GEOGRAPHY
IGCSE EDEXCEL
(9-1)
CHAPTER 7:
FRAGILE
ENVIRONMENTS
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FRAGILE ENVIRONMENTS
BY KITAKA CAROLINE
Fragile environments are those natural environments that are sensitive to and easily
abused by human activities.
The well being of earth’s physical environment is of vital importance to us all since our living
standards and our health depend on the quality of those environments.
CHARACTERISTICS OF FRAGILE ENVIRONMENTS
 However natural environment is very fragile, there is delicate balance between the living
(Plants and animals) and the non living parts (climate, rocks and soil).
 Natural hazards, such as earthquakes, volcanoes, hurricanes have always disturbed
environments and made it more fragile however, the growth of world’s population today
threatens to disturb the fragile balance of environments.
DISTRIBUTIONS OF THE FRAGILE ENVIRONMENTS
 The fragility of environments is closely related to the pressure that is put on them.
 The ecological footprint is a measure of the mark we humans make on the natural
world.
 It considers how much land and sea are required to provide us with the water, energy and
food we need to support our lifestyles.
 If the Earth’s resources were shared equally, it is believed that a ‘fair share’ for everyone
would be a little less than 2 hectares of the globe. The UK has an ecological footprint of
about 5.5 global hectares per person.
 This means that if everyone in the world consumed resources at the rate of people in the
UK, we would need two more planets to sustain the world’s present population.
 Sustainability-It is the ability to meet the present needs without compromising the
future generation to meet their own needs
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FRAGILE ENVIRONMENTS
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The ecological foot print by country.
The global distribution of fragile environments is mostly influenced by the impact of three
processes:
(i) Deforestation
(ii) Desertification
(iii) Climate change
1. DESERTIFICATION
It is the spread of desert conditions into what were previously productive lands.
The process is not necessarily irreversible and it usually takes place in semi-arid land on the
edges of existing hot deserts.
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FRAGILE ENVIRONMENTS
BY KITAKA CAROLINE
Large areas of the world are at risk from desertification. The most conspicuous includes
much of southern Asia, the Middle East and North Africa
AREAS AT RISK OF DESERTIFICATION
Main characteristics of desertification
 Absence of surface water
 Dried up water courses and ponds
 Lowered water table
 Degraded or complete loss of vegetation
 Increased soil erosion as bare soil is exposed to wind.
 Increase in salt content of the soil
 Soil becomes less usable
 Increasing presence of dry, loose sand.
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FRAGILE ENVIRONMENTS
BY KITAKA CAROLINE
CAUSES OF DESERTIFICATION
Desertification is the result of both natural and human causes.
a) Natural causes
1. Changing rainfall patterns − rainfall has become less predictable over the past 50 years
and the occasional drought year sometimes extends to several years. As a result, the
vegetation cover begins to die and leaves bare soil.
2. Soil erosion – the removal of soil means less support for the vegetation.
3. Intensity of rainfall − when rain does fall it is often for very short, intense periods. This
makes it difficult for the soil to capture and store the rain – so water resources are
reduced.
b) HUMAN CAUSES
1. Population growth − rapid population increase puts more pressure on the land to grow
more food.
2. Migration − as desertification takes hold in one area, local people migrate elsewhere in
search of food and water. Unfortunately, wherever they settle, they increase the
population pressure on the environment.
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FRAGILE ENVIRONMENTS
BY KITAKA CAROLINE
3. Overgrazing − too many goats, sheep and cattle can destroy vegetation. This is often
most common around water holes in desert fringe areas. If there are too many animals
that are overgrazing in certain spots, it makes it difficult for the plants to grow back,
which hurts the environment and makes it lose its former green glory
4. Over-cultivation − intensive use of marginal land exhausts the soil and crops will not
grow.
5. Deforestation − trees are cut down for fuel, fencing and housing. The roots no longer
bind the soil, leading to soil erosion. Without the plants (especially the trees) around,
the rest of the biome cannot thrive.
CASE STUDY: DESERTIFICATION OF THE SAHEL, AFRICA
1. Location:
The Sahel is a narrow belt of land in central Africa. It borders the southern edge of the Sahara
Desert
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BY KITAKA CAROLINE
2. Climate
 It has a semi-arid
climate and
temperatures that
are always hot and
there is a long dry
season from June
through to January.
 There is just enough
rainfall for grasses to
grow, as well as some
shrubs and trees in
this harsh
environment.
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FRAGILE ENVIRONMENTS
BY KITAKA CAROLINE
3. Vegetation

Sahel region is classified as savanna.

