Management of Glaciated Landscapes (Edexcel A Level Geography)
Revision Note
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 | Good jobs | No pollution |
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
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