5.2River floods are the result of human and
physical factors
• A study of the causes, effects and management
of river flooding.
• The advantages and disadvantages of the management, and the conflicts of
interest involved.
• Human factors and physical processes should be
considered. The effects in relation to both the human and natural environments.
Management techniques should include both hard engineering, eg, raising
embankments and straightening channels and soft engineering, eg,
reinstating the flood plain and designating wetlands.
• An evaluation of the impact of the management techniques, both in the local
area and more widely. This can illustrate the physical interdependence of
environments. The views of different groups and individuals should be
considered.
• Choose two forms of damage to fragile environments, one
caused by farming, and one caused by resource exploitation. Studies of the
causes and effects of the damage caused, one in the context of an LEDC
and one from an MEDC. An evaluation of the possible management issues involved,
and the attitudes of the decision-makers.
Causes
of damage
MEDC
LEDC
Farming
Soil erosion, loss of biodiversity, eutrophication and nitrate
pollution in East Anglia