The natural vegetation of savanna is a mixture of grassland, trees and shrubs. However,
the mix of each of these three types of vegetation changes as we move northwards from
the tropical rainforest.

The climate becomes drier, so savanna gives way to grassland with occasional shrubs.
Eventually, on the margins of the hot desert, the savanna is nothing more than thin
grassland.

In the Sahel, some years have less rain than others.

Fewer grasses grow and trees die.
4. Animals
Large herds of wild animals like wildebeest, antelope and zebra are found.
On the drier desert edges there is far less wildlife.
Causes of Desertification in Sahel:
1. Climate change- rain in this region has decreased since the 60s. Rainfall is seasonal and
unpredictable and it is very dry for much of the year
2. Increase in population-This led to increase in trees felled for fuel and building materials.
3. Over-grazing: Sedentarisation of agriculture due to increase in human population led to
increase in land pressure, livestock numbers increase due to meat demand and ranches
are located on marginal (unprofitable) land.
4. Over-cultivation: Growing the same crops on the same land for many years contributing
to a soil’s nutrient loss and eventually crop failure which laid most of the ground bare.
The absence of vegetation meant that no humus was added to the soil. Settling of the
nomadic population also led to over cultivation.
5. Civil wars in Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia.
6. Deforestation for building purposes, to use of wood for fuel.
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Impacts of desertification
1. Loss of soil fertility-The gradual disappearance of plant cover leads to lack of soil
nutrients. A decline in soil fertility continues as people try to grow crops and raise
livestock.
2. Reduced agricultural output-The decline in the condition of the soil and increasing
water shortage means that the agricultural productivity of the land is lowered. Crops fail
and livestock die.
3. Malnutrition, famine and starvation-The decline in agricultural output leads to food
shortages i.e famine and a poor diet. Prolonged famine can lead to starvation and possibly
death.
4. Migration-When the situation worsens, people face difficult choice, either die where they
are or migrate in the hope of finding somewhere where they can raise enough food to
survive.
5. Conflict-Migration often leads to conflict. Migrants arriving and settling in an area where
other people are only just surviving will not be welcomed.
DEALING WITH DESERTIFICATION (Solutions to desertification)
a) Education-people need to be told of simple actions they can take to make land use
sustainable. This is the only way if they wish to survive and remain where they are.
b) Reducing soil erosion-This can be achieved by planting trees as maintaining permanent
plant cover ensures that soil is protected from the wind. The cover also helps maintain
soil moisture.
c) Changing farming- There is not a lot that can be done here. Permaculture(high yielding
and sustainable agriculture that uses natural ecological processes) promises better
security.
The discovery of certain type of rocks that can be used as a fertilizer is possibly promising
when growing vegetables.
d) Wood fuel-This can be done through taking two actions;
 Cultivate fast growing trees for harvesting as fuel wood.
 Use alternative forms of energy.
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e) Water conservation-This can be done by using the water spreading weirs. These are
stone and cement constructions that extend from one side of a valley to the other.
The weirs hold back the flow of a river, but allow water to overflow and so pass on
downstream to the next weir.
Because the speed of the water flow is reduced, soil is deposited. Water seeps
underground, raises the water table and extends the cultivatable land. These weirs allow
farmers to grow crops throughout the year.
2. DEFORESTATION
It is the cutting down of trees.
Many primary forests have almost disappeared after centuries of logging (cutting down trees
for timber) and land clearance, usually to plant crops
Global distributions of the original and the remaining forests
Deforestation depends on:
1. Whether the forest has been subject to clear felling or selective felling, In other words, has
the forest been completely cut down (clear felling); or have only the best trees been
extracted so that some trees remain (selective felling)?
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2. How long ago the deforestation took place- Freshly sawn tree trunks and burned saplings
suggest recent action, while large fields used to grow crops surrounded by a fringe of
surviving trees indicate that the deforestation took place decades or even centuries ago.
CAUSES OF DEFORESTATION
Areas of tropical rainforests are cleared for various reasons.
1. Agriculture-Trees have been cut down to make room for agriculture. This is carried out
because the land is initially fertile and can be planted with a valuable cash crop, e.g. palm
oil. Huge cattle ranches are also causing massive deforestation.
2. Commercial timber-Land is converted from a primary/natural forest into a commercial
timber crop.This is because tropical hardwood timber, for example, has a high
commercial export value.
3. Fuel wood-Growing importance/market of fuel wood in some developing countries has
