Section |
A - The natural environment and people |
Topic |
1 - River environments |
Key Idea |
The world's water supply is contained within a closed system - the hydrological cycle. Water is transferred between its various stores. |
| The hydrological cycle: characteristics, stores and transfers. |
|
| Features of a drainage basin: watershed, source, mouth, channel
network. |
|
| The hydrograph (discharge, base flow, stormflow) and river regimes: factors affecting them (precipitation, temperature, water abstraction, dams). |
|
Section |
A - The natural environment and people |
Topic |
1 - River environments |
Key Idea |
Water is vital to people, varies in availability and therefore needs careful management. |
| The uses of water: agriculture, industry, human hygiene and leisure including the reasons for a rising demand resulting in areas of water surplus and water shortage. Case study of the rising demand for water in one country. |
|
| Reasons for differences in water quality. Sources of pollution (sewage, industrial waste, agriculture). Managing the supply of clean water (dams and reservoirs; pipelines; treatment works). A case study of a dam or reservoir project. |
|
| Flooding: causes (intensity of rainfall, snowmelt, steep slopes, impermeable surfaces, human activities) and control (construction of spillways, embankments). A case study of a flood defence scheme. |
|
Section |
A - The natural environment and people |
Topic |
2 - Coastal environments |
Key Idea |
Physical processes give rise to characteristic coastal landforms. |
| Processes: marine (wave characteristics and erosion; longshore drift; wave deposition); sub-aerial (weathering; mass movement). |
|
| Landforms: erosional (headlands and bays; cliffs; wave-cut platforms; caves; arches and stacks); depositional (beaches; spits; bars). |
|
| Role of geological structure, vegetation, people and sea-level change (estuaries and raised beaches). |
|
Nothing directly related, sorry! |
|
Section |
A - The natural environment and people |
Topic |
2 - Coastal environments |
Key Idea |
Management of both physical processes and human activities is needed to sustain coastal environments. |
| Coastal ecosystems are of value to people, but are threatened by tourism and other developments (industrialisation; agricultural practices; deforestation). Case study of a located coral reef or a mangrove stand and its management. |
|
| Conflicts between different users of the coast and between development and conservation. Case study of a stretch of a coastline under pressure. |
|
Nothing directly related, sorry! |
|
| Coasts as a natural system of interdependent places. Coastal retreat, flooding and natural processes. Coastal protection: soft and hard defences; management retreat. Different views on coastal protection. Case study of one stretch of retreating coastline. |
|
Section |
A - The natural environment and people |
Topic |
3 - Hazardous environments |
Key Idea |
Some places are more hazardous than others. |
| Different types of hazard (climatic, tectonic, etc). |
|
| The global distributions, causes and characteristics of tropical revolving storms, volcanic and earthquake activity (plate movements). |
|
| Measuring and recording weather conditions, eg strong winds, intense rainfall. |
|
Section |
A - The natural environment and people |
Topic |
3 - Hazardous environments |
Key Idea |
Some places are more hazardous than others. |
| Managing hazards (tropical storms, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes) involves taking actions both before and after the event. |
|
| Predicting and preparing for hazards (education, early warning systems, shelters). |
|
| Responding to hazards: short-term (emergency aid and disaster relief); long-term (risk assessment, adjustment, improving prediction). |
|
| Case studies of the management of one tropical storm and one tectonic event. One of these should have happened in an LIC and the other in an HIC. |
|
Section |
B - People and their environments |
Topic |
4 - Economic activity and energy |
Key Idea |
The location and growth of particular types of economic activity are influenced by a range of factors. |
| Factors affecting the location and growth of tertiary and quaternary activities (prosperity, new technology, accessibility, transport, government policy). |
|
| Factors affecting the changing location of manufacturing (TNCs, raw materials, labour, new technology, government policy). |
|
| Informal employment: characteristics and causes. |
|
| Case study of the factors affecting the development and location of one high- tech industry. |
|
Section |
B - People and their environments |
Topic |
5 - Ecosystems and rural environments |
Key Idea |
Farming is the principle means of livelihood in most rural environments. |
| Characteristics of rural environments: employment; population density; land use (including recreation and tourism); accessibility; conservation. |
|
| Farming as a system. |
|
| Different types of farming: arable/pastoral; commercial/subsistence; intensive/extensive and ways of raising agricultural production (eg irrigation, glass houses, genetic engineering, HYVs). |
|
| Causes and consequences of overproduction (eg decline of farming in HICs) and food shortages, and attempts to tackle these problems. |
|
