GCSE GEOGRAPHY

Population ChangeChanging Urban Environments

Tourism

POPULATION CHANGE

Managing Population Growth- China

• China’s population is the largest in the world- over 1.3billion• The ‘one child policy’ was introduced in 1979• Couples that only have one child are given benefits like longer

maternity leave, better housing and free education for the child• Couples with more than 1 child don’t get any benefits and are also

fined part of their income• Over the years the policy has changed so there are some exceptions:-In some rural areas, 2 children are allowed if the first is a girl, or has a physical disability. This is because more children are needed to work on farms- If one of the parents has a disability or if both parents are only children, then couples are allowed a second child. This is so there are enough people to look after the parents

• Effectiveness1) The policy has prevented up to 400 million births. The

fertility rate has dropped from 5.7 in 1970 to 1.8 today2) Some people think that it wasn’t just the one child policy

that slowed population growth. They say older policies about leaving longer gaps between children were more effective, and that Chinese people want fewer children anyway as they’ve become more wealthy

China’s one child policy helps towards sustainable development- the population hasn’t grown as fast as it would have done without the policy, so fewer resources have been used

Managing Population Growth- China

• Indonesia is a country made up if thousands of islands. It has the 4th largest population- over 240million

• Most people (130mill) live on the island of Java• This has led to social and economic problems on the densely

populated islands, lack of adequate housing and services as well as unemployment and poverty

• The Indonesian Gov. started a policy in the 1960s called the transmigration policy, which aims to reduce the impacts of population growth

• Millions of people have been moved from the densely populated islands (Java) to the less densely populated islands like Sumatra

Managing Population Growth- Indonesia

Managing Population Growth- Indonesia• Effectiveness1) Millions of people have been moved, but the population still

isn’t much more evenly distributed2) Not all the people who were moved escaped poverty- either

they didn’t have the skills to farm the land, or the land was too poor to be farmed

3) Lots of people were moved to land that was already occupied by native people. This created conflict between the natives and the migrants

Indonesia’s problem hasn’t helped towards sustainable development because it only reduces the impact of population growth- the population is still getting bigger

Ageing Populations - UK

• In 2005, 16% of the UK’s population was over 65, by 2041 this could be 25%

• People are living longer because of advances in medicine and improved living standards

• Between 1980 and 2006 life expectancy rose 2.6 years for women and 6.4 years for men

• ‘Baby booms’ occurred in the 1940s and 60s• Those born in the 40s are now retiring, creating a ‘pensioner

boom’• Since the 1970s, the number of babies born has fallen. With

fewer young people in the population the proportion of older people goes up

The UK’s ageing population causes a few problems• More elderly people are living in poverty- the working

population isn’t large enough to pay for a decent pension, and many people don’t have savings

• Even though the state pension is low, the Gov. is struggling to pay it

• The health service is under pressure because older people need more medical attention

• In 2005, the average stay in hospital for people over 75 was 13 nights, for the rest of the population was 8 nights

Ageing Populations - UK

Strategies• Raise the retirement age, by 2046 it will be 68 for

everyone• Encourage immigration of young people in the UK• Encourage women to have children- working

family tax credits support men and women who go back to work after their children are born

• Encourage people to take out private pensions- so people won’t be dependent on the state pension

Ageing Populations - UK

Migration within the EUPush Factors (from Poland) Pull factors

1) High unemployment- around 19%

1) Ease of migration- the UK allowed unlimited migration in 2004

2) Low average wages- about 1/3 of the average EU wage

2) More work and higher wages

3) Housing shortages- just over 300 dwellings for every 1000 people

3) Good exchange rate

Impacts in Poland Impacts in the UK1) Poland’s population fell (by 0.3% between 2003-07) and the birth rate fell as most people who left were young

1) The population went up slightly

2) There was a shortage of workers, slowing the growth of the economy

2) Immigration boosted the economy, however a lot of money earned was sent home

3) The Polish economy was boosted by the money sent home by emigrants- around 3billion Euros was sent to Poland from abroad in 2006

3) New shops selling Polish products opened

4) Many Poles are Catholic so attendance at Catholic churches went up

Refugees migrate to the EU• Huge numbers of people migrate from Africa to the EU• In 2001, 45,000 emigrants from Africa were caught and refused entry to Spain• Many are refugees, more than 2 million people were forced from their homes

because of the Civil War in Sierra Leone between 1991 and 2002

Impacts in African Countries Impacts in Spain1) The working population is reduced, so there are fewer people contributing to the economy

