GEOGRAPHY MYP/GCSE/DP
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      • Managing wetlands
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Managing wetlands

Subject Guide

Growing pressures on major wetlands and efforts to protect them, such as the Ramsar Convention - Case study of the future possibilities for one wetland area.

a. What is a wetland?

Use the videos below, the Ramsar Convention factsheet and your student textbook to briefly outline the following:
  • What are the characteristics of a wetland ecosystem?
  • Why are wetlands important? List and briefly explain at least four reasons (but aim for seven).
ramsar_convetion_factsheet_-_why_are_wetlands_important_.pdf
File Size: 735 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File


b. Why are wetlands under threat?

Use the WWF website (click right) to ensure that you are able to explain at least four reasons why wetlands are under threat.
Picture
Picture




​c) What is the Ramsar Convention?

Ramsar is the oldest of the modern global intergovernmental environmental agreements. The treaty was negotiated through the 1960s by countries and non - governmental organizations concerned about the increasing loss and degradation of wetland habitat for migratory waterbirds. It was adopted in the Iranian city of Ramsar in 1971 and came into force in 1975. 

The Convention uses a broad definition of wetlands. It includes all lakes and rivers, underground aquifers, swamps and marshes, wet grasslands, peatlands, oases, estuaries, deltas and tidal flats, mangroves and other coastal areas, coral reefs, and all human-made sites such as fish ponds, rice paddies, reservoirs and salt pans.

Under the “three pillars” of the Convention, the Contracting Parties commit to:
  • work towards the wise use of wetlands;
  • designate suitable wetlands for the list of Wetlands of International Importance (the “Ramsar List”) and ensure their effective management;
  • cooperate internationally on transboundary wetlands, shared wetland systems and shared species.
[​https://www.ramsar.org/about/history-of-the-ramsar-convention]
what_is_the_ramsar_convention_all_about_.pdf
File Size: 1382 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File


d) Case Study: The Everglades and the Kissimmee River

Draw and annotate a simple sketch map which shows the location of the Kissimmee River and the Everglades in Florida. Your map should include:
  • Major rivers and lakes (Kissimmee River basin, Lake Okeechobee
  • Large urban areas
  • Gulf of Mexico & Atlantic

Based on your map evidence, try to suggest answers to the following:
  • What particular threats might wetlands in this area of Florida face and why?
  • Why is the flow of the Kissimmee River so important to the health of the Everglades?​
Picture
https://www.nps.gov/ever/learn/kidsyouth/water-water-everywhere.htm
Picture


​Threats to the Everglades

Use the student textbook or your own research to answer the questions below:
​
1. Relate overpopulation and farming to damage to the Everglades. (p124)

2. Outline the human water uses on the Everglades and their impact. (p125)
3. What are the good and bad effects of tourism on the Everglades? (p126)

Picture


Kissimmee River threats and restoration

4. Explain the problems the channelization of the Kissimmee River caused and what was done to solve it, using the attached YouTube and the pdfs below. 

Create a table to summarise the restoration and evaluate its effectiveness.
​
kissimmee_river_restoraton_project.pdf
File Size: 999 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

below_the_surface_an_in_depth_look_at_the_kissimmee_river_restoration_project.pdf
File Size: 2460 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File



