geo case studies

• Natal policies


  • Pro-natal
  • Anti-natal
• Pro-natal policies


  • Code de la famille in 1939
  • Aimed to increase birth rates and decrease death rates after WW2
  • Fertility rate increased from 1.8 to 2.03
  • Banned contraceptives till 1967
  • Paid maternity leave
  • Part time shifts for nursing mothers
  • Paid couples up to 1000 euros for their 3 kids
  • 30% reduction on all transport for couples with 3 kids
  • Partial paid healthcare
  • Free education since the age of 3
  • Increase investment in education, healthcare and public transport
  • Successful as France has one of the highest fertility rates even after 80 years
• Anti-natal policies


  • One child policy in 1979
  • Aimed to improve quality of life and reduce poverty
  • Fertility rate decreased from 2.1 to 1.5
  • Couples must get sterilized after their first child to prevent any further births
  • If not sterilized, abortions were forced
  • 5 - 10% salary raise if they only had 1 child
  • 10% cut on salary for couples with more than 1 child
  • Second child doesn't receive chinese citizenship
  • Increase in number of economically independent people
  • Decreased investment in education, healthcare and public transport, saving the economy 3.1 billion dollars
  • Successful as China prevented 300 million births
• Certain villages in Mexico such as Santa Ines, have lost ⅔ of their inhabitants
• Strains on public services in the US, making them inaccessible
• Discrimination or xenophobia due to difference in background
• There are around 11.2 million Mexican immigrants in the US in 2019
• Migration can separate family members
• Push factors for migration from Mexico to USA

  War, crime, violence, lack of amenities (jobs, healthcare, education), lack of clean water and hygiene
• Pull factors for migration from Mexico to USA

  Job opportunities, education opportunities, access to amenities, safety, clean water access
• Due to natural disasters, people are often displaced and so they migrate
• The two largest palm oil producers in the world are Indonesia and Malaysia
• Why palm oil became popular


  It was a healthy alternative to trans fats, it is cheap and grows fast
• Palm oil requires less land to mass produce compared to other oils, so it is the best choice for mass production
• Roughly 40% of deforestation between 2000 and 2018 was caused for palm oil plantations, that's approximately 6 million acres of forest loss
• Burning down the forests kills all the biodiversity and ecosystems, but also re-releases carbon emissions into the atmosphere which traps heat causing the earth's temperatures to rise contributing to climate change which can cause a domino effect of other environmental problems such as ice caps melting, and thermal expansion
• A roundtable on sustainable palm oil has been organized which aims to monitor, regulate, and set limits for production of palm oil
• The mass production of palm oil for trade has created approximately 20,000 job opportunities for people in Indonesia, a newly industrialized country
• The work conditions on the palm oil farms are too harsh. Workers are paid low wages and work long intensive hours in the sun
• Having large number of workers is vital to the palm oil production process, since if there are no more workers there is no palm oil to trade
• The countries won't prioritize making the working conditions more ethical, or increase the wages because they care about the profit they make, so they prioritise their economic growth and economic status
• Threats to rivers


  • Dams
  • Farms
  • Factories
  • Urban areas
• Threats from dams


  Flooding the areas, killing biodiversity, isolating biodiversity
• Threats from farms


  Fertilizers, fecal matter and pesticides runoff into the river which can contaminate it making it unsafe to drink, or kill the biodiversity in the river
• Threats from factories


  Chemical waste runs off into the river contaminating the water and harming the biodiversity, using cold water to cool engines and dumping the heated water into the river
• Threats from urban areas


  Impermeable surfaces causing water buildup and runoff of dirty water and waste into the river during rainstorms
• River protection strategies


  • Wetlands
  • Rain gardens
  • Relocation of factories, farms or urban areas
  • Permeable surfaces
  • Laws and rules
• Wetlands


  Patches of thick soil that filter out water physically and biologically, reducing chemicals entering the water
• Rain gardens


  Man made shallow holes that collect water near impermeable surfaces and recirculates it into the river
• Relocation of factories, farms or urban areas


  Prevents direct contamination, but not sustainable and expensive
• Permeable surfaces


  Surfaces made from permeable materials so water from rainfall can be absorbed preventing over stimulation of the river
• Laws and rules


  Regulate and limit the amount and type of pesticides that can be used to help reduce further damage from chemical runoff
• The Three Gorges Dam (TGD) is a multi-purpose project that has major functions of flood control, electricity production, navigation and drought alleviation
• The TGD took 18 years to be fully complete, started in 1994 and finished by 2006, and was fully operational by 2012
• China could've built several smaller dams across the Yangtze river to avoid flooding so much land, but it was more efficient to build a larger dam. And building the biggest and most powerful dam is good for their prestige
• Social impacts of the Three Gorges Dam


  • Significantly reduces the risk of flooding downstream and protects millions of people
  • Flooding of 13 cities, 140 towns and 1,350 villages as well as numerous archaeological and historical sites
  • 1.4 million inhabitants were relocated and forced to migrate
  • Most fertile cropland were also submerged and resulted in urban migration for many
  • Farmers struggled since their lands were flooded
  • Unemployment increased due to the urban migrations
• Economic impacts of the Three Gorges Dam


  • China spent 39 billion USD on the project
  • The Yangtze river is significantly rich in both water resources and hydropower, two vital resources for China's economic development
  • It accounts for 40% of China's output
  • The TGD provides large amounts of fresh water for agriculture
  • The TGD provides a huge improvement in shipping along the Yangtze river
  • The money from the project could have been spent on other forms of renewable energy, but this is the biggest and strongest hydroelectric dam, or to focus on the development of the villages around
• Environmental impacts of the Three Gorges Dam


  • Sustainable and renewable source of energy
  • Salinisation of fertile soil from the flooding during building
  • Factories were submerged when land was flooded for the dam reservoir, and toxins from the factory were released into the river which degraded the quality of the water
  • The degrading of water quality also affects the wildlife near and in the river overall affecting the ecosystems
• Linear economy


  An economic model that focuses on the production of its goods rather than sustainable practices, using the "take, make, and waste" system
• Linear economy example


  • Coca-Cola