Bridging The Development Gap - Case Studies

?
  • Created by: ellie98
  • Created on: 24-03-16 14:51

Uganda and the Debt Crisis

  • When Uganda became independant in 1962, it inherited a successful economy
  • Self sufficient in food, had farming industry dominated by small farmers who produced the main exports of coffee and cotton
  • 1971: Idi Amin overthrew Ugandan government and replaced it with military regime - period of violence resulting in civil war and need for weaponry
  • Amin's new government had expelled wealthy Asian community and taken its assests - led to collapse of govts. tax revenue
  • Large scale borrowing became neccesary
  • Amin overthrown in 1979
  • Uganda's debt in 1992: $1.9 billion
    HIPC SCHEME - Highly Indebted Poor Countries
  • IMF, World Banks and African Development Bank cancelled $1.5 billion of Ugandan debt
  • IMPACTS: spending on public services has increased by 20%, 40% extra spent on education + 70% on healthcare, including the abolition of fees for basic healthcare
  • Free primary education introduces -> 5 million extra children begun school
  • 2.2 million (10% of pop.) gained access to clean water supply
  • HOWEVER, they have been criticsed for imposing structural reforms such as privatisation of water and electricity
1 of 21

TNC mining in Botswana

  • 1970 - 2000: one of the fastest growing economies in the world
  • At the time of their independance in 1966, agriculture was 40% of GDP and mining was non-existent
  • By 2006, agriculture accounted for 2% of GDP and mining accounted for 40%
  • As a result of this mineral-led economic growth, Botswana became an upper middle-income country
  • Almost all mining companies are either wholly owned by TNCs or joint operated between TNCs and governments
  • 2001-2005: Diamonds = 80% of total exports (worlds largest producer and exporter in value terms)
  • Per capita GDP increased from $800 (1975) to $16,500 (2007)
  • Rising living standards and investment in social and economic infrastructure
  • 2 major mining companies have invested in health and education facilities in local communities
  • Both operate hospitals open to company employees and the general public
  • One actively addressing HIV/AIDS (affecting 37% of adults in Botswana)
2 of 21

Global Players: World Trade Organisation (WTO)

  • International organisation that intends to supervise and liberalise international trade
  • Began on January 1st, 1995
  • Has 153 members (97% of total world trade)
  • POSITIVES:
  • Helps promote peace within nations, helping trade flow smoothly and providing countries with a constructive and fair outlet for dealing with trade disputes
  • Free trade cuts the cost of living, as WTO lowers trade barriers through negotiations and applies the principle of non-discrimination 
  • The result is reduced costs of production and price of finished goods
  • Trade stimulates economic growth, as jobs can be created 
  • NEGATIVES
  • WTO seeking to privatise essential public services (education, healthcare, energy and water)
  • Those unable to pay for the services will suffer and in turn it will widen the development gap
  • Favours rich powerful nations (poor countries negotiators don't attent meetings on agreements) / undermines local level decision making (made local policies illegal)
3 of 21

Global Players: World Bank

  • Aims to bridge the development gap + turn rich country's resources into poor country growth
  • One of the world's largest sources of development assistance
  • Builds schools and health centres, provides water and electricity, fights disease and protects the environment -> a specialised agency (made up of 184 member countries)
  • In 2004, the WB provided $20.1 billion for 245 projects in developing countries worldwide
  • Low income countries generally cannot borrow money (or only at high interest rates)
  • They recieve grants, interest-free loans and technical assistance from the World Bank
  • 35-40 years to repay, with 10 year grace period - some 40 countries provide the money
  • POSITIVES:
    - Variety of work: 1,800 projects in virtually every sector and developing country
    - Prevents corruption and fraud by working with countries
    - Gobal impact - relief of debt (HIPC Scheme) 
    NEGATIVES: 
    - Criticised by NGOs: free market reform policies are often harmful to the economic development if implemented badly
    - Become economically dependant on the WB
    - WB is an instrument for the promotion of Western interests
4 of 21

Global Players: NGO - Oxfam in Mozambique

  • Oxfam has supported poor people to improve livelihoods + ability to cope with HIV/AIDS since end of civil war in 1992
  • Also work with local organisations to help give vulnerable children access to quality basic education
    EDUCATION PROGRAMME:
  • Working in 5 districts to increase access to education (particularly for girls and vulnerable children)
  • Also works to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS
  • Montes Mamull Primary School
    FOOD + LIVELIHOOD PROGRAMME:
  • Support poor farmers to improve their access to food by using different agricultural methods + diversifying their crops
  • Also supports income opportunities by improving their access to markets
  • Women are targeted to take a greater part in decision-making, to acquire literacy skills and to recieve traning on nutrition
    HIV/AIDS PREVENTION PROGRAMME:
  • Work in 2 districts helping to deal with the impact of HIV/AIDS
  • Revitalise prevention strategies and prevent further infections
5 of 21