increased the demand for timber/the amount of illegal logging
4. Population growth-has led to many areas of forest being cleared to make room for new
housing.
5. Settlement and industrialization- Forests are cleared in an effort to construct
industries, roads and houses.
6. Mining and Hydroelectric Power schemes: Oil and coal mining require considerable
amount of forest land. Apart from this, roads and highways have to be built to make way
for trucks and other equipment for example. The iron ore mine at Carajas in the Amazon
Basin.
7. Forest Fires: Another example would be forest blazes; Hundreds of trees are lost each
year due to forest fires in various portions of the world. This happens due to extreme
warm summers and milder winters. Fires, whether causes by man or nature results in
huge loss of forest cover.
8. Extracting plants for their medicinal value also leads to significant loss of vegetation.
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THE IMPACTS (EFFECTS) OF DEFORESTATION
The following is more general discussion on the impacts of deforestation.
1. Loss of Biodiversity (plants and animals)
Clearing the forests destroys the habitat for many plants and animals.
Biodiversity provides us with a whole range of goods and services such as timber, drugs,
medicine, resins for glue.
Due to massive felling down of trees, various species of animals are lost.
They lose their habitat and forced to move to new location. Some of them are even pushed to
extinction.
2. Climate Imbalance
Deforestation also affects the climate in more than one ways.
Trees release water vapor in the air, which is compromised on with the lack of trees.
Trees also provide the required shade that keeps the soil moist.
This leads to the imbalance in the atmospheric temperature further making conditions for
the ecology difficult.
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3. Increase in Global Warming: Trees play a major role in controlling global warming.
The trees utilize the green house gases, restoring the balance in the atmosphere. With
constant deforestation the ratio of green house gases in the atmosphere has increased,
adding to our global warming woes.
4. Soil Erosion: Also due to the shade of trees the soil remains moist. With the clearance of
tree cover, the soil is directly exposed to the sun, making it dry.
5. Flooding: When it rains, trees absorb and store large amount of water with the help of
their roots. When they are cut down, eroded soil is deposited in the rivers. The flow of
water is also disrupted and this increases the risk of flooding.
6. Leaching-Cutting down of trees leaves the soil bare. Rainfall easily washes away the
nutrients and makes the soil unable to support growth of plants.
7. Wildlife Extinction: Due to massive felling down of trees, various species of animals are
lost. They lose their habitat and forced to move to new location. Some of them are even
pushed to extinction.
Our world has lost so many species of plants and animals in last couple of decades.
8. Droughts and prolonged drought for some areas leading to poor health and sometimes
death. Drought also creates ecosystem stress.
MANAGING RAINFORESTS IN A SUSTAINABLE WAY
The management of the forest can be achieved through:
1. Rules and laws-Employing a series of rules and laws to govern deforestation can help
curb the problem of deforestation.
2. Carefully planned and controlled logging in the forests.
3. Selective logging - trees are only felled when they are valuable and reach a particular
height. This allows young trees a guaranteed life span and the forest will regain full
maturity after around 30-50 years.
4. Replanting forested areas that have been felled.
5. Restrictions on the number of logging licenses given to reduce the amount of forest loss.
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6. Developing alternative energy supplies such as biogas, solar and wind power to reduce
the amount of forest loss.
7. Agro-forestry - growing trees and crops at the same time. This lets farmers take
advantage of shelter from the canopy of trees. It prevents soil erosion and the crops
benefit from the nutrients from the dead organic matter.
8. Education - ensuring those involved in exploitation and management of the forest
understand the consequences behind their actions.
9. Heli-logging-Use of Helicopters are used to remove the logs because less damage is done
to the remaining forest.
10.Afforestation - the opposite of deforestation. If trees are cut down, they are replaced to
maintain the canopy.
11.Forest reserves - areas protected from exploitation.
12.Monitoring - use of satellite technology and photography to check that any activities
taking place are legal and follow guidelines for sustainability.
CASE STUDY; Causes of deforestation of the Amazon Rainforest
There have been many development projects within the Amazon forest. This has led to
construction of roads leading to the forest and thus opened it to many opportunity seekers.
The following are some of the developmental projects that have contributed to the
destruction of the Amazon Rainforest:
1. Farming and ranching-Many large scale farming projects are going on within the
rainforest land. This has led to clearing of the forest. In addition to this, the government of
Brazil introduced ranching projects and this led to massive deforestation to accommodate
ranches and large scale cattle keeping.
