Management of Glaciated Landscapes (Edexcel A Level Geography)

Revision Note

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Jacque Cartwright

Written by: Jacque Cartwright

Reviewed by: Bridgette Barrett

Involvement of Stakeholders

  • There are a number of different stakeholders and approaches involved in managing the challenges posed by glaciated landscapes

  • Approaches range from conservationists wanting to fully protect through to sustainable management and multiple economic use by TNCs and governments

Management of Cold Environments

Management 

Explanation

Do nothing

Allows for multiple economic uses and exploitation of cold environments for profit. Supported by governments at local or national level. Local support from chambers of commerce and trade unions for revenues and job opportunities

Business as usual

Leave the area as it currently stands including aspects of pre-existing sustainability or exploitation. Most stakeholders are content with this, although conservationists would prefer more

Sustainable exploitation

Middle ground as it targets development for profit but without loss of future profits, many stakeholders are involved and relies on continued co-operation to be successful

Sustainable management

A way to develop an area that allows for resource use for the benefits of local communities without damaging the environment now and for the future. Difficult to maintain in cold environments, particularly regarding mineral exploitation. Conflict arises between environmentalists, local indigenous peoples, state and national governments and oil companies all competing for a part of the area

Comprehensive conservation

Aims to protect and conserve cold environments as pristine wildernesses. Careful regulation of ecotourism and farming to allow continued use of the landscape. Exploitive activities are  banned, but maybe overturned by governments looking for short-term gains over long-term benefits

Total protection

Also known as fortress conservation, this radical approach involves the total ban of access to the environment, except for scientific monitoring and research purposes. Can cause conflict between conservationists and local indigenous peoples who are used to using the area for a living

Stakeholder Involvement in Managing Glacial Landscapes

Stakeholder

Involvement

Conservationists

Lobby governments to take action, public awareness campaigns etc. 

NGOs

Work to protect the rights of indigenous peoples, cultures and environments

Global organisations

Set up and monitor international agreements

Local and regional government

Direct management and policing, enforcement, protection, promotion and development of economic benefits

National government

Laws passed to protect fragile environments and provide management funding

  • Strategy used does depend on the area and immediate situation

  • In some parts, there is a need to be pro-active to avert a crisis, in other parts, there is time to plan

  • For most places, there are a combination of strategies that are appropriate which includes zoning and buffering with areas of economic developments, i.e. national parks

Examiner Tips and Tricks

Examiners are looking for you to identify that different stakeholders have varying ideas on which management approach needs to be used, based on their differing views of conservation or exploitation. So make sure you know examples of the different types of protection in active and relict glacial landscapes. 

Legislation to Protect & Conserve Landscapes

  • A legislative framework can be developed at a number of levels which aim to protect and conserve cold environments

  • Environmental sensitivity is a key reason for the level of approaches needed

  • Areas that have a high environmental value such as SSSI and National Nature Reserves often require different levels of legislation

  • Significant differences occur because of differences in scale from local to global

  • For instance:

    • Successful legislation, because of global warming, requires not only coordinated approaches at global, national, and local scales but also adaptation and mitigation approaches, therefore, there is a need for a variety of management strategies

  • These can be effective if they a closely monitored and policed

  • Mandatory legislation tends to be far more effective in protection and conservation and NGOs work towards initiating and maintaining them

  • Issues arise when environments that need protecting extent beyond one border, and include:

    • Contrasting attitudes toward exploitation, conservation, and management of resources

    • Different legal systems between countries

    • Differences in available human and financial resources

    • International relationships may be strained, making access or agreements difficult to complete

Antarctica - an active glaciated landscape

  • A key global management strategy that has successfully managed an active glaciated landscape is the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS)

  • Antarctica is unique in that there are no indigenous populations living in the area and the territory has multiple international territorial claims

  • Through a global agreement, threats to this landscape have been effectively reduced through:

    • Stopping any resource exploitation

    • Freezing all sovereignty claims

    • Management of tourism

  • With over 100,000 visitors to Antarctica annually,  the area is threatened by degradation

  • Protocols adopted in 1966 and subsequently added to the ATS, the framework manages tourism in Antarctica by reducing the potential to damage the landscape