Global Players: NGO - Save The Children in Egypt (

  • Successfully pushed for a new child labour law + child protection committees, now both in legislation
  • Every disctict in Egypt now has a statutory obligation to set up a child protection committee
  • In 2010: 800 children at risk were identified by social workers that had been trained by STC
  • Another 1,000 children learnt about their human rights
  • Children centres run by partners provide street children with education and vocational skills
  • "Innovative toolkit" on child labour on farms sets new standards to stop hazardous conditions for children
  • Female community health workers provide support to families with newborns + under 5s in Ezbet el Haggana Slum in Cairo
6 of 21

Cotton in Mali

  • Mali = one of the world's poorest countries - 2/3 of rural pop. live on up to $1 a day
  • 2nd largest cotton producer in sub-saharan Africa
  • Cotton production has proven successful for others in West and Central Africa - source of income for government and farmers
  • Importance recognised by the IMF and the WB to support the country's economy
  • In recent years, cotton prices have fallen due to downward trend of commodity prices
  • Since 2003, Mali's government has been battling at the WTO to end trade-distorting cotton subsidies - WB + IMF pressuring Mali to implement policies that started in late 1990s - promotion of cotton sector reform through privatisation -> this destabilises cotton as a source of revenue for farmers
  • REFORM:
    - Instead of improving livelihoods of farmers, it destabilised cotton
    - Transmits the downward trend in world cotton prices direct to the cotton farmer, with a likelihood of increasing poverty in Mali's rural areas by 5%
    - Cotton producer prices are now 20% lower than previous years, so Mali's cotton producer areas facing debt + food insecurity
    - This undermines their productive capacity + education + healthcare
    - Could slow GDP growth by as much as 5% 
7 of 21

Women in Afghanistan

BEFORE 1979 INVASION
- Relatively steady progressions for women's rights in early 20th century
- First eligible to vote in 1919, only a year after the UK and a year before the US
- Gender separation was abolished in the 1950s 
TALIBAN RULE IN 1990s
- Notorious for their human rights abuse
- Women were discriminated for the 'crime' of being a girl
- Banned from: going to school/studying, working, leaving the house without a male chaperone, showing their skin in public, accessing healthcare delivered by men, being involved in poltics
- Punishments: flogging for showing an inch or two of skin under full body burqa, beaten for attempting to study, stoned to death for adultery
-**** and violence against women was rife
INTERNATIONAL INTERVENTION 2007
- Taliban overridden by the end of 2001
- Schools opened doors for girls and women went back to work
- Progress towards equality; new constitution in 2003 enshrined women's rights
- 2009: adopted the Elimination of Violence Against Women law
CURRENTLY: Taliban still in control of some parts, violence continues. 
2011: named most dangerous country to be a woman

8 of 21

Megacity : Lagos, Nigeria

  • Very raprid growth: 3%+ per year - largely migration growth
  • UN estimates = 11.2 million in 2011
  • Informal economy = 60% (small scale manufacturing + street selling)
  • Migrants come from rural areas in search of work
  • Lagos' biggest slum: 2008: 1.5 million 
  • Bulldozes cleared neighbouring slum
  • 10,000 people arrive weekly
  • 90% of people there are in 'informal economy'
  • No legal protection - fear of eviction
  • Increase ub crime and corruption: gangs, organised crime
  • 23% - unemployment rate for young men

    STRATEGIES:

  • Creation of 7km long sea wall, a mile and a half out in Atlantic, to protect the shoreline which is predicted to dissapear
  • This will allow them to build on the land that would have been lost, drawing population away from the centre to rural areas
  • Offer constant power and water, good infrastructure and rail system
9 of 21

Megacity : Dhaka, Bangladesh

  • Likely to have population of 21 million and highest population density in the world 
  • Rapid growth due to high rates of natural increase and large volumes of migration

CHALLENGES

  • Strong growth in manufacturing, finance, telecommunications and services 
  • Dhaka home to 80% of garment industry's 2 million employees
  • Attracts migrant workers: roadside vendors, refuse recyclers
  • Unemployment = high at 23%
  • Women excluded from working in transport, services and trade
  • 33% of labour force = self employed
  • Child labour high in poor households

SOLUTIONS

  • 2 export processing zones, home to 413 industries, set up to encourage export of garments, textiles etc.
  • Bashundara city: a developing economic area with high-tech industries, business corporations and one of the largest retial + leisure malls in Asia - EMPLOYMENT
10 of 21