2. Logging and lumbering- The Amazon Rainforest is known for its variety in wood. This
has led to large scale lumbering activities. Lumbering is done for different purposes
including selling the logs and even producing charcoal. This has contributed to
destruction of the rainforest.
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3. Mining activities. Bauxite, tin, iron, nickel and gold are just some of the few minerals
found in the Amazon region. These have attracted many miners into the area to dig for the
precious minerals and destroy forests in the process.
4. Resettlement and immigration. There are many groups of people who have settled
within the Amazon rainforest. These include both the locals and the immigrants who are
in search of better opportunities within the region.
5. Building of Highways - eg. Trans Amazonian Highway. To develop Brazil and transport
it's natural resources.
6. Forest fires have destroyed large areas of tropical forest because it is much cheaper to burn
trees than to cut them down one by one. So fires are started as a quick way to clear land for
farming. However the fires can burn out of control, destroying large areas of forest
CASE STUDY; BRAZILS SEARCH FOR WAYS TO CONSERVE ITS RAINFOREST
Significant ways to conserve rainforest include;
a) The forest code-This is a law that requires all land owners in the Amazon to maintain up
to 80% of their property under rainforest.
This means that farmers who buy rainforest can only clear and farm up to 20% of it. The
problem is that the law has proved difficult to enforce as it is hard to monitor what is
happening.
b) The Amazon Region Protected Areas (ARPA) Scheme- It was created in 2012 by the
Brazilian government.
Over 10 year period, 45 million hectares were made into parks and reserves.
c) Replanting projects- A project in the Atlantic rainforest near Rio de Janeiro(REGUA) has
shown that it is possible to recreate rainforest cover almost like the original by collecting
seeds from remaining patches of primary forests, growing them in a nursery then
replanting them in the deforested areas. This develops a new forest cover very quickly.
d) The US- BRAZIL partnership – It is hoped that what has been learnt at REGUA (premier
bird watching site in the Atlantic Forest) will help Brazils promise in 2015 to restore
12million hectares of land now abandoned by commercial farmers because of fertility and
productivity.
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e) Brazilian government has also been encouraging the cultivation of commercial timber
(Fast growing species like Eucalyptus) on plantations located at outside the rainforest.
There are now 5million hectares of forest plantations.
3. CLIMATE CHANGE
The Earth’s Climate has changed many times during its history.
Many people believe that the natural causes of climate change must be due:
NATURAL CAUSES OF CLIMATE CHANGE
i) Variation in amount of solar radiation received by the earth
These variations result from:
a) Eccentricity (Strangeness) in the shape of the earth’s orbit around the sun.
 Changes in orbital eccentricity affect the Earth-sun distance. Currently, a difference of
only 3 percent (5 million kilometers) exists between closest approach (perihelion), which
occurs on or about January 3, and furthest departure (aphelion), which occurs on or
about July 4.
 This difference in distance amounts to about 6 percent increase in incoming solar
radiation (insolation) from July to January.
 The shape of the Earth’s orbit changes from being elliptical (high eccentricity) to being
nearly circular (low eccentricity) in a cycle that takes between 90,000 and 100,000 years.
 When the orbit is highly elliptical, the amount of insolation received at perihelion would
be greater than at aphelion, resulting in a substantially different climate from what we
experience today.
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b) Changes in the tilt of the earth’s axis (obliquity)
 As the axial tilt increases, the seasonal contrast increases so that winters are colder and
summers are warmer in both hemispheres.
 Today, the Earth's axis is tilted 23.5 degrees from the plane of its orbit around the sun.
But these tilt changes.
 During a cycle that averages about 40,000 years, the tilt of the axis varies between 22.1
and 24.5 degrees. Because this tilt changes, the seasons as we know them can become
exaggerated. More tilt means more severe seasons warmer summers and colder winters;
less tilt means less severe seasons cooler summers and milder winters.
 It's the cool summers that are thought to allow snow and ice to last from year-to-year in
high latitudes, eventually building up into massive ice sheets.
c) Wobbles (Staggering motion) as the Earth spins on its own axis (Precession)
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 The Earth has natural warming and cooling periods caused by Milankovitch cycles or
variations in the tilt and/or orbit of the Earth around the Sun.
 Changes in axial precession alter the dates of perihelion and aphelion, and therefore
increase the seasonal contrast in one hemisphere and decrease the seasonal contrast in
the other hemisphere.
As a result of increasing and decreasing amounts of solar energy reaching the earth, the
earth heats up and cools down. This leads to global climate changes.
Milankovitch theory
 The Milankovitch Theory explains the 3 cyclical changes in Earth’s orbit and tilt that
cause the climate fluctuations