  • Strict protocols mean all waste is removed from the area, including wastewater, thereby reducing potential future damage

  • However, tourism is both spatially and temporally concentrated in Antarctica

    • Up until 2010, a private, seasonally occupied camp was built next to the Patriot Hills, in Antarctica

    • It acted as a base camp for expeditions and tours to the interior of Antarctica

    • Each year a private runway and heated tents would be built, raising concerns as to the damage being done to the Patriot Hills and the Blue Ice Glacier

    • Eventually, the camp was re-sited 70km away from the hill

Alpine Convention (AC) - an active landscape

  • The Alpine Convention (AC) is an international agreement for the sustainable development and protection of the Alps, between the EU and the Alpine countries of:

    • Germany

    • France

    • Italy

    • Liechtenstein

    • Monaco

    • Austria

    • Switzerland

    • Slovenia) and the EU

  • The convention sets out steps for the protection and sustainable development of the Alps in terms of:

    • Planning

    • Air pollution

    • Water management

    • Farming

    • Forestry

    • Tourism

    • Energy production

    • Soil protection

    • Traffic management

  • The success of this treaty is due, in part, to all signatories being used to international co-operation, as they are either part of the EU or have treaties with the EU 

Factors for Sustainable Legislation of Active and Relict Glacial Landscapes

Social 

Economic 

Environmental

Working conditions
Cultural and religious 
awareness
Community
Health and well-being

Good jobs
Fair wage
Security
Infrastructure

No pollution
Renewable
Conservation
Restoration
Consideration

  • The Andes and Himalayas, at this time, do not have a legislative framework and as such, are at risk of degradation and exploitation of their resources

  • However, in other areas there are national scale frameworks ranging from:

    • National Parks such as The Lake District in the UK and Yosemite in the USA

    • Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) - Ardersier Glacial Deposits, Scotland

    • Biodiversity Action Plans (BAPs) - The Snowdon Lily, an arctic-alpine flowering plant only known to flower in Eryri (Snowdonia) Wales

  • All have varying rules and regulations, not only for each country but right down to a local scale for permitted activities and access

    • The Arctic has over 15% of its area fully protected; due to less competition for land use than other similar areas (e.g. the Alps)

    • Alaska has 56% of its land protected with some form of legislative protective status - from individual animal species to whole forests

    • However, the need for oil and gold has resulted in permission being granted to drill in parts of the protected regions

    • Finland, on the other hand, has a tiered system of protection

      • National Parks for public access

      • Nature Reserves with limited public access

      • Nature Reserves with permit entry only

Global systems of conservation

  • Individual species are protected globally by strategies such as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) 1973, with many Arctic species on their list, such as walruses and polar bears

    • Global organisations such as Greenpeace argue that they are ineffective as even though whales are protected, limited numbers are still allowed to be caught for scientific purposes - Japan continues to harvest excessive numbers of whales but claim they are for scientific purposes

  • The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) publish a Red List for endangered species with polar bears being classified as 'vulnerable'

    • The US has refused to accept this, as it would mean acknowledgment of global warming as a cause of vulnerability

  • World Heritage Sites are listed by UNESCO, for their ecological or cultural importance

    • Wrangel Island, Russia was designated an ecological site in 2004 because of its very high level of biodiversity:

      • A large number of polar bear breeding dens

      • Feeding grounds for grey whales

      • The largest population of Pacific walrus 

      • Nesting ground for over 100 migratory birds

    • Both Scott's Hut and Shackleton's Hut on Antarctica, have been included on the World Monuments Watch

    • Shackleton's was included in 2004 and 2006, and Scott's in 2008

    • The hut has been designated an Antarctic Historic Site or Monument following a proposal by New Zealand and the United Kingdom to the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting

Discussion

  • Apart from Antarctica, many of the legislations are restricted to specifics and are spatially small

  • Most are reliant on national government priorities, and these change with each elected government

  • Furthermore, legislation does not specifically address the issue of tourism or tourist activities, including the Arctic's SMART model (Sustainable Model for Arctic Regional Tourism), which is only a loose agreement, as economic needs overshadow the needs of the environment

