Ecosystems of the Planet
You should ensure that you understand the elements that make up an ecosystem (pp.4-7) including abiotic components (weather, climate, soil) and biotic components (plants, animals, humans). You should develop an overview of the global distribution of Polar regions, coral reefs, grasslands, temperate forests, tropical rainforests and hot deserts (pp.10-20.) This overview should include the climate, plants and animals within these ecosystems.In more detail you will need to learn the location of tropical rainforests including the Amazon, Central American, Congo River Basin, Madagascan, South East Asian and Australasian (p.10). This must go alongside learning the location of warm water coral reefs including the Great Barrier Reef, Red Sea Coral Reef, New Caledonia Barrier Reef, the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, Florida Reef and Andros Coral Reef (p.12).
While revising tropical rainforests you should be aware of the processes that operate within them, including nutrient and water cycles (p.21). This also applies to nutrient cycling that operates within coral reefs (p.26).
Finally, you must be familiar with two case studies, including one tropical rainforest (pp.22-25) and one coral reef (pp.27-30). The case study knowledge must cover: the interdependence of climate, soil, water, plants, animals and humans; their value to humans and to the planet; threats to biodiversity and attempts to mitigate these through sustainable use and management.
People of the Planet
You must be able to define social, economic and environmental development as well as explain the concept of sustainable development (p.32). You should be aware of the range of development indicators available to geographers, including GNI per capita, the Human Development Index and the number of Internet Users. You should be aware of the advantages and disadvantages of these indicators (pp.33-35).You must be aware how these development indicators illustrate the consequences of uneven development (p.36). In addition, you must be able to describe how the IMF group Advanced Countries (ACs), Emerging and Developing Countries (EDCs) and Low-Income Developing Countries (LIDCs). You should be aware of examples and global patterns (p.37).
You must be confident about the effects of uneven development. You should learn a range of the causes of uneven development so you can outline those factors, including the impact of colonialism on trade and the exploitation of natural resources (pp.38-39). You should also be able to discuss the different types of aid and their role in both promoting and hindering development (pp.40-41).
As part of the course you need to have a detailed case study of LIDC or EDC. This book uses Indonesia (p.43), an Emerging and Developing Country (EDC).
You should be able to comment on Indonesia’s changing economic development. This should include being able to discuss the influence of and interrelationships between:
- The country’s geographical location, and environmental context including landscape, climate, ecosystems and the availability and type of natural resources (pp.44-45).
- The country’s political development and relationships with other states (p.46). This will also involve the principal imports and exports and the relative importance of trade and international investment (pp.47-48).
- Changing employment structure (p.49) and population change (p.49). You should be aware of social factors, such as access to education and healthcare provision (p.50).
- Technological developments, such as communications technology (pp.47-48).
- One aid project, in this case, Bali ReGreen (p.51).
You should be confident you can define the terms city, megacity and world city. You should be aware or the changing distribution of megacities over the last few decades. You should try ro remember some facts and figures about how urban growth rates vary in parts of the world with contrasting levels of development (pp55-60).
You will need to have an overview of the causes of rapid urbanisation in LIDCs including push and pull migration factors (p.61), and natural growth (birth rates exceeding death rates). You should be aware of the different social, economic and environmental consequences of rapid urbanisation in LIDCs (pp.63-65).
The case study of Lagos is a city in an LIDC. You should be aware of the way Lagos relates to Lagos state, Nigeria and the wider world. You should be aware that migration (national and international, but in Lagos’ case most rural to urban) has had an impacts on the city's growth and character (p.66). You should try to have a view on the ways of life within the city, such as culture, ethnicity, housing, leisure and consumption (pp.66-71).
Finally you must be clear about the contemporary challenges that affect urban change, including housing availability (pp.69-71), transport provision and waste management (p.68). You must be confident that you are able to discuss the sustainable strategies to overcome one of the city's challenges (pp.68-71).
Environmental threats to our Planet
You must revise how the climate has changed from the beginning of the Quaternary period to the present day, including ice ages and periods of warming and cooling since 1000AD (p.73)You should be aware of the evidence for climate change over different time periods (pp.74-75). You must know the natural causes of climate change including variations in energy from the Sun, changes in the Earth's orbit and volcanic activity (pp.76-78). In addition you must revise how human activity is responsible for the enhanced greenhouse effect (p.79). Your knowledge should include a range of consequences of climate change being experienced across the planet (pp.80-85).
You should study the distribution of the climatic regions of the world (p87). Outline how global circulation of the atmosphere is controlled by the movement of air between the poles and the Equator (p.86) and how this leads to extreme weather conditions in different parts of the world (pp.88-89).
You should be able to outline the causes of the extreme weather conditions that are associated with the hazards of tropical storms (pp.90-91) and drought (pp.92-93), as well as the distribution and frequency of tropical storms and drought, and whether these have changed over time.
You must also learn a case study of one drought event caused by El Niño/La Niña including the causes and effects of the drought and how people have adapted (pp.94-98).
