Development case studies

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Hurricane mitch

  • HURRICANE MITCH CASE STUDY:
  • Background:  Affected Central America, Honduras and Nicaragua mainly. October 22nd 1998-November 5th. Winds as fast as 285km/h. caused over 19,325 deaths and $6.2 billion damage.
  • Causes:  Formed on Caribbean Sea and drifted in windy conditions. Strengthened to 5 statuses on Safer-Simpson Hurricane scale. Continued across Atlantic and became tropical storm 420km off San Andreas Island.
  • Impacts: deaths mainly due to flooding/landslides. 36 inches of rain fell. Destroyed tens of thousands of homes.
  • Honduras: Honduran president claimed it destroyed 50 years of progression. 70-80% of infrastructure destroyed. Crop loss affected 29% of arable land. National Climate Date Centre estimated that flooding destroyed 70% of crops. Cattle and farm animals died causing $1.22 billion damage.
  • Nicaragua: didn't enter country but the rainfall filled the Casita volcano which became a lahar which destroyed 23,000 homes and displaced 360,000 people. 70% of roads were unusable and damage cost $251 million.  
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bilateral aid -cahora bassa dam

  • CAHORA BASSA DAM, MOZAMBIQUE:
  • Begun by Portuguese government of Mozambique in the 1960s, although it was only completed thirty years later. The civil war form 1977-1992 prevented development and use of the scheme, as well as damaging infrastructure.
  • It is the largest Hydro-electric power scheme in southern Africa, with huge turbines. Three major dams have been constructed on the Zambezi River: the Kari, in the Zambia-Zimbabwe border, the Ithezi-Tehzi on the tributary river Kafue, and the Cahora Bassa Dam.
  • Despite this huge resource Mozambique only has 1% of its rural homes with a direct electricity supply and this level has hardly changed during the dam's life.
  • Most of the power has been sold to South Africa which makes money for the Mozambique government but does little for its citizens. The Cahora Bassa dam has much greater potential than it produces today; it could provide Mozambique with all the power it needs for the foreseeable future as long as some natural gas, solar and wind projects are also developed.
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cahora bassa dam (2)

  • Having three dams in one basin has caused environmental damage. River flow is low because so much water is held in by reservoirs. The shrimp fishing industry in the lower valley has almost been destroyed. A new dam, the Mepuna Uncua was planned in 2005. The environmental consequences are uncertain but risky.
  • Has Cahora Bassa been successful?
  • It has much greater potential than realised. If it concentrated more on serving Mozambique then its success would have been much greater. Also if it was to work in harmony with the other dams, its total potential might serve the whole regions of Mozambique plus neighbouring countries
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NGO case study- Pump aid mozambique

  • NGO AID EXAMPLE:
  • EXAMPLE OF BOTTOM-UP DEVELOPMENT:
  • Pump Aid developing elephant toilets in Malawi.
  • Aim: Improve sanitation in rural villages of Malawi, Mzimba district.
  • How does it work: The toilet attempts to separate solid and liquid waste:
  • It uses the liquid waste as a fertiliser.
  • How it is sustainable: The local people are involved in building it. The toilet lasts for a long time. They use recycled metal to build the lid and coarse sand and cement which are all local. The lid can be reused or moved to a different location. They educate people on how to use the toilet to separate the waste. The compost made from the liquid waste is diverted to crop fields and used as fertilisers. The Hut that surrounds it is made from local materials so locals can fix it if it collapses. They can plant a tree in he used toilet.
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contrasting areas in the EU- Bulgaria vs ireland

  • BULGARIA:
  • Population in 2008 was 7,640,238 and was lower by almost 300,000 than 1998. People are leaving to find better opportunities in the rest of the EU, which Bulgaria joined in 2007. It is now a democracy but was previously part of the Soviet Union. Standard of living fell by 40% after breaking off the Soviet Union in 1990s. Although it is the second poorest country in the EU and on its economic periphery, new funding and projects are improving quality of life.
  • IRELAND:
  • Ireland's 2008 population of 4,422,100 is growing slowly because of natural increase and migrant labour. Until it joined the EU in 1973, it was a poor country within Europe. Membership benefited Ireland, changing its focus of agriculture to high tech service economy. Its 10% per annum economic growth rate from 1995 to 2000 earned the title "the Celtic Tiger". Ireland is no longer in the economic periphery and is part of the economic core.
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Romania benefits

  • ROMANIA BENEFITS:
  • Joined 2007
  • 2 million Romanian now live abroad, sending money hence to boost the local economy and new learning skills.
  • Economy is doing well. Renault owned Dacia factory set up near Pitesi. It produces the Logan car. Cheap labour has attracted business and also companies can trade in the EU for free.
  • Pirelli tyres have set up 1000 jobs and 4.5 million tyres a year for export.
  • Improvements in power stations and expanding nuclear programme.
  • High speed rail, motorways and low cost airlines are being provided helped by EU funding.
  • Farmers are also benefiting from the Common Agricultural Policy.
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Common agricultural project

  • Common Agricultural Project:
  • Objective: guarantee minimum levels of production so there's enough food for Europe’s population
  • Ensure a fair standard of living for farmers
  • Ensure reasonable prices to customers
  • Spending/Impact:  CAP costs £34 billion a year, just over half the EU budget. Most of it goes straight to farmers. Another £5 billion is spent on rural development. This adds £9 to a family of four's weekly food bill.
  • Examples: Romania will receive 12.1 billion euros form CAP between 2007-2013.
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Urban II fund

  • URBAN II FUND:
  • Objective:
  • Improve living conditions
  • Create new jobs that benefit whole population
  • Integrate less favoured groups of people into education/training so they can find satisfactory employment.
  • Develop environmentally friendly transport
  • Make greater use of renewable energy.
  • Using most up to date IT systems to improve efficiency.
  • Spending/Impact: Urban II has 70 different programmes which affect 2.2 million people. Its budget was 728.3 million euros. Money is divided according to need which is measured by population numbers and unemployment rate.
  • Example: Terrell, northern Spain. They have a new ring road paid by Urban II. Reduces traffic, congestion and improves travel time, air quality. Links isolated neighbourhoods. Cost of 16.6 million euros.
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European investment bank

  • EUROPEAN INVESTMENT BANK:
  • Objective: Invest in regional development (Some regions suffer difficulty die to decline of local industry and reduced farming incomes.) Projects usually locally based and funds used to train people with new skills and to help set up new businesses.
  • Spending/Impact: Money comes from member countries who own it. They contribute according to their size and wealth. In 2004 they contributed 163.3 billion euros. The bank borrows off the world financial markets.
  • Example: Southern areas to the City of Zagreb, Croatia for a total length of 4.7 km. It has 1.8 km of urban section, a 1km rail and 2.3 km motorway section. Cost 60 million euros. Aims to ease congestion in city and stimulate development.
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Structural funds

  • STRUCTURAL FUNDS:
  • Objective: Support poorer regions of Europe and improve infrastructure particularly because it enables economy in an area with difficulties to work more efficiently. Together with CAP, it makes up most of EU spending.
  • Spending/Impact: Regions where GDP per capita is less than 75% of EU average, aim is to accelerate economic development so they can catch up with other regions. Budget for 2007-2013 is 347.41 billion euros. Deprived regions receive more money.
  • Example: Romania will receive 54.4 billion euros between 2007-2013 to develop infrastructure and agriculture.
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