 It states that, every 100000 years, these three changes combine in a particular way.
 Milankovitch cycle means that there is cyclical movement of the Earth’s orbit around the
Sun
ii) Volcanic activity
 Also large scale volcanic eruptions eject huge amounts of dust and ash into the
atmosphere. Such eruptions can block the solar radiation.
 If this happens, it results in lowering of global temperatures to a point that there is glacial
period.
iii)
Cosmic/ Celestial material
 If huge meteors and asteroids reach the earth’s surface, they too can eject large quantities
of dust in to the atmosphere.
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 The impact is the same as with volcanoes.
It is now widely believed that the present rise in global temperatures is largely the result of
human activity. This is mainly due to the release of green house gases mostly via human
activity.
The list below shows the main green house gases and their sources.
GREEN HOUSE GAS
SOURCE
Carbon Dioxide(CO2)
Methane (CH4)
Burning fossil fuels such as coal.
Burning of wood as a fuel.
Factories
Vehicles
Deforestation- trees remove CO2 from the atmosphere.
Decayed organic matter, animal manure, waste dumps etc.
Nitrous oxide(N2O)
Burning of fossil fuels and use of artificial fertilizers.
ChloroFluoroCarbons (CFCs)
Gases released via aerosols and coolants in fridges and air
conditioning systems
HUMAN CAUSES OF CLIMATE CHANGE
Therefore, there is a close link between the rise in global warming and carbon dioxide
emissions.
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Global greenhouse gas emissions can also be broken down by the economic activities that
lead to their production.
1. Electricity and Heat Production-The burning of coal, natural gas, and oil for electricity
and heat is the largest single source of global greenhouse gas emissions.
2. Industry-Greenhouse gas emissions from industry primarily involve fossil fuels burned
on site at facilities for energy. This sector also includes emissions from chemical and
mineral transformation processes not associated with energy consumption and emissions
from waste management activities.
3. Agriculture, Forestry, and Other Land Use -Greenhouse gas emissions from this sector
come mostly from agriculture (cultivation of crops and livestock) and deforestation. This
estimate does not include the CO2 that ecosystems remove from the atmosphere by
sequestering carbon in biomass, dead organic matter, and soils.
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4. Transportation -Greenhouse gas emissions from this sector primarily involve fossil fuels
burned for road, rail, air, and marine transportation.
5. Buildings-Greenhouse gas emissions from this sector arise from onsite energy
generation and burning fuels for heat in buildings or cooking in homes.
6. Other Energy-This source of greenhouse gas emissions refers to all emissions from the
Energy sectors which are not directly associated with electricity or heat production, such
as fuel extraction, refining, processing, and transportation.
Trends in Global Emissions
Global carbon emissions from fossil fuels have significantly increased since 1900. Since 1970,
CO2 emissions have increased by about 90%, with emissions from fossil fuel combustion and
industrial processes contributing about 78% of the total greenhouse gas emissions increase
from 1970 to 2011.
Agriculture, deforestation, and other land-use changes have been the second-largest
contributors.
Emissions of non-CO2 greenhouse gases have also increased significantly since 1900.
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Carbon dioxide is thought to be the major contributor to the Greenhouse effect.
Greenhouse effect- It is the warming of the earth’s atmosphere due to the trapping of the
heat that would otherwise be radiated back to the atmosphere.
In a green house, the sun shines through the glass and warms up the plants inside.
When the sun stops shining, the heat does not disperse; it is trapped inside the green house.
In the same way, the heat is trapped inside the earth’s atmosphere.
1. During the day, solar radiation from the sun heats the earth.
2. The Earth's surface then gives off heat (long-wave radiation)
3. This heat is trapped by greenhouse gases (e.g. methane, carbon dioxide and nitrous
oxide), in the atmosphere which radiate the heat back towards Earth.
4. This build up causes of the gradual increase in world temperatures (Global warming) a
concept known as the green house effect.
 The warming of the Earth’s atmosphere resulting from human activities is known as
Enhanced green house effect
THE IMPACTS/CONSEQUENCES/EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE
 The global pattern of climate is certainly changing resulting in some areas becoming drier
and others wetter.
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 Climate change will have an impact on soil, temperature, rainfall and weather events.
 Climate change could threaten fragile environments, e.g. tropical rainforests or coral
reefs, in terms of structure, function and biodiversity.
 Fragile environments may be threatened by rising sea levels caused by climate change;
ecosystem biodiversity could be threatened by animals migrating because they cannot
adapt to the changing climate of their current habitat.
 The following are some of the effects climate change poses on the environments and
people;
1. More hazards.

