The challenge of resource management

In this section you study Resource management and then one from Food, Water or Energy. Check which your school teaches — you only need one of the three optional routes below.

Food, water and energy are fundamental to human development. The significance of each to economic and social well-being:

• Food — without enough of the right food people cannot stay healthy, work productively or learn. Undernutrition harms children's development permanently. • Water — needed for drinking, sanitation, farming and industry. Unsafe water spreads disease, and time spent collecting it is time not spent working or at school. • Energy — needed for cooking, heating, lighting, transport, industry and healthcare. Without a reliable supply, industry cannot develop and clinics cannot refrigerate medicines.

An overview of global inequalities in the supply and consumption of resources. Supply and consumption do not match. Consumption is highest in HICs, where people use far more food, water and energy per person than in LICs, and much of that consumption is of resources produced elsewhere. Supply depends largely on physical geography — climate, geology and the location of fossil fuels — which does not follow the pattern of wealth.

The consequence is that resources move around the world in trade, and countries that consume most are often not the countries that produce most. That mismatch is the root of the insecurity and potential for conflict discussed in the optional routes.

The changing demand and provision of resources in the UK create opportunities and challenges. The specification asks for an overview of all three in relation to the UK, whichever optional route you take afterwards.

Demand for food resources is rising globally but supply can be insecure, which may lead to conflict.

Areas of surplus (security) and deficit (insecurity). Global patterns of calorie intake and food supply: consumption per person is highest in HICs such as those of North America and Europe, and lowest in parts of sub-Saharan Africa and southern Asia. Where a question gives you a map or table, describe the pattern from the data and name regions rather than relying on a remembered generalisation.

Reasons for increasing food consumption: • Economic development — as incomes rise people eat more, and eat more meat and dairy, which take far more land and water to produce per calorie. • Rising population — simply more people to feed.

Factors affecting food supply: • Climate — drought, flooding and unreliable rainfall reduce harvests, and climate change is making some areas less suitable for farming. • Technology — machinery, irrigation, fertilisers and improved seeds raise yields where they are affordable. • Pests and disease — can destroy crops and livestock. • Water stress — irrigation is impossible without water, and agriculture is the largest user of water globally. • Conflict — destroys farmland and stores, prevents planting and harvesting, and displaces farmers. • Poverty — farmers cannot afford seeds, fertiliser or equipment, so yields stay low.

Impacts of food insecurity: • Famine — widespread scarcity causing malnutrition and death. • Undernutrition — not enough of the right nutrients, causing illness and stunted development in children. • Soil erosion — pushing land too hard to produce more, so it degrades and produces less in future. • Rising prices — shortage pushes prices up, and the poorest are hit hardest. • Social unrest — food price rises and shortages have repeatedly triggered protest and conflict.

You need an example of a large scale agricultural development to show how it has both advantages and disadvantages, and an example of a local scheme in an LIC or NEE to increase sustainable supplies of food. Use your school's examples — and note the contrast the specification is setting up between the large scale and the local.

Moving towards a sustainable resource future — the potential for sustainable food supplies: • Organic farming — no artificial fertilisers or pesticides, so better for soil and wildlife, though yields are usually lower. • Permaculture — farming that works with natural ecosystems, using diversity and natural cycles rather than heavy inputs. • Urban farming initiatives — growing food in cities on roofs, allotments and unused land, cutting food miles. • Fish and meat from sustainable sources — quotas, certified fisheries and farming methods that do not exhaust stocks. • Seasonal food consumption — eating what grows locally at that time of year, reducing the energy used in transport and heated growing. • Reduced waste and losses — a large share of food produced is never eaten, so cutting waste increases effective supply without farming more land.

The specification names the *type* of case study, never the place — your school chose which. The worked example below is one in common use; if your school taught a different one, use theirs and keep the same structure, because the structure is what the marks are for.

Demand for water resources is rising globally but supply can be insecure, which may lead to conflict.

Areas of surplus (security) and deficit (insecurity). Global patterns of water surplus and deficit follow climate more than wealth: surplus in wet tropical and temperate regions, deficit across dry subtropical belts at about 30° north and south — which links straight back to the pressure belts in 3.1.1.3.