South Africa - Sustainable Development

CLEAN WATER

  • Establishment of Water Affairs and Forestry's Community Water Supply + Sanitation Programme (CWSS)
    -> everyone has the right to clean water
    -> 6.5 million given basic water suppluy, by 2002 27 million people had access
  • Late 2000, policy to give 6,000 litres of free water every month to poor famlies
  • Over 50% of pop. live in areas with access to free water every month

FOOD AND TREES

  • Eduplant: a nationwide project which teaches schools about permaculture - a system of farming and gardening that combines wildlife, buildings, local people and the landscape
    -> recycles nutrients and water, replicates nature
    -> generates more energy than it uses
  • Food production
  • Energy efficient buldings
  • Waste water treatment
  • Recycling and land conservation
11 of 21

East Timor - Social / Political Unrest

  • Southeast Asia - The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste 
  • 16th century to 1975 = a Portuguese colony
  • Invaded by Indonesia, to stop East Timor adopting a communist regime allied to China and to use the island to move people from overpopulated islands Java, Bali and Madura
  • Later emerged that oil + natural gas fields had been discovered
  • 1999: After a long guerrilla war, Indonesia agreed to let East Timor choose independance or local autonomy
  • Militia loyal to Indonesia tried to use terror to discourage vote of independance
  • However, more than 3/4 of the popele voted in favour
  • 2000: East Timor became first new sovereign state of the 21st Century
  • Exploitation of oil and gas has now begun with the help of Australia
  • Economic future is beginning to look much brighter so will hopefully affect the gap positively
12 of 21

Pollution in China

  • Environmental degradation is creating a major long-term burden for the Chinese
  • Large scale working of coal + other minerals
  • Coal-fired power stations which discharge huge amounts of pollutants
  • Heavy industry requires lots of fossil fuel energy
  • Chinese steel makers = 1/5 more energy per tonne than average
  • Expanding car ownership, heavy traffic and low grade petrol
  • Only 1% of 56 million city dwellers breathe "safe" air (by EU Standards)
  • Dumping of waste into rivers and lakes by factories/farms
  • 1/3 of river water = most degraded level
  • unsuitable for agricultural or industrial use

IMPACT

  • Poor health of Chinese people (particulary poor urban)
  • 300,000 deaths a year from air pollution + 110,000 from indoor air pollution
  • Rivers (such as the Yangtze) are becoming severely polluted; these are sources for local food
13 of 21

Ecuador - Migration

  • EMIGRATION
  • Experienced 2 major waves of migration (1980s and 1990s) due to oil price collapses and economic downturns - 10-15% of Ecuadorians moved overseas to Spain, USA, Italy, Venezuela and Chile
  • Atleast 75% of remittances = used for basic house hold needs (education, food, medicine) to build or repair homes and to reduce to debt
  • Discrimination in the US - called 'rezis'
  • Illegal emigration; 1000s of children left behind with remaining parent or other family members -> depression and suicide rates high
  • Growing return of migrants from USA has produced cultural upheaval -> difficult to reintegrate
    IMMIGRATION
  • Predominantly Peruvians and Colombians
  • Economic migrants attracted by country's switch to US dollar in 2000
  • Estimated 60,000-120,000 Peruvians now live in Ecuador, most without legal permission
  • Most colombians = refugees escaping armed conflict
  • Colombians often suspected of being rebels, paramilitaries, drug runners or criminals
  • Increased in January 2004 when prominent rebel was captured
14 of 21

Aid Projects - The Kingship Project

  • A joint charity run by students at the King's School in Ottery St. Mary, Devon with the local Rotary Club and the charity Christian Response to Eastern Europe. 
  • AIM: To build and maintain a community centre for a town in Moldova: Gura Bicului
  • MOLDOVA: 
    - Europes poorest country - has contradictory indicators
    - Europe's lowest GNI
    - Literacy rate = 99.1 %     Life expectancy= 70.5 years
    - 30% live in poverty - (UNICEF claim its closer to 60%0
    - Population is declining due to emigration to EU countries - 30$ of GNI is remittances
    - Economic recession reduced school enrolment to below 75% in some rural areas
    - Only 52% of rural people have adequate sanitation
  • Community Centre: Kitchen area for cooking and food preparation, heated shower and washing facilities, study area for schoolchildren, bakery to provide employment and bread at low price, medical facilities, staff to run centre, an orphanage 
  • Run by students who chose partner charities and raise money for the centre
  • By 2008 they had raised £20,000 + building work began in 2009
15 of 21