  • No amount of legislation can protect against transboundary pollution and the refusal by some countries to acknowledge or address global warming

Global Warming & Management

  • Global or climate warming is a context risk:

    • A level of risk that is affected by many different factors and will swap from one set of circumstances (context) to another

  • This makes successful management of glaciated landscape complex and challenging and needs a set of co-ordinated approaches at all levels (global, national and local) if it is to succeed

  • All fragile landscapes are under threat from a warming planet, especially glaciers and permafrost regions 

  • This has current and predicted impacts on these environments, for example:

    • Since 1960, average air temperatures at the Arctic, has increased by more than 2°C

    • The extent and thickness of the sea ice has declined

    • Coupled with changes in seasonal melt; ice-dependent animals are at risk

    • The far northern Canadian polar bears are expected to face starvation and reproductive failure by 2100

    • 95% of all glaciers have a negative mass balance and are retreating

    • There is uncertainty surrounding how Antarctica's ice sheet will react to global warming

    • The Arctic is expected to be ice free in summer by 2050

 Present and Future Impacts of Global Warming

Present Impacts

Future Impacts

Rate of global glacial retreat has increased

Positive feedback of methane release from the permafrost into the atmosphere, raising greenhouses gas levels

Sea level rise due to melting glaciers and ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica

Flooding of cold, low-lying coastal areas due to further sea level rise as warming temperatures accelerate glacial melting

Permafrost melting is accelerating, causing buildings and roads to collapse

Winter sports regions are seeing reduced snowfall which has economic impacts for the locals - by 2050 only resorts above 1500m would be able to offer snow for 100 days or more

Ice roads, which are essential supply routes, are open for less time each year 

Ingress of warmer loving flora and fauna into cold regions as temperatures increase, outcompeting native species

Migratory patterns of birds and animals are changing inline with seasonal changes

Existing flora and fauna become extinct as unable to adapt to warmer climate quickly enough

Increasing UV radiation has caused alterations to phytoplankton communities, impacting the food chain

Meltwater discharge lessens, impacting amount and quality of water and sediment

Flooding and landslides increase, as inland glaciers retreat

Available water for HEP is reduced

Co-operation

  • International legislation and local protection cannot protect glacial environments totally from the context risk of global warming

  • Action needs to be a co-operation to reduce global greenhouse emissions in the long term

  • These can be through mitigation and adaptation strategies:

Mitigation

Adaptation

Paris Agreement 2015 was a global commitment to limit global temperature rise to below 1.5°C. In total, 184 countries, plus the EU agreed to develop and stick to national plans to reduce emissions 

Restrictions on tourism or resource exploitation

Legal prevention or protection of an area (e.g. Antarctica) through international agreements, national governments, non-government organisations (NGOs), and technology

Switching economies at a national level to low-carbon energy production

Become more energy efficient through home insulation, LED bulbs, solar panels, etc. 

These are ways to cope with the impacts of climate change

  • Improving warning systems for natural hazards such as glacial lake outbursts

  • Growing new types of crops that are drought-resistant

  • Relocating settlements

  • Either increasing or decreasing protection of areas as necessary

  • Using technology to help prevent further melting of the permafrost by buildings and roads

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Jacque Cartwright

Author: Jacque Cartwright

Expertise: Geography Content Creator

Jacque graduated from the Open University with a BSc in Environmental Science and Geography before doing her PGCE with the University of St David’s, Swansea. Teaching is her passion and has taught across a wide range of specifications – GCSE/IGCSE and IB but particularly loves teaching the A-level Geography. For the past 5 years Jacque has been teaching online for international schools, and she knows what is needed to get the top scores on those pesky geography exams.

Bridgette Barrett

Author: Bridgette Barrett

Expertise: Geography Lead

After graduating with a degree in Geography, Bridgette completed a PGCE over 25 years ago. She later gained an MA Learning, Technology and Education from the University of Nottingham focussing on online learning. At a time when the study of geography has never been more important, Bridgette is passionate about creating content which supports students in achieving their potential in geography and builds their confidence.