Increase extreme weather. I.e. more frequent and more intense natural hazards such as
tropical storms, tornadoes, droughts and cold snaps.

Warmer seas mean more intense storms; tropical storms have increased in frequency,
intensity

Global warming is thought to be causing the cyclical ocean current and temperature
changes in Pacific to become more frequent. The fluctuations in the Pacific seem to be
having unpredictable global weather effects

Frequent and longer droughts, desertification is increasing and the Sahel region is
expanding
2. Ecosystem changes

Climate change resulting from global warming will change the distribution of ecosystems

Warming will push the world’s biomes polewards
3. Health and well being

Warmer climate is expected to change the distribution of diseases

Malaria will occur in higher latitudes and higher altitudes

In drier parts of the world, water will become scarce and people will be forced to use
unclean water which can lead to outbreak of waterborne diseases such as bilharzias,
cholera etc.

Mortality rates would therefore rise.
4. Conflict
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
Global warming is expected to increase food and water insecurity.

People could easily lead to conflict as people are forced to migrate in search of food and
water.

People may also fight for remaining sources of food and water.
5. Rising sea levels

Rising sea levels have led to;

Shrinking of glaciers due to higher temperatures.

Soil erosion and threatening farmland around the coast

Threatening housing or recreation areas.

The flooding of wetlands and pollution of aquifers also occur, affecting the flora and fauna
of each place, causing the loss of habitat for fish, birds, plants and many other species.

Higher sea level causes heavy rains and strong winds, unleashes severe storms

If water continues to rise, people are forced to abandon their homes and move to another
area (forced migration)

Low-lying islands would be swallowed by the oceans, leading to the disappearance of
large land areas
6. Drowning cities

Rise in sea level poses threat to coastal cities, e.g. Miami, New York, Osaka and Kobe.

Coastal submergence would have a devastating impact on the economies of many
countries (resettling people, economic activities disrupted)
7. Reduced employment opportunities

Coastal areas contain a large proportion of world’s urban population.

A significant amount of world’s economic wealth is generated and located here as well.
A coastal location is also important for global movement raw materials and manufactured
goods.
The rising sea levels have led to abandonment of tourist resorts, coastal farmlands and


cities which has led to loss of jobs and economic opportunities.
8. Changing settlement patterns
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
The threat of rising sea level does not end with the drowning of coastal areas and lowlying islands.