| Case study of a national park or protected area. |
|
| Case study of ways of raising agricultural production (eg irrigation in Egypt, GM crops in USA, vegetable and flower production in Kenya). |
|
Section |
B - People and their environments |
Topic |
6 - Urban environments |
Key Idea |
The urban environment is characterised by the segregation of different land uses and of people of different economic status and ethnic background. |
| Factors encouraging similar land uses to concentrate in particular parts of the urban area (eg locational needs, accessibility, land values). |
|
| Reasons for, and consequences of, the segregation of different socio- economic and ethnic groups. |
|
| Shanty towns (squatter communities): location, growth, problems and mitigating strategies (including self-help). |
|
Section |
B - People and their environments |
Topic |
6 - Urban environments |
Key Idea |
Changes occur as urban environments age and the needs of people change. |
| The nature of, and reasons for, the changes taking place at the edge of HIC cities (eg retail complexes, business parks and industrial estates). The 'greenfield' versus 'brownfield' debate. |
|
| Areas of social deprivation and poverty in HIC cities: symptoms and locations. The changing fortunes of inner-city areas. |
|
| The roles of managers (planners, politicians, property developers and industrialists) in urban regeneration and re-imaging. |
|
Section |
C - Global issues |
Topic |
7 - Fragile environments |
Key Idea |
Environmental abuse has serious consequences. Its causes need to be tackled to ensure a more sustainable future. |
| The fragile nature of environments; the concept of sustainability. |
|
| Causes of soil erosion and desertification: drought; population
pressure; fuel supply; overgrazing; war; migration. |
|
| Consequences (reduced agricultural output; malnutrition; famine; refugees) and management of soil erosion. |
|
| Causes of deforestation: commercial timber extraction; agriculture; mining; transport; settlement. |
|
| Consequences: loss of biodiversity; contribution to global warming; economic development. |
|
| Managing rainforests in a sustainable way (eg agro-forestry); the need for international co-operation. |
|
| Causes of global warming and climate change: deforestation; use of fossil fuels; air pollution; agricultural change; CFCs. |
|
| Consequences: rising sea levels; more hazards; ecosystem changes; new employment opportunities; changing settlement patterns; health and well being. |
|
| Managing the causes (anti-pollution legislation, alternative energy sources, international cooperation) and adapting to the consequences of global warming and climate change. |
| |
Section |
C - Global issues |
Topic |
8 - Globalisation and migration |
Key Idea |
Globalisation is making the nations of the world increasingly interdependent. Major movements of people are both a cause and a consequence of this interdependence. |
| The rise of the global economy (growth of production and commodity chains) and the factors encouraging it (trade, foreign investment, aid, labour, modern transport and information technologies). |
|
| The global shift in manufacturing and the reasons for it (labour costs, resources, profiteering) |
|
| TNCs: organisation; role as key players in the global economy; benefits and costs to countries hosting TNCs. |
|
| The growth of global tourism and its causes (increased leisure, the package holiday, modern transport, marketing). |
|
| The impact of mass tourism on the environment, economy and people of destination areas. |
|
| Attempts to make tourism more sustainable (eg ecotourism). |
|
| Migration - a component of population change; international migration; net migration. |
|
| Types of migration (voluntary versus forced); the push-pull factors affecting migration. |
|
| Managing migration - refugee and asylum-seeker issues: the case for controlling migration flows. |
|
Section |
C - Global issues |
Topic |
9 - Development and human welfare |
Key Idea |
Differences in development and human welfare exist at a range of scales and are subject to change over time. |
| The nature of development (a complex, multi-strand process) and quality of life. |
|
| Development indicators: per capita GDP/GNI; employment by sector; energy consumption; birth, death and infant mortality rates; life expectancy. |
|
| Quality of life indicators: housing; health and healthcare; access to services; diet; literacy; security and safety; political freedom; the PQLI and HDI. |
|
| The classification of countries according to their level of economic development - HIC, MIC and LIC. |
|
| The changing pattern of global development. |
|
| The development gap at different spatial scales (symptoms and causes) - global (North-South Divide); regional (growth versus decline; core versus periphery) within countries; local (deprivation versus affluence) within urban areas. |
|
| Rapid population growth and its quality of life consequences (poverty, unemployment, inadequate housing and physical infrastructure). |
|
| Government policies to reduce population growth. |
|
| Managing disparities in development and quality of life: appropriate aid; using intermediate technology; fair and freer trade; debt relief. |
|
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Edexcel IGCSE Geography Resource Map
