings could meet two-thirds of electricity needs
o Advantages
 No finite resources involved – less environmental damage
 No atmospheric pollution
 Suitable for small scale production
o Disadvantages
 Affected by cloud, seasons, night time
 Not always possible when demand exists
 High costs
o High costs of solar power make it difficult for the industry to achieve full potential
o Each unit of electricity generated by solar energy costs 4-10 times as much as that
derived from fossil fuels (does not make a significant contribution to energy e fficiency)
o Increasing at rate of 15-20% per year, but annual production of photovoltaic cells is
enough only to power a small city
- Wind power
o Good for small scale production
o Needs exposed site such as hillside, flat land or proximity to coast
o Conditions found at Altamont Pass, California for example
o Advantages
 No pollution of air, ground/water
 No finite resources
 Reduction in environmental damage
 Suitable for small-scale production
o Disadvantages
 High cost
 Noisy
 Winds unreliable
o Large scale development hampered by high cost of development (wind pumps,
transmission girds)
o Suitable locations distant from centres of demand
- Tidal power
o Renewable, clean energy source
o Funnel-shaped estuary, with a large tidal range
o River Rance in Brittany has necessary physical conditions
o Large scale production limited
 High cost of development
 Limited number of suitable sites
 Environmental damage to estuarine sites
 Long period of development
 Possible effects on ports and industries upstream
- Nuclear power
o Although not renewable, very limited amount required to produce large quantities of 
energy
o Advantages
 Cheap, reliable and abundant source of energy
 Plenty of uranium available
 Uranium fuel is available from all countries and would not have to rely on other
countries for fuel
 EU in favour of nuclear power and estimates 40% of EU’s electricity will be
provided by nuclear power (15% of total enegy)
o Disadvantages
 Radioactive so faced with hazards of waste disposal and decommissioning of old
plants and reactors
 Rising environmental fears concerning its safety are based on experiences of 
disasters such as Chernobyl, 1986
 Recession in 1990’s and 2000s has reduced demand for energy

Hydroelectric power:

- Hydroelectric power
o Renewable form of energy that harnesses fast-flowing water with a sufficient head
o Location depends on:
 Relief: namely a valley that can be damned
 Geology: stable, impermeable bedrock
 River regime: reliable supply of water
 Climate: a reliable supply of water
 Market demand: to be profitable
 Transport facilities: to transport the energy
o Site depends on:
 Local valley shape (narrow and deep)
 Local geology (strong impermeable rocks)
 Lake potential (large head of water)
 Local land-use (non-residential)
 Local planning (lack of restrictions)
o Difficulties with HEP
 Very costly
 Few places have sufficient heads of water
 Markets are critical (plant needs to run at full capacity to be economical)
 Some cases markets are created (aluminum smelters located close to use up
extra energy)
- Impacts of three gorges dam
o Decision to build Three Gorges Dam on Yangtze in China highlighted some conflicts
apparent in the way people use the river (completed in 2009)
o Facts
 Over 2 km long and 100 m high
 Lake over 600 km long
 1 million people moved to make way for dam and lake
 Yangtze provides 66% of China`s rice and contains 400 million people
 Yangtze drains 1.8 million km 2 and discharges 700 km3 of water annually
o Advantages
 Generates up to 18 000 megawatts, eight times more than Egypt’s Aswan Dam
and 50% more than the world’s largest exist HEP dam, the Itaipu in Paraguay
 Enable China to reduce dependency on coal
 Supply energy to Shanghai (13 million people) and Chongqing (3 million)
 Protect 10 million from flooding (over 300 000 people died in China as a result
of flooding in the 20 th century)
 Allow shipping above the Three Gorges: dams have raised water level by 90 m
and turned rapids in the gorge to a lake
 Generated thousands of jobs
o Disadvantages
 Most floods in recent years come from rivers which join the Yagtze below the
Three Gorges Da
 Region is seismically active and landslides are frequent
 Much of land available for resettlement is over 800 m above sea level, and is
colder, with infertile thin soils on relatively steep slopes
 Dozens of towns had to be flooded (Wanxian and Fuling)
 530 million tonnes of silt carried through Gorge annually
 To reduce silt load, afforestation needed, but the resettlement of people will
cause greater pressure on the slopes above the dam
 Interferes with aquatic life (Siberian crane and white flag dolphin threatened)
 Archaeological treasures drowned, such as Zhang Fei temple
 Cost 70 billion

Conservation, waste reduction, recycling and substitution:

- Definitions
o Recycling
 refers to the processing of industrial and household wastes (such as paper, glass
and some metals and plastics) so that materials can be reused
 Saves scare raw materials and helps reduce pollution
 UK fallen behind other EU countries with recycling because there are more
landfill sites which are cheaper to use (has recycling target of 33% by 2015)
o Reuse
 Refers to multiple use of a product by returning it to the manufacturer or
processor each time (more energy and resource efficient than recycling)
o Reduction
 Using less energy, such as turning lights off when you don’t need them
o Substitution
 Using one resource rather than another (renewable verse non-renewable)
o Landfill
 Burying of waste in the ground, and then covering over the filled pit with soil
and other material
 Cheap but not always healthy (mostly domestic waste, some hazardous waste
allowed as well)
o Fly-tipping
 When people/companies dump waste/old equipment
 Increasing problem
 Done because of increased costs of landfills
 Also more goods, such as TVs, computers and refrigerators classified as
hazardous and subject to restrictions on how they are disposed of 
 Introduction of strict new EU regulations means high proportion of new
products must be recycled (costly to manufacturers and purchasers)
- Waste imports in China
o Fairly new environmental problem is dumping of old computer equipment
o Making a new PC requires at least 10 times its weight in fossil fuels and chemicals
o Can be as high as 240 kg fossil fuels, 22 kg chemicals and 1500 kg clean water
o Old PCs often shipped to LEDCs for recycling of small quantities of copper, gold and
silver
o Placed in baths of acid to strip metals from the circuit boards, a process highly damaging
to the environment and the workers that carry it out
o Imports more than 3 million tonnes of waste plastic and 15 million tonnes of paper and
cardboard each year
o Because of cheaper labour, China imports waste products and recycles
o Third of UK’s waste plastic and paper is exported to China each year

National and global initiatives:

- International policy to protect climate

o In 1988 Toronto conference on climate change called for the reduction of CO2 emissions
by 20% of the 1988 levels b 2005
o Also in 1988 the intergovernmental panel on climate change (IPCC) was established by
the United Nations environment programme (UNEP) and the world Meteorological
Organization
o UN conference on the environment and development (UNCED) was held in 1992 in Rio
de Janeiro
o Covered range of subjects and there were a number of statements, including the
framework convention on climate change (FCCC)
o Came into force in March 1994
o Ultimate objective is to achieve stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the
atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with
the climate system
o Kyoto Protocol
 1997
 In addition to the Rio convention
 Gave all MEDCs legally binding targets for cuts in emissions from the 1990 level
by 2008-12
 EU agreed to cut emissions by 8%, Japan by 7% and the USA by 6%
 Three main ways for countries to keep to the Kyoto target without cutting
domestic emissions
 Plant forests to absorb carbon or change agricultural practices (fewer
cattle)
 Install clean technology in other countries and claim carbon cre dits for
themselves
 Buy carbon credits from countries such as Russia where traditional
heavy industries have declined and the national carbon limits are
underused
 Even if greenhouse gas is cut by between 60% and 80%, there is still
enough greenhouse gas in the atmosphere to raise temperatures by 50
C
 Kyoto protocol only mean to be the beginning of a long0term process
 It excludes for example carbon emissions from international flights and
shipping, because they are classified separate from their country