Patterns in Environmental Quality and Sustainability : CASE STUDIES

• 1°C
• Arctic sea ice would disappear completely in summer months
• Heatwaves and forest fires more common in subtropics
• Most of worlds coral reef will die inc. Great Barrier
• Climate related diseases will increase

• 2°C
• Southern England would see summer temps of 40°C
• Amazon would become grassland and desert
• ALL coral reefs gone
• 1/3 of world species will be extinct if it happens to fast for them to adapt
• World agricultural yield would fall - Starvation
• West antarctic ice sheet + greenland ice sheet would melt - reducing fresh water supplies

• 4°C
• Arctic ice completely disappear - extinction of polar bear
• Italy, Spain, Greece and Turkey = desert
• South England climate same as Morocco's today 

South-North water diversion project : Channels water from the south of Hebei province to Beijing in the north 
307km long waterway

Built because:

• Beijing draws 2/3 of water from underground - Water table is falling 1m a year
• Trying to reduce demand by increasing water tariffs + Industries recycling water

CONTROVERSY!

Scheme has exacerbated poverty in Hubei province - forcing water-hungry industries to close + causing farmers to change from rice to maize - maize is less profitable!

Sea levels in the UK are 10cm higher than in 1900
Predicted to rise by 2-9mm a year
By 2080 sea levels are predicted to rise by 86cm

Possible Impacts:

• Low-lying land at risk - more frequent and more serious flooding
• 17 million live within 10km of the sea! Homes at risk!
• Most of manufacturing industries are near coast
• Increased sedimentation = need for more dredging in harbours
• Beach + Marshlands will be lost
• Loss of species that can't adapt - especially marhsland species 

What is causing soil erosion?

• Removal of exposed material esp. Peat by wind and water
• Climate = high rainfall and low temperatures --> short growing season - few plants to stablize soil
• Freeze-thaw effect of low temperatures disrupts soil
• Early 19th century surrounding factories giving off sulphur dioxide -->  caused acid rain which killed off many mosses and lichens which protected the peat
• Footpath erosion - Increased popularity of walking, cycling

Possible solutions:

• Sacrificial zones
• Spacial temporal restrictions on public access? 
• Restore hedgerows and shrubbery to help reform soil
• Education 

Murray -Darling Basin in SE Australia : holds 42% of Australias farms --> Where Murray and Darling river meet!

What is causing water stress?

• Rainfall totals low: in the rainshadow of mountain range
• Farming has severly damaged and removed vegetation - lack of ability to hold water in soil
• Rainfall very variable: differes significatny between years
• Demands exceed supply
• Six droughts since 1950
• 95% of water extracted used for irrigation - excessive irrigation is leading to salinity

What has been done?
Placed a cap on water that can be taken from rivers
Created a dam with reservoir
Encouraging water recycling and saving: Use of mulch over gardens to reduce water loss, efficient shower heads 

Lamoko = on the edge of virgin Rainforest in the centre of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

In 2005: major timber firm arrived arrived to negotiate with locals - encouraged by World Bank

• Promised to build 3 schools and pharmacies in the area 
• Forest had been sold cheaply - locals furious
• TImber firm cutting down forest - still no schools or pharmacies 
• 20 foreign owned timber indusrties working in the Congo inc. Danzer
• Companies export lowgs and timber and supply Europe - furniture etc.
• African teak wood is protected by global government - But still no restrictions on its export in Congo

Effects:

80% logging in Congo = illegal
20 million hectares have been given to logging firms
If all cut, 35 billion tonnes of carbon would be released
Congo rainforest stores 8% earths carbon
NEED TO REJECT INDUSTRIAL LOGGING 

Korup National Park in Cameroon: established 1986
Contains 400 species of trees
100 mammal species
120  fish species

 60 species ONLY in Korup
170 species = endangered

Human activity limited to tourism, research and recreation
Have specific area for elephant sanctuary
Management of natural resources

COMMUNITY FORESTS PROJECT: SUCESSFUL!
Villagers obtain large areas of forest to manage for long periods of time: Government and WWF visit regularly to make sure it's being used sustainably
 

Protected area for Tropical Rainforest Conservation
24 km square
Transnational: adjoins with Parks in Malaysia and Indonesia
Has highest density of Orangutans in Borneo
Remarkable biodiverstiy - 1000 tree species
Home to many primates enc Slow Loris :D
Unique mix of terrain

Iban Population: settled in park for over 400 years 

Agreed to limit activities to previously farmed areas + sustainable gathering of produce
Play part in coserving orangutans - sacred 

In return : they get employment in park , tourism and selling handicrafts