People have to be evacuated and there would be massive volumes of relocations
EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON FRAGILE ENVIRONMENTS
 Soil erosion may increase as a result of climate change, e.g. linked to drying out, wind and
droughts.
 Soil erosion could be in the form of gully and sheet erosion with more intense
precipitation events, which are associated with climate change.
 Desertification may increase as productive land becomes degraded by drought, extreme
temperatures, unreliable rainfall, further increasing the fragility of the ecosystem.
 Rising sea levels may threaten/flood low-lying coastal ecosystems and fragile
environments. This is something that could be further exacerbated by more frequent
storms/hurricanes due to warmer ocean temperatures.
 Increasing risk of fragile environments being affected by flooding as a result of glacial
melting, flash floods and baked/impermeable soils.
RESPONSES TO GLOBAL WARMING AND CLIMATE CHANGE
How country responds to global warming and climate change is a government decision.
Individuals and organizations may support that decision and cooperate.
Attempts to mitigate against climate change threats.
1. Join global effort to reduce green house gas(GHG) emissions(International
agreements)-For example in 2005 the Kyoto Protocol became international law. The
countries that signed up to the treaty pledged to reduce their carbon emissions by 5 per
cent. However, arriving at agreement is never a straightforward process.
This ran out in 2012 and its overall impact has been small. The US refused to join and
major newly industrialized countries (NICs) like China and India were not required to
make any reductions
2. Protect and conserve forests-Encouraging afforestation means that there will be more
trees to absorb the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere during the process of
photosynthesis, also reducing deforestation, e.g. in tropical rainforests,
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3. Identify environments that will become more fragile as a result of climate change and
then decide what should be done.
4. Identify coastal areas that will be threatened by flooding or marine erosion and decide
what action needs to be taken.
5. Alternative energy - using alternative energy such as solar, wind or tidal can reduce the
use of fossil fuels. This will reduce the amount of carbon dioxide released into the
atmosphere.
6. Developing Carbon capture technologies - this is the removal of carbon dioxide from
waste gases and power stations and then the storage of it in old oil and gas fields or coal
mines underground. This reduces the amount of emissions into the atmosphere.
CASE STUDY: THE UK’S (HIC) RESPONSE TO GLOBAL WARMING AND CLIMATE CHANGE

The UK is currently responsible for 1.4% of global Green House Gas emissions.

It appears very willing to play its part in any global programmes to do with cutting
emissions.

It signed up the Kyoto protocol in 1995.

Its own climate Change Act (2008) commits it to cutting emissions by at least 80% from
1990 levels.

Now there is even a talk of setting a zero carbon emissions.
In order to cut its emissions, the UK has tried to reduce;
1. Its reliance on fossil fuels as a primary source of energy, that now stands at 85% but
today it is burning much more gas (a cleaner burning fuel) and far less coal.
2. It overall energy consumption by using energy more efficiently; consumption has fallen
by 18% since 2005.
The carbon capture and storage option has been ruled out at the moment on the ground of
cost and current technology.
a) Forests- The UK is the second least wooded country in Europe.
Only 12% of the country is now covered by woodland.
That percentage was much higher in the past.
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There are no plans to reforest on a large scale, but there are now tight controls on imports of
hardwood.
This is to discourage illegal logging in particular, and felling of the tropical rainforest in
general.
b) Fragile environments –No environments have yet been flagged as being too threatened
by global warming.
c) Coastal risks- They are considerable because of the UKS very long coastline and the lowlying nature of much of that coastline.
The coastline has been mapped into those stretches that would be protected from sea level
rises and those that will be left to drown.
Seemingly, UK has already responded to the threats linked to global warming and climate
change.
CASE STUDY; THE CHINAS (EMERGING COUNTRY) RESPONSE TO GLOBAL WARMING
AND CLIMATE CHANGE

China is in a predicament (difficult) situation.

It is responsible for 22.7% of global green house emissions.

Nearly 80% of its energy comes from coal.

It is reluctant to turn to oil and gas because it has much large reserves of coal within its
borders.

The problem is made worse by the fact that Chinas economic success as an emerging
nation has greatly increased the demand for, and consumption of energy.

Heavy industries in China burn large quantities of coal.