1) Social tension between immigrants and Spaniards

2) Families become separated when fleeing from wars

2) More unskilled workers in Spain, which has filed gaps in the labour market

3) Average wages for unskilled jobs have fallen

4) The birth rate has increased because there are so many young immigrants

CHANGING URBAN

ENVIRONMENTS

Squatter Settlements: Favela-Bairro

• Rio de Janeiro is in SE Brazil, it has 600 squatter settlements (favelas)

• The Favela- Bairro project started in 1995 and is so successful, it’s been suggested as a model for redeveloping other squatter settlements

• The project involves 253,000 people in 73 favelas and is being extended

• 40% of the $300 million funding for the project came from the local authority. The rest was provided by an international organisation called the Inter-American Development Bank

1) Social Improvements:- Day-care Centres and after school schemes to look after children while their parents work-Adult education classes to improve adult literacy- Services to help people affected by drug, alcohol addiction, and domestic violence

Squatter Settlements: Favela-Bairro

2) Economic Improvements:- Residents can apply to legally own their properties- Training schemes to help people learn new skills so they can find better jobs and earn more

3) Environmental Improvements:- Replacement of wooden buildings with brick buildings and the removal of homes on dangerously steep

slopes- Widening and paving of streets to allow easier access- Provision of basic services such as clean water, electricity and weekly rubbish collection

Community involvement is one of the most important parts of the project:- Residents choose which improvements they want in their own favela, so they feel involved- Neighbourhood associations are formed to communicate with the residents and make decisions- The new services are staffed by residents, providing income and helping them learn new skills

1) The standard of living and health of residents has improved2) The property values in favelas have increased by 80-120%3) The number of local businesses within the favelas has almost doubled

Sustainable Cities- Curitiba

• Curitiba is in southern Brazil with a population of 1.8 million people

• The overall aims of its planners are to improve the environment, reduce population and waste and improve the quality of life of residents

• The city has a budget of $600 million to spend every year

• Curitiba is working towards sustainability in different ways

1) Reducing car use• There’s a good bus system, used by more than 1.4 million passengers per day• It’s an ‘express’ bus system- they have pre- paying boarding stations that reduce boarding times, and bus only lanes on the

roads that speed up journeys• The same cheap fare is paid for all journeys, benefiting poorer residents who tend to live on the outskirts of the city• The bus system and bike paths are so popular that car use is 25% lower than the national average and Curitiba has one of

the lowest levels of air pollution in Brazil

Sustainable Cities- Curitiba

2) Plenty of open spaces and conserved natural environments• Green space increased from 0.5m^2 pp in 1970 to 52m^2 in 1990• It has over 1000 parks and natural area• Residents have planted 1.5 million trees along the city’s streets• Builders in Curitiba are given tax breaks if their building projects include green space

3) Good recycling schemes• 70% of rubbish is recycled. Paper recycling saves the equivalent of 1200 trees er day• Residents in poorer area where the streets are too narrow for a weekly rubbish collection are given food and bus tickets for

bringing their recycling in to local collection centres

The reduction of car se means less pollution and use of fossil fuels, meaning the environment won’t be damaged so much for people in the futureLeaving green spaces and conserving the natural environment means that people in the future will still be able to use the open spacesThe high level of recycling means that fewer resources are used and less waste has to go to landfill. This means more resources are used and less waste has to go to landfill. So more resources will be available in the futureCuritiba is a nice place to live- 99% of its residents are happy with their town

TOURISM

UK Tourism• The Lake District is a National Park in Cumbria• The Lake District gets around 15million visitors a year• Tourists enjoy the scenery and activities• There are also cultural attractions, such as the Beatrix Potter museumStrategies are needed to cope with the impact of Tourists1) Coping with the extra traffic- public transport is being improved so people can

leave their cars at home. There are also campaigns to encourage people to use the new services, e.g. the ‘Give the driver a break’ campaign. This provides leaflets that show the routes available and offers discounts at cafes and on lake cruises for people presenting bus or train tickets

2) Coping with erosion of footpaths- solutions include encouraging visitors to use less vulnerable areas instead, ‘resting’ popular routes by changing the line of the paths and using more hard wearing materials for the paths. E.g. at Tarn Hows, severely eroded paths have been covered with soil and reseeded, and then main route has been gravelled to protect it

3) Protecting wildlife and farmland- there are signs to remind visitors to take their litter home and covered bins are provided at the most popular sites. There have also been campaigns to encourage visitors to enjoy the countryside responsibly, by closing gates and keeping dogs on leads

UK TourismThere are plans to make sure it keeps attracting tourists1) The official tourist strategy for Cumbria is to attract an extra 2 million

visitors by 2018 and to increase the amount tourists spend from 1.1billion to 1.5 billion

2) Public transport will be improved to make the Lakes even more accessible

3) There’s to be a widespread advertising and marketing to make the area even more well known

