Volume 29, Number 4, April 2016
Exam links
Using this issue for Edexcel AS
and A2 geography
The table below shows the structure of the Edexcel A-level geography course.
AS
Unit 1
6GE01
Global challenges (2
compulsory topics)
Unit 2
Going global
6GE02
Investigating geography
(1 physical and 1 human
option)
A2
Unit 3
World at risk
Either Extreme weather or Crowded coasts
Either Rebranding places or Unequal spaces
6GE03
Energy security
Contested planet
Water conflicts
(6 compulsory topics)
Biodiversity under threat
Superpower geographies
Bridging the development gap
The technological fix?
Unit 4
GE04
Tectonic activity and hazards
Researching geography
Cold environments
(one of 6 options)
Life on the margins
Pollution and human health at risk
The world of cultural diversity
Consuming the rural landscape
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www.hoddereducation.co.uk/geographyreview
This table shows the relevance of each of the articles and columns in this issue of GEOGRAPHY REVIEW
to the Edexcel specification
Article
Page
AS
A2
numbers
Ecotourism: a case study
from the Falkland Islands
2–5
Question and answer Plate
tectonics and associated
hazards
6–9
Unit 1 World at risk
Unit 4 Tectonic hazards
Everybody’s talking about…
Rewilding
10–11
Unit 2 Rebranding places
Unit 3 Biodiversity under
threat and Unit 4
Consuming the rural
landscape
Geographical skills
Quantitative skills for
geographers
12–14
Unit 2 all options
The MDGs: have they
worked?
15–17
Unit 3 Bridging the
development gap
Environment today Roads:
economy vs environment?
18–19
Unit 3 The technological
fix? and Bridging the
development gap
Centrepiece
Representations of place
20–21
Water security in Western
Australia
22–25
Unit 3 Water conflicts
Geotourism and footpath
erosion: a case study from
Ubatuba, Brazil
26–29
Unit 4 Consuming the rural
landscape
Building on the basics The
Hjulström curve
30–32
Energy matters The
electricity utility ‘death
spiral’: a case study from
Australia
33–35
Unit 3 Energy security
Biodiversity under threat:
the Mediterranean
36–40
Unit 3 Biodiversity under
threat
The big picture Resisting
earthquakes
42
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Unit 4 Consuming the rural
landscape
Unit 2 Rebranding places
and Unequal spaces
Limited link to Unit 2
Extreme weather
Unit 1 World at risk
Unit 4 Tectonic hazards
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Ecotourism: a case study from the Falkland Islands

This article can be used as a case study for the Unit 4 Consuming the rural landscape option.
Many remote, isolated places such as the Falklands use ecotourism as a source of economic
development. With limited connections to the wider world, high-value tourism can be a path to
economic growth. Visitor numbers are limited by isolation, but that isolation has also contributed to
preserving something unique in terms of landscape and biodiversity. Antarctica, the Galapagos and
Komodo Islands are similarly isolated but also popular as ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ destinations. The danger
of course is that badly managed tourism begins to degrade the very selling point people have come to
see. The article explores the issue from a range of perspectives, including the geopolitical situation of
the Falklands.
Question and answer Plate tectonics and associated
hazards

This Q&A is an AQA question, so not directly relevant ,but it could be used by Edexcel
centres.
The question sequence might best be used as part of the A2 option Tectonic hazards. The questions
are suitable to the review content of Enquiry Question 1 either set as part of research or as homework
questions. The focus is on process which is a key under-pinning element of the option. The questions
are perhaps less suitable for AS as questions 2 and 3 are not in a format used by Edexcel.
Everybody’s talking about… Rewilding

This article links to A2 Unit 4 the Consuming the rural landscape option.

It can also be linked to the rural component of Unit 2, Rebranding places.
The public are likely to come across rewilding when they visit rural places, including wilderness areas,
and have the (probably quite remote) chance of encountering wildlife that was previously not present
in a particular location. This could be a powerful draw to groups of people who enjoy wildlife and
adventure. Consequently rewilding can be seen in an economic context as well as an ecological one.
It is interesting to consider the types of species that are chosen to be reintroduced and whether they
are the iconic ones that might attract visitors or ones that might be considered more ecologically
important to the overall health of an ecosystem.
Geographical skills Quantitative skills for
geographers

This article is relevant to the Unit 2 options, both physical and human.
Collecting a range of data is important for any geographical investigation. A balance needs to be
struck between qualitative and quantitative data. Many answers to Unit 2 exam questions (the 15 mark
fieldwork and research questions) tend to focus more on qualitative than quantitative. This is
understandable as the former are more accessible and require less analysis and interpretation
(especially of the numerical kind). There is a strong case for designing fieldwork to ensure that a
Philip Allan Publishers © 2016
www.hoddereducation.co.uk/geographyreview
several quantitative data sets are collected, and then analysed in detail. This will become very
important for the 2016 A-level both at AS where exam questions are more skills based (including
numerical skills) and at A-level where the Individual Investigation will demand greater quantitative
analysis than in the past.
The MDGs: have they worked?