China adopted the Paris Agreement in 2016. ThIs Agreement aims to keep global
warming below a 2°C increase by the end of the 21st century

It has also produced its own National Action Plan on climate Change. This involves a set of
different actions that together should make Chinas economic development more
sustainable.
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a) Forests-18% OF China is covered by forests. China has started to implement the largest
forest conservation programme in the world. This is likely to compensate for Chinas huge
emissions of carbon.
b) Fragile environments-Large areas of China frequently suffer from droughts, famines and
floods. China has recorded six of the worlds 10 deadliest floods. It is thought that climate
change will make these hazards more severe and frequent.
It would be an advantage if China would transfer flood water to its drought stricken areas.
c) Coastal risks-a recent study has found that 50million people in China will be at risk of
coastal flooding by the end of 21st century if Green House Gases stay high. Coastal erosion
and shoreline retreat are serious threats and will only worsen.
Coastal area management is now underway for example, construction of sea walls etc.
d) In terms of emissions reduction, China strives to develop clean energy, apart from strict
control over coal consumption and clean utilization of fossil fuel.
At present, Chinese government is very reluctant to do anything that might slow the rate of
economic growth.
CASE STUDY; SOLOMON ISLANDS(LIC) RESPONSE TO GLOBAL WARMING AND CLIMATE
CHANGE
 Solomon Island is a sovereign country consisting of six major islands and over 900
smaller ones located in the Pacific Ocean to the East of Papua New Guinea.
 Three quarters of the labor are engaged in subsistence farming and fishing.
 Its main exports include:
 Timber
 Cobra
 Palm oil
 Small amounts of gold
 Tourism is another source of income and employment, but its growth is held back by lack
of infrastructure. The population is over 600,000.
 Carbon emissions from the Solomon’s islands are extremely low.
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 They come mainly from the burning of fuel wood in the home, and of oil by motor vehicles
and inter island transport.
 Tropical rainforests once richly covered the islands, but this is not so today.
 The export of hardwood timber and the need to create more farmland to replace areas
lost by coastal erosion has led to much deforestation.
 Fragile environments are created by several active volcanoes as well as the fairly frequent
earthquakes, tides and tsunamis.
 Clear felling of the forested volcanic slopes has led to landslides and soil erosion.
 The most serious is threat is the erosion of the coastal lowlands, aggravated by a rising
sea level.
 Recently, five tiny uninhabited islands have disappeared below a rising sea level and six
more islands have had great swathes of land and villages washed out to sea.
 The Solomon’s Island is too aware of risks associated with climate change although it is
lacking financial resources and technology.
 People living in the Solomon’s island are the innocent victims of global warming.
 Their only possible response is to cling to the islands so long as they remain above sea
level.
 In September 2015, they submitted a new climate action plan to the UN Convention on
Climate Change.
 The Solomon Islands National Communications to the UN has established that the energy,
forestry (logging) and waste management sectors produce the most GHG emissions in the
country.
 According to many scientists it is possible to decrease the level to Green House Gases by:
o Not using coal as fuel,
o Protect and plant more areas of forests,
o Shift to a low Green House gas emission agriculture practice,
o Improve waste management to reduce emissions
o Increase significantly the use of renewable energy.
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TEST YOUR UNDERSTANDING
 State one example of a greenhouse gas.
(1)
 Identify one natural cause of climate change.
(1)
 Name one feature of desertification.
(1)
 Define the term deforestation.
(2)
 Identify the meaning of the term enhanced greenhouse effect
(2)
 Identify the meaning of the term Milankovitch cycle.
(2)
 Identify one good and one service provided by the tropical rainforests.
(2)
 State one way of reducing carbon emissions
(2)
 Explain two negative effects of deforestation on people in fragile environments.
(4)
 Suggest two reasons why China and India produce such a large emissions of green house
gases
(4)
 Assess the different human factors that cause climate change
(6)
 Assess the different factors that have caused deforestation
(6)
 Assess the environmental impacts of deforestation
(6)
 Explain why global warming is expected to result in more hazards
(6)
 “It is possible to manage the global rates of deforestation in a more sustainable way” (12)
 “Those people contributing the most to climate change will experience the greatest
impact”.
(12)
 Explain how desertification affects people.
(12)
 Discuss the view that it is possible to manage the threats of climate change in a
sustainable way.
(12)
 Suggest what makes rising sea levels a threat to people and the environment
(12)
 Discuss why some emerging countries are finding it difficult to sign the international
agreement about reducing carbon emissions.
END OF THE TOPIC
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(12)