​Management and restoration of the Everglades

Future possibilities for the Everglades:
  • Read p127 of the student book carefully and summarise the main points.
  • What are the causes for optimism in the Everglades wetland area?
  • What are the sources of concern for the future of the Everglades?
Picture
https://www.evergladesrestoration.gov/sferp/
Picture
https://www.naplesnews.com/story/news/local/environment/2018/01/03/florida-could-spend-1-billion-everglades-reservoir-project-but-work/997967001/
Picture
https://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/stateroundup/sugars-decades-long-hold-over-florida-everglades-came-with-a-price/2285007
Picture
https://www.sun-sentinel.com/opinion/fl-op-column-randy-schultz-washington-everglades-restoration-20180612-story.html
  • Home
    • Contact
  • MYP
    • Development >
      • An unequal world?
      • Billionaires investigation
      • Africa: the danger of a single story
      • Patterns of development
      • Trade and development
      • Fair Trade
      • Sustainable Development Goals
    • Tectonic Hazards >
      • What is risk?
      • Alfred Wegener and Continental Drift
      • Plate tectonics
      • Distribution of tectonic hazards
      • Measuring earthquakes
      • Why do people die in earthquakes?
      • School earthquake plan
      • Earthquake assessment
      • Volcanoes - what are they? Why are they important?
      • Volcano "Science Fair"
      • Causes of tsunami
    • Population >
      • Why study population?
      • Population distribution
      • Population growth
      • Population pyramids
      • Demographic transition model
      • Migration
      • Migration examples - case studies
      • Refugees in Indonesia
      • Population revision activities
    • Weather and Climate >
      • Weather vs Climate and why is it important?
      • Climate graphs
      • Why does it rain?
      • What affects temperature and why is Jakarta so hot and wet?
      • What causes wind and how do we measure it?
      • Microclimates
  • IGCSE
    • Course information
    • Physical: Hazardous environments >
      • Distribution of tectonic hazards
      • Causes of tsunami
      • Measuring earthquakes
      • Earthquake case study 1: Haiti
      • Earthquake case study 2: Christchurch
      • Why do earthquakes do more damage in LICs than in HICs?
      • How are volcanic eruptions measured?
      • Tropical storms - distribution
      • Causes of tropical cyclones
      • Tropical cyclones - case study
      • Why live in hazardous areas?
    • River Environments >
      • Hydrological cycle
      • River basins
      • Factors affecting river regimes
      • Fluvial processes: erosion
      • Fluvial processes: weathering and mass movement
      • Fluvial processes: transportation and depositon
      • River features and their formation
      • How rivers change from source to mouth
      • Uses of water
      • Water pollution
      • Water supply
  • IBDP
    • Changing population >
      • Global patterns of economic development
      • Physical and human factors affecting global population distribution
      • Case study 1: China
      • Case study 2: Niger
      • Demographic transition
      • Megacity growth
      • Forced migration and internal displacement
      • Ageing populations
      • Pro-natalist and anti-natalist policies
      • Gender equality policies
      • Trafficking policies
      • The Demographic Dividend
    • Global climate vulnerability and resilience >
      • Atmospheric system
      • The energy balance
      • Changes in the energy balance
      • The enhanced greenhouse effect
      • Climate Change and the Hydrosphere, Atmosphere and Biosphere
      • Impacts of climate change on people and places
      • Disparities in exposure to climate change risk and vulnerability
      • Government-led adaptation and mitigation strategies
      • Civil society and corporate strategies
    • Global resource consumption and security >
      • Progress towards poverty reduction
      • Measuring trends in global consumption
      • Global patterns and trends in the availability and consumption of water
      • Global patterns and trends in the availability and consumption of land/food
      • Global patterns and trends in the availability and consumption of energy
      • Water food and energy nexus
      • Recycling and waste
      • Malthus vs Boserup
      • Resource Stewardship strategies
      • Sustainable Development Goals
    • Freshwater - drainage basins >
      • The drainage basin as a system
      • How rivers change from source to mouth
      • River discharge
      • River processes
      • River landforms
      • Factors affecting flood risk
      • Attempts at flood prediction
      • Flood mitigation
      • Flood mitigation case studies
      • Water scarcity
      • Agricultural activities and water quality
      • Pressures on lakes and aquifers
      • Internationally shared water and conflict
      • Water management: participation of local communities
      • Dams as multi-purpose schemes
      • Water management: Integrated Drainage Basin Management (IDBM)
      • Managing wetlands
    • Leisure, Sport and Tourism >
      • Growth and purpose of leisure time
      • Categories of tourism and sport
      • Economic development and participation
      • Factors affecting personal participation
      • Factors affecting growth of tourism hotspots
      • Spheres of influencee
      • Factors affecting a national sports league
      • Festivals
      • Niche national tourism strategies
      • Role of TNCs
      • Tourism as a national development strategy
      • International sporting events
      • Consequences of unsustainable growth
      • Sustainable tourism
      • Future international tourism
      • Political and cultural influences on sport
    • Extended Essay in Geography >
      • Supervisor meetings
    • Skills/concepts >
      • Infographics
      • 4 Ps
      • Mock examination revision and preparation
  • Geography and ToK
  • Theory of Knowledge
    • Knowledge and Technology
    • Knowledge and Language
    • Knowledge and Politics
    • Knowledge and Religion
    • Knowledge and Indigenous Societies