Decision Making Exam

Decision Making Exam 13th June 2008

Future Forests: Can we see the wood for the trees?

You should have;

- A resource booklet (to stay in school) MUST NOT BE WRITTEN ON

- A question booklet (yours to keep)

You will now have 3 weeks of lessons to work on the resources you have been given.

Every lesson will be on the exam.

Mr Waymark is running a exam technique session on 10th June after school (MAKE SURE YOU ARE THERE; HE KNOWS EVERYTHING YOU WILL NEED TO KNOW!)

SUSTAINABILITY: using resources while meeting the human needs of both the present and the future, while preserving the natural environment.

RESOURCE 1

This resource is here just to tell us about the global distribution of forests. No need to spend ages on it, just make sure you know where they are.

Coniferous forest: cone bearing or coniferous trees. Found in northern hemisphere. Evergreen

Temperate forest: found in the temperate climate zones. coniferous forests and broadleaved forests.

Tropical forest: rainforests/equator

Resource 2 Resource 2 Forests as a Forests as a resourceresource

-Today’s landscape is the result of 6000 yrs of change by humans

-In the past temperate woodlands were cleared but now tropical forests are being removed at a rate of 11-20 million hectares per yr.

- Wood is a renewable resource but little is being done to make it sustainable.

Resource 2 - glossary• Renewable resource – can be replaced

at the same rate as it is used• Sustainable – does not cause harm to

people, the environment or the economy• Thatch – covering a roof with dry

vegetation• Animal fodder – food specifically to feed

animals• Gums, resins, oils – used in products

such as varnish or glue. Alexandra High School Geography Department

Forest Depletion

This map shows forest depletion, measured as the financial value of the untreated wood extracted which is not replaced by natural growth. This map shows the value of wood that is not sustainably harvested at territory level.The highest unsustainable harvesting is in India, Ethiopia, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Almost half (46%) is in India; this is the same as the combined total of the 25 territories with the next highest forest depletion. The population of India is almost as large as the combined population of those 25 other territories. Per person forest depletion in India ranks 23rd of all territories with data reported.

Resource 3 - glossary• Native people – have lived in the same area

throughout historical time• Logging – the business of cutting down trees• HEP – Hydro electric power• Crop yields – the amount of crops• Ranchers – people who work on ranches raising

livestock (animals)• Scrub – very thick vegetation• Infertile – Not good for growing plants• Leached – the washing out of nutrients• Solar radiation – energy from the sun• Greenhouse effect – the warming of the planet

Resource 4 - glossary• CO2 – chemical symbol for carbon dioxide• Evapotranspiration – the total of

evaporation and transpiration• Transpiration – evaporation of water from

vegetation• Condensation – transfer from gas to liquid• Water vapour – name for water as a gas

Alexandra High School Geography Department

Resource 5 - glossary• World Commission on Forests and

Sustainable Development – independent group set up to combat destruction of world’s forests

• Sustainable management – To use a resource without harming the economy, environment or people

• Subsidising – giving money • Forest communities – groups of

people that live in the forest


Resource 6 - glossary• Forest Stewardship Council – FSC is an international not-

for-profit membership-based organization that brings people together to find solutions to the problems created by bad forestry practices and to reward good forest management.

• Stakeholder owned system – • Trademark – company logo • Product label – trademark used on products approved

by FSC• FSC certified wood – wood from forests approved by FSC• National initiatives – guidelines/projects set up in

different countries• Action Aid – Charity targeting poverty• Soil erosion – wearing away of the soil








Resource 7 - glossary• Exploit – to use something for your own

advantage• Conserve – to protect something from

damage• Arable – growing crops• Chemical fertilisers – a substance used to

make plants grow well• Felling – cutting down trees• Indigenous – naturally existing in a place• Commercial timber – Buying/selling of timber


Resource 8 - glossary

• Green belt – a strip of countryside around towns/cities where building is not allowed

• EU agreements – a formal arrangement, often legally binding

• What is the EU's role with farming in the UK?

This "fixed price" (mentioned in Resource 8) that the EU guarantees its farmers is part of what's called the "Common Agricultural Policy" (or CAP for short). It's supposed to give farmers in the EU a fair price so they don't get priced out of the market by countries who can produce the crops cheaper. So... what the EU did was to give all farmers in the EU a guaranteed income. No matter how much they produced, the EU will ensure they get paid for it.

Now at first farmers thought this was great. So they produced as much as they can as they knew they'd get money for it. Even if there wasn't the demand, the EU would still pay out... and so farmers made sure they had lots of land with machinery and produced lots of produce... and so... loss of forests!

The trouble is, too much was being produced... the CAP was responsible for "mountains of butter and grain" to be wasting away in storage as the farmers kept making it for the guaranteed money.

• So to summarise:EU farmers losing income due to cheap imports> EU agrees to "fix prices" for EU farmers> Farmers take over large areas of land (i.e. caused some deforestation)> Farmers produce as much as they can no matter what the demand> Farmers get paid the fixed guaranteed income by the EU

(So you could say the EU is partly to blame.. but then, surely then you can blame the cheap imports!!!?)

It is a bit of a mess, but if you link this up with the pressure for farmers to earn a living, to supply our food, while competing with cheaper foreign imports... then you can understand why farming is partially to blame for the loss of forests.


Resource 9 - glossary• UK Forestry Commission – government

department responsible for forestry • Efficiency – when something uses time and

energy well• Financial assistance – giving of money• Recreational facilities – used for enjoyment• Depopulation – fewer people living in an area• Plantations – an area where trees are grown for

wood• Restoration – returning to its earlier good

condition


Resource 10 - glossary• Ice age – time in the past where temperatures

were very cold• Species – animals/plants that have similar features• Agriculture – farming• Fragmented – several separate parts• Woodland trust – charity trying to protect woodland• Agenda – list of possible future achievements• Biodiversity – number and variety of plants/animals

that exist in a certain area• Acquisition – to obtain something• Lobbying – to try and persuade someone

• Ancient Woodland is a term used in the United Kingdom to refer specifically to woodland dating back to 1600 or before in England and Wales, (or 1750 in Scotland). Before this, planting of new woodland was uncommon, so a wood present in 1600 was likely to have developed naturally. For many species of animal and plant, Ancient Woodland sites provide the sole habitat, and for many others, conditions on these sites are much more suitable than those on other sites. For these reasons Ancient Woodland is often described as an irreplaceable resource, or Critical Natural Capital[1]. Ancient Woodland is formally defined on maps by Natural England and equivalent bodies, and is given a degree of administrative protection.

Felling plan to save native trees England's ancient woodlands have

been threatened by foreign species. Millions of conifers and other non-native trees are to be felled in the next 20 years to regenerate indigenous trees in England's woodland.


Resource 11 - glossary

• Planted ancient woodland – formerly semi natural but now replanted with conifers/broadleaves or a mixture of the two

• Habitat – the natural surroundings where a plant or animal lives

• Inhospitable – not suitable for humans to live in

Technology

Decision Making Exam