Resource reliance

• Resource Reliance


  Humans are becoming increasingly dependent on exploiting resources, and as a result they are in high demand
• Resources required for basic human development

  • Food
  • Water
  • Energy
• Food


  • Without enough nutritious food, people can become malnourished, which can make them ill and prevent them from working or receiving education
• Water


  • People need a supply of clean and safe water for drinking, cooking and washing. Water is also needed for food, clothes and other products
• Energy


  • A good supply of energy is needed for a basic standard of living. People need light and heat for cooking or to stay warm. It is also needed for industry
• Demand outstripping supply


  The demand for resources like food, water and energy is rising so quickly that supply cannot always keep up. Importantly, access to these resources vary dramatically in different locations
• Reasons for demand outstripping supply

  • Population Growth
  • Economic Development
• Population Growth


  • Currently the global population is 7.3 billion, global population has risen exponentially this century, and is expected to reach 9 billion by 2050. With more people, the demand for food, water, energy, jobs and space will increase
• Economic Development


  • As LIDCs and EDCs develop further, they require more energy for industry. LIDCs and EDCs want similar lifestyles to ACs, therefore they will need to consume more resources. Development means more water is required for food production as diets improve
• Consumption


  The act of using up resources or purchasing goods and produce
• Carry Capacity


  A maximum number of species that can be supported
• Resource consumption exceeds Earth's ability to provide
• Reasons for NOT Meeting Modern Resource Demands

  • Climate
  • Geology
  • Conflict
  • Poverty
  • Natural Hazards
• Climate


  • Global warming effects cycles and seasons and therefore farming. Rainfall patterns are changing and are becoming unpredictable, which is a problem for farming
• Geology


  • Not all countries have access to fossil fuels or suitable landscape for renewables. Many minerals are finite and therefore once used will reduce the resources available. Rock types might limit the availability to store water
• Conflict


  • War can disrupt transport of resources by damaging roads and water pipes
• Poverty


  • LIDCs are unable to afford technology to effectively exploit the natural resources available
• Natural Hazards


  • Increase in hazard events due to climate change. Prime agricultural regions in Asia and Africa are also in hazard zones. Has the ability to destroy infrastructure needed to transport resources
• Environmental and Ecosystems impacts of Fishing and Farming methods

  • Overfishing of certain fish has caused their decline
  • Dredging can damage seafloor habitats
  • Decline of one species has a knock on effect on other marine species
  • Field sizes have caused hedgerows to decline in biodiversity
  • Fertilisers and pesticides enter water courses and harm or kill organisms
  • Heavy machinery can cause soil erosion
• Environmental and Ecosystems impacts of Deforestation and Mining methods

  • 2 billion people depend on wood for fuel, which therefore creates high CO2 emissions
  • Forests provide for important habitats
  • Clearing of forests leads to soil erosion
  • Tree intercepts rain and prevents flooding
  • Mining waste can pollute soil and contaminate water supplies
  • Habitats are destroyed in mining zones
  • Fossil fuels burnt release greenhouse gases
• Environmental and Ecosystems impacts of Reservoirs and Water Transfer methods

  • Can flood a large area of land and damage habitats and natural landscapes
  • Dams can be a barrier for certain species to migrate upstream
  • Natural flow of sediment is disrupted, which then reduces fertility of land further down
  • Large-scale engineering works can damage ecosystems along the route
  • Lots of energy is required to pump water over long distances
• Food Security


  When people at all times need to have physical & economic access to food to meet their dietary needs for an active & healthy life. This is the opposite to 'Food Insecurity' which is when someone is unsure when they might next eat
• Factors affecting Food Security

  • Human
  • Physical
• Human factors


  • Poverty prevents people affording food and farmers buying modern equipment, poor infrastructure makes food difficult to transport fresh food, conflict disrupts farming and prevents supplies, food waste due to poor transport and storage
• Physical factors


  • Climate Change is affecting rainfall patterns making food production difficult, temperature needs to be ideal for certain crops to grow, the quality of soil is important to ensure crops have the necessary nutrients, water supply needs to be reliable to allow food to grow, pest, diseases and parasites can destroy vast amounts of crops that are necessary to feed large populations, extreme weather events can damage crops (i.e. floods)
• Malthus Theory


  Believed that population would increase faster than food supply, which would lead to a lack of food being available, causing large scale famine, illness and war until population returned to level that can be supported
• Boserup Theory


  Believed that however big the population grew, people would find ways to manage, and if food supplies became limited, people would find new ways to increase production, often involving creating new technologies
• Measures of Food Security

  • The Global Hunger Index
  • Daily Calorie Intake
• The Global Hunger Index


  Shows how many people are suffering from hunger or illness caused by lack of food, giving a value for each country from 0 (no hunger) to 100 (extreme hunger)
• Daily Calorie Intake


  Shows how many calories per person are consumed on average for each country, indicating the global distribution of available food and food inequality
• Tanzania is ranked 98th out of 109 countries in the Global Food Security Index with a score of 33.7 out of 100, and 89th out of 116 countries in the Global Hunger Index with a score of 28.7 (the higher the score the more hunger) and a rating of 'serious'
• In 2012 43.5% of people in Tanzania live on less than $1.25 a day so struggle to afford food
• Tanzania's average calorie supply per day was 2137 in 2012, having risen from 1696 calories a day in 1964 to 2283 calories in 1989, before falling to a low of 2056 calories in 1999 before rising again
• Reasons for the fluctuations in Tanzania's calorie supply included recession and therefore economic issues with access to food, seeds etc
• Goat Aid by Farm Africa

  Imported Toggenburg goats at a cost of £400 a goat, which produced 3 litres of milk a day and villagers were taught how to keep and care for them. The goats were given on credit and the cost repaid slowly. Benefits included income from breeding, meat, more nutritious diet and better quality of life
• The Goat Aid scheme in Tanzania was seen as a success, with an increase in profits earned by farmers involved in the scheme
• Between 1968 - 1993 Tanzania received $95 million of aid from Canada to help grow wheat using modern technology, covering 25,400 hectares in Northern Tanzania
• The Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor (SAGCOT) initiative in Tanzania, launched in 2010, aims to improve farming as a growth corridor by investing millions in infrastructure to create 6 key cluster areas with better connections to world and national markets, with the goal of creating thousands of jobs and lifting millions out of poverty by 2030
• The Kilombero Plantation in Tanzania is an early success of the SAGCOT initiative, having invested in tractors, irrigation, a rice mill and storage, which has doubled its yields and connected with 7,300 rice growers in 11 villages, increasing production and getting them a better price
• Measures to Achieve Food Security

  • Social
  • Economic
  • Environmental