Geography - Theme 3 Case Studies

Lesothto is located in the South of Africa, surrounded by South, Africa and is South of Pretoria. Water is being managed in this area.

Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) is transnational project between Lesotho and South Africa and is the largest water project in Africa. The project involves the construction of 5 dams and the digging of tunnels under the mountain range. The aims of the project are: to provide revenue for Lesotho by transferring water from the orange river, to meet increasing demnads for water in areas of South Africa, to generate hydroelectric power and encourage sustainable development in Lesotho. The project is funded by N.B South Africa.

The impacts on different groups of people: Lesotho farmer - Loss of land, loss of water downstream from dams  causes crops to fail which causes lower yields and therefore a loss of income. South African Farmer - plenty of water for farm but more expensive.Resident in Johannesburg - Better water security but 20% increase in water prices. Thos living in the slums cannot afford water.Resident near the Katse dam (Lesotho) - Benn relocated from area due to construction, compensation not yet paid. New people moved to the area which has caused an increase in social problems such as crime, drugs, alcohol and AIDS.

Impacts on the government: Lesotho - Infrastructure built at no cost for them, cheap electricity, selling water accounts for 75% of GDP. South Africa - has to pay for majority of the prject, better water security ensures continued investment in country.

The benefits of the prjects are: 1) The project provides income for Lesotho, one of the world's poorest countries. 2) Construction of dams provides jobs for unemployed, 20,000 have moved to the sites in search of work. 3) Water avaliable in South Africa which is used in industry so increases productivity. 4) South Africa has a secure source of water in preparation for a more arid future. 5) The dams are providing all the electricity Lesotho needs for development. 6) Money made from the project can be used to develop Lesotho

Problems of the project:1) Lesotho has experienced droughts yet water is being transfered away from the area. 2) South Africa must continue to pay for water even if dams are already full. 3) Those who move to sites to look for work create informal settlements with no sanitation, increasing social problems. 4) 20,000 people have had to relocate, increasing social problems including prostitution. 5) Lack of investment in social and development work. 6) Downstream damage alters habitats and reduces water avaliable for farmers and other industry. 6) This is causing a decline in endangered species, sych as the bearded Vulture

Washington is located in the North East of England, in Tyne and Wear just South of Newcastle upon tyne. In 1984 the car manufacturer Nissan opened a manafacturing plant here.  

Nissan wanted a plant in the UK because it gave thema plant in the EU. They wanted this because it reduced their shipping and tax costs. The UK has high levels of skill but only medium wage demands.  

They chose Washington because it is close to Urban areas such as Newcastle and Sunderland so there is a lot of avaliable labour, component parts made in factories around Washington could be used, there is a history of car production so many employees have the necessary skills which reduces training costs, it is an airfield so is large and flat, it is near 3 deepwater ports and is easily accessible by motorways.   

Nissan operates a just-in-time policy. This means that components arrive just before they are needed and hugely reduces storeage costs. Nissan made a deal with the EU that 80% of the parts had to come with the EU.   

The impact of the factory was that there was an positive multiplier affect on the area. 5,000 people were employed in the factory and a further 15,000 were employed to make compnents for the factory.

Nokia is a transnational company that is based in Helsinki, Finland which is bordered by Sweden, Norway and Russia.    

Nokia employ 58,000 people worldwide. In MEDCs they are employed in Research and development (R&D) and in LEDCs they are employed in LEDCs/NICs they are employed in factories. They have sales offices in 130 countires to be close to the market and new ones are being opened in emerging markets such as Africa and Asia.

Many different things happen in different countries. In Farnborough, UK research and development (R&D) takes place, In Finland is the Nokia headquarters, in the DRC coltan is extracted, In Australia coltan is processed, in China batteries are made, in Asia sim cards are made and in the middle east crude oil is used to make cases.

Transnational companies can bring direct and indirect benefits from investment. In addition it can bring a positive multiplier effect and more taxes being collected can mean better infrastructure and services.

Nokia decided to locate a Reseach and Development plant in Farnborough  because: it is close to both a major airport at Heathrow and a major port at Bristol. It is close to top universities such as Oxford which is good for recruitment. It is close to M11 corridor where Nokia's head office (at Huntingdon) and Nokia's sales and marketing office at (Godmanchester) are located. Combined population of M4 and M11 corridors is 15 million. Close together high tech firms so the local population is skilled. 

A country that has recieved aid is Mali. Mali is located in North West Africa, it is landlocked and is in the Sahel reigon , bordered by Niger, Algeria and Mauritania.  

Mali recieved aid from 3 different NGOs, Oxfam, Unicef and the Red Cross, who provided major help to Mali providing much needed necessities such as food and water. They recieved multi-lateral aid, aid from different countires. In addition, Mali also recieved emergency aid to help witht the immediate water shortages.   

Mali is one of the poorest countires in the world and reguarly suffers from drought which has serious affects on a country that relies heavily on argiculture. (80% of the country lives from stockbreeding agriculture.   