Aid Projects - Water Provision in Ghana

  • Water supply network has fallen into disrepair due to lack of investment
  • In 2008: only 50% of the pop. had access to safe, treated water 
  • Others depend on rivers and untreated wells
  • Wealthier Ghanians with water meters have to buy from private sellers due to irregular supply
  • Time taken to collect water is usually a long job done by women
  • 3 buckets of water a day (below recommonded daily amount for 1 person) costs 20% of an average family's daily income
  • Ghana's government estimates $800million to bring clean water to all Ghanians by 2015
  • Requires loans from WB, which only provides money if water supply is privatised
  • In 2005: Rand Water Vitens was contracted to provide water to Ghana's urban centres
  • People who cannot afford connection and supply suffer
  • Half of the water industry's 4,600 employees face unemployment due to private company
  • Current plans are to only privatise Ghana's urban water and sanitation - no effect on rural
    - The 2005 G8 conference led to 70% of Ghana's debt being written off, which came after Ghana agreed to spend savings on improving education and healthcare provision - this saved money cannot be spent on water supplies, because of the WB
16 of 21

Aid Projects - Bottom-up development in Barlonyo,

  • Village of Bralonyo, Lira District, Northern Uganda
  • Experienced one of the worst massacres in Uganda's history - rebels killed over 400 people in 2004 - after the attack, villagers forced to flee and depend on food aid
  • Returned in 2006, where there is now peace in the area
  • NGOs have supported the community and local farmers have linked up to form a democratically run cooperative
    - All farmers have equal say in any decisions
    - Female farmers are now more empowered
    - NGO ActionAid describes the approach: "we dont impose solutions, but work with communities over many years to strengthen their own efforts to throw off poverty"
  • The cooperative enables farmers to share the cost of hiring a truck, improving their profits by allowing them to sell directly to consumers in the market town of Lira (26km awa)
  • In 2008: they were able to sell their sesame seed crop for 3x the 2007 amount
  • The extra income has enabled farmers to send their children to school
  • Thereforeit promotes long term devlopment through education
  • NGOs have also contributed items to improve farm output and efficiency (e.g. ox ploughs)
  • Created a seed bank to reduce their reliance on TNCs
17 of 21

DOHA Development

  • The latest round of trade negotiations among the WTO membership
  • Launched at the WTOs 4th ministerial conference in Doha, Qatar, in November 2001
  • AIM: to achieve a major reform of the international trading system by introducing lower trade barriers + revised trade rules + to improve trading prospects of developing countries
  • BRAZIL - expected to liberalise its own trade
  • make requests for market access to other countries
  • multidimentional approach to poverty is essential 
  • Liberalised trade (removed barries and encourage free trade) had led to economic gain
  • Provides more incentives to invest in education, as they've a higher deman for skilled labour
  • However, unequal distribution: upper/middle class gain more
  • INDIA - Agricultural services and textile industry liberalisation
  • competitive service sector - available to poor
  • effective market access restricted by tariffs and subsides
  • India has reduced subsidies 
  • 100 million people could be lifted out of poverty by liberalisation in agriculture
18 of 21

Infant Mortality in Malawi

  • Primarily addresses MDG 4: Reduce child mortality
  • However, also adresses goal 5: improve maternal health
  • Bottom-up scheme: clinic that goes to the people, run by healthworkers trained by UNICEF who live in the community - sustainable, ensures help is always available
  • UNICEF - trained locals in the community how to care for the children - e.g. administering vaccinations
  • Malawi is one of the few countries in Sub-Saharan Africa to have already met the target (2014)
  • Better services can be provided to less children
  • Can then talk about economic growth because the country can take better care of a smaller population and so will have a more skilled and able workforce
    - improved education + improved healthcare
  • However, reducing child mortality may mean birth rates / pop. rates increase rapidly if education and contraception is not available
  • There is education in Malawi for mothers that teaches smaller families = healthier
19 of 21

Free Trade - Kenya

  • Low income country
  • Although value of exports is rising, cost of imports is more rapid
  • Kenya's debt has increased since 1982
  • Exports are primary products: tea, coffee, flowers
  • Prices paid fluctuate with supply and demand (kenya has little control)
  • Tourism - dependant on political stability
  • Reasons for Kenya's large trade deficit
  • Potential is restricted
  • Potential to produce wide range of agricultural produce
  • Fighting corruption and improving economy are main priorities
  • AIMS: local business development
  • Ethical trading
  • Improved Skills
  • Break down barriers preventing poorer countries access to markets
  • Raise awareness of fair trade issues within the UK
20 of 21

Fair Trade - Senegal

  • Farmers need better storage facilities so they can compete
  • Fertilisers for rice crops used to be supplied as subsidised prices - senegalese governments was persuaded by WB and IMF to drop these -> farmers earning less
  • Fisherman finding it difficult to compete with others
  • Shows opening up markets to completely free trade does have disadvantages
21 of 21

Comments

No comments have yet been made

Similar Geography resources:

See all Geography resources »See all Bridging The Development Gap resources »