The MDGs are a core theme of Unit 3 Contested planet: Bridging the development gap
The MDGs ran from 2000 to 2015 and have now been superseded by the Sustainable Development
Goals https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/?menu=1300. Judging the success of the MDGs is no
easy task. This is because the 8 goals and 23 targets applied to dozens of countries in very different
ways. Some countries had problems with poverty, others with hunger and others with education.
Aggregate data on ‘success’ is usually skewed by large countries that make up a significance slice of
poverty or hunger reduction. The article provides a useful overview of success. It might be extended
by focusing on one of two countries in order to drill down into the data and see where the successes,
and failures, lie: http://www.cgdev.org/page/mdg-progress-index-gauging-country-level-achievements
Environment today Roads: economy vs
environment?

This article is best used in the context of Unit 3, both The technological fix? and Bridging the
development gap.
The article is a useful context piece that touches on the classic ‘environment vs development’
question. Roads are a key technology in economic development, as evidenced by the number being
built in Africa, often using Chinese money, technology and even labour (see:
https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22129512-800-africas-road-building-frenzy-will-transformcontinent/ ). Roads bring development, but at a price. The key question is whether the environmental
costs outweigh the economic benefits. As with many technologies the true costs are only brought into
focus long after the technology has become widespread and effectively irreplaceable.
Centrepiece: Representations of place

This Centrepiece is useful for Unit 2, Rebranding places and Unequal spaces.

It also links directly to the year 2 content of the 2016 specification.
Since the introduction of the 2008 specification we have been used to using the language of
‘rebranding’ and thinking about the image of places. ‘Representation’ is a related concept as it is
about the way a place is portrayed to an internal or external audience. The Liverpool example is useful
as the representation of the city has proved dynamic and sometimes contradictory. There have been
positive cultural representations and flagship regeneration schemes sitting alongside negative
representations of poverty, deindustrialisation and even crime.
Water security in Western Australia

This article can be used as a case study for Unit 3 Water conflicts.
Philip Allan Publishers © 2016
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Western Australia illustrates the finite nature of renewable water supply very well. As a growing region
it is running up against the limited nature of its water supply, and like many areas where water is
physically scarce, turning to hi-tech solutions such as desalination which have questionable
sustainability. Climate change is also in the mix of factors that make managing water supply
challenging — again, in common with locations such as California and even southeast England. This
is a useful case study of the mismatch between physical water supply and demand and how attention
is turning towards water conservation to ensure a sustainable water future.
Geotourism and footpath erosion: a case study from
Ubatuba, Brazil

This article can be used as a case study for Unit 4, the Consuming the rural landscape option
This is a useful case study of a relatively new type of rural tourism in a country already well-known as
a destination in an urban context. Geotourism exploits the physical geography of the landscape as its
selling point but the landscape can also be damaged as visitor numbers rise. The article explores the
challenges surrounding the impact of geotourism as well as the management issues it raises.
Energy matters The electricity utility ‘death spiral’: a
case study from Australia

Use this article in A2 Contested planet, the Energy security topic.
The article focuses on the Australian electricity transmission grid. The grid, or ‘national grid’, is often
the forgotten part of the energy transfer network but a very important one. It might be assumed that
the grid is a fairly minor component in the cost of energy but as this case study shows, that is not the
case. Decisions taken about Australia’s grid have combined with other unforeseen factors to ramp up
prices to consumers even at a time of falling demand.
Biodiversity under threat: the Mediterranean

This article can be used as a case study for the Biodiversity under threat topic in Unit 3
Contested planet.
The focus here is on one of the planet’s biodiversity hotspots
http://www.conservation.org/How/Pages/Hotspots.aspx , areas of high biodiversity that are also under
threat. It will come as little surprise that the Mediterranean faces numerous pressures from
demographic, development and climate changes. Unlike some hotspots, this one straddles a dozen
countries (some in the EU but others not) and requires a coherent and joined-up management
approach in order for conservation efforts to be successful. Use this as a case study both to explain
why some areas have biodiversity, i.e. the contributing factors, as well as to consider the relative
importance of different threats in the short and long term.
This resource is part of GEOGRAPHY REVIEW, a magazine written for A-level students by
subject experts. To subscribe to the full magazine go
to: http://www.hoddereducation.co.uk/geographyreview
Philip Allan Publishers © 2016
www.hoddereducation.co.uk/geographyreview