4) Farms will be encouraged to provide services like quad biking, clay pigeon shooting and archery

5) Timeshare developments (where people share ownership of a property, but stay there at different times) are to be increased

6) The strategy also aims to encourage tourism in areas outside the National Park, like the West Coast, Furness and Carlisle, to relieve some of the pressure on the main tourist areas. E.g. there are plans to regenerate ports like Whitehaven and Barrow to make them more attractive to visitors

Mass Tourism- Kenya• Kenya is in East Africa, getting over 700000 visitors per year• People visit for the scenery, climate and tribal culture

Positive – Economic Negative - Economic

• Tourism contributes 15% of the country’s Gross National Product

• In 2003 around 219,000 people worked in the tourist industry

• Only 15% of the money earned through tourism goes to the local. The rest goes to big companies

Positive – Social Negative - Social

• The culture and customs of the native Maasai Tribe are preserved because things like traditional dancing are often displayed for tourists

• Some Maasai tribes people were forced off their land to create National Parks for tourists

• Some Muslim people in Kenya are offended by the way female tourists dress

Positive - Environmental Negative - Environmental

• There are 23 National Parks in Kenya, e.g. Nairobi National Park. Tourists have to pay entry fees to get in. This money is used to maintain the National Parks which help protect the environment and the wildlife

• Safari vehicles have destroyed vegetation and caused soil erosion

• Wild animals have been affected, e.g. cheetahs in the most heavily visited areas have changed their hunting behaviour to avoid the crowds

• Coral reefs in the Malindi Marine National Park have been damaged by tourist boats anchoring

Mass Tourism- Kenya• Kenya is trying to reduce negative impacts of tourism1) Walking or horseback tours are being promoted over vehicle safaris, to

preserve vegetation2) Alternative activities that are less damaging than safaris are also being

encouraged, e.g. climbing and white water rafting• Kenya is trying to maintain tourism1) Kenya’s tourist board and ministry of tourism have launched an advertising

campaign in Russia called ‘Magical Kenya’2) Kenya Wildlife Service is planning to build airstrips in Ruma National Park

and Mount Elgon National Park to make them more accessible for tourists. It also plans to spend £8 million improving roads and accessibility

3) Visa fees for adults were cut by 50% in 2009 to make it cheaper to visit the country. They were also scrapped for children under 16 to encourage more families to visit

Tourism in Extreme Conditions- Antarctica

1) Tourists can trample plants, disturb wildlife and drop litter2) There are fears that tourists could accidentally introduce non-

native species or diseases that could wipe out existing species3) Spillage of fuel from ships is also a worry. Fuel spills kill molluscs

and fish as well as the birds that feed on them

• Antarctica covers an area of about 14 million km^2 and about 98% is covered with ice

• There were 7413 tourists in 1996/97 but 46000 in 2007/08• Tourists are attracted by the scenery e.g. icebergs and the

wildlife

There are measures in place to protect Antarctica 1) The Antarctic Treaty is an international agreement that came

into force in 1961 and has now been signed by 47 countries. The treaty is designed to protect and conserve the area and its plant and animal life. In 2009, the parties involved with the Antarctic Treaty agreed to introduce new limits on tourism in Antarctica- only ships with fewer than 500 passengers are allowed to land and a maximum of 100 passengers are allowed on shore at a time

2) The International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators also has a separate Code of Conduct.

• Specially protected areas• Wildlife must not be disturbed when being observed• Litter- nothing can be left behind• Supervision- tourists must be supervised• Plant life- tourists must not walk on the plant life• Waste- sewage must be treated biologically

Ecotourism- Tataquara Lodge• Is on an island in the Xingu River in the Brazilian state of Para

• It’s owned and operated by 6 local tribes• The lodge has 15 rooms

• The surrounding rainforest has a variety of wildlife

Environmental Benefits Economic Benefits Benefits for locals

• The lodge was built from local materials such as straw and wood that was found on the ground

• The income goes straight to the local economy

• The lodge creates jobs for people

• It uses solar power to run lights, rather than burning fossil fuels

• As the lodge uses locally produced food, more money goes back to the local economy

• People in nearby villages are encouraged to visit Tataquara Lodge to sell crafts= income and preserving culture

• The food served is locally produced, less fossil fuels used to transport it

• Profits earned are used to provide healthcare and education for the tribes people

Tataquara Lodge helps the Sustainable Development of the Area• The profits go towards healthcare and education, helping the area develop by increasing the quality of life

for the local people• The development is sustainable because the money is generated without damaging the environment- local

people don’t have to find other employment that could damage the environment, e.g. logging or farming. Also resources aren’t used up e.g. solar power is used to run the lights instead of fossil fuels so more resources are available for future generations