Reasons for increasing water consumption: • Economic development — industry uses large volumes, and rising living standards mean more water used at home. • Rising population — more people needing water for drinking, sanitation and food production.

Factors affecting water availability: • Climate — how much rain falls, and how reliably. • Geology — permeable rock stores groundwater; impermeable rock does not. • Pollution of supply — contaminated water is unusable even where it is plentiful. • Over-abstraction — taking water from rivers and aquifers faster than they refill. • Limited infrastructure — no pipes, pumps or treatment works to deliver and clean it. • Poverty — countries and households cannot afford the infrastructure or the price.

Impacts of water insecurity: • Waterborne disease and water pollution — untreated water spreads cholera, typhoid and dysentery, a leading cause of child deaths. • Reduced food production — irrigation fails, so harvests fall and food insecurity follows. • Reduced industrial output — industry cannot run without water, so economic development slows. • Potential for conflict where demand exceeds supply — particularly where a river crosses borders and an upstream country's dam or abstraction reduces the flow reaching those downstream.

You need an example of a large scale water transfer scheme to show how its development has both advantages and disadvantages, and an example of a local scheme in an LIC or NEE to increase sustainable supplies of water. Use your school's examples.

Moving towards a sustainable resource future: • Water conservation — metering, efficient appliances, fixing leaks, and educating people to use less. • Groundwater management — limiting abstraction so aquifers are not drained faster than they refill. • Recycling — treating waste water so it can be used again, particularly in industry. • Grey water — reusing water from baths, showers and sinks for flushing toilets and watering gardens, so clean drinking water is not used for jobs that do not need it.

Demand for energy resources is rising globally but supply can be insecure, which may lead to conflict.

Areas of surplus (security) and deficit (insecurity). Global distribution of energy consumption and supply: consumption is highest in HICs and rapidly rising in NEEs, while supply depends on geology — fossil fuels are concentrated in particular regions that are often not the largest consumers. That mismatch is why energy is traded so heavily and why supply can be used as political leverage.

Reasons for increasing energy consumption: • Economic development — industry, transport and construction all consume energy. • Rising population — more people needing heat, light and transport. • Technology — more devices, appliances, vehicles and data centres in use.

Factors affecting energy supply: • Physical factors — whether a country has fossil fuels, fast rivers, reliable wind or strong sunshine. • Cost of exploitation and production — deep or remote reserves may not be worth extracting at current prices. • Technology — some reserves can only be reached with advanced techniques. • Political factors — conflict, sanctions and disputes can cut off supplies, and countries dependent on imports are vulnerable.

Impacts of energy insecurity: • Exploration of difficult and environmentally sensitive areas — as easy reserves run down, extraction moves into deep water and polar regions, where the environmental risk is far greater. • Economic and environmental costs — energy prices rise, and more damaging extraction methods become worthwhile. • Reduced food production — modern farming depends on energy for machinery, fertiliser and transport. • Reduced industrial output — factories cannot run without a reliable supply. • Potential for conflict where demand exceeds supply — over reserves, over pipelines and over sea areas where reserves lie.

You need an example to show how the extraction of a fossil fuel has both advantages and disadvantages. Use your school's example; the shape of the argument is jobs, income, tax revenue and energy security on one side, against habitat damage, pollution, carbon emissions and the risk of accidents on the other.

Moving towards a sustainable resource future: • Individual energy use and carbon footprints — understanding how everyday choices in travel, heating and consumption add up. • Energy conservation — designing homes, workplaces and transport for sustainability: insulation, efficient lighting and heating, buildings oriented to use natural light and warmth, and public transport and cycling infrastructure. • Demand reduction — using less overall, through efficiency and behaviour change. • Use of technology to increase efficiency in the use of fossil fuels — getting more useful energy from each unit of fuel burned, so the same output needs less fuel.

You also need an example of a local renewable energy scheme in an LIC or NEE to provide sustainable supplies of energy — typically small-scale solar, micro-hydro or biogas, which suit places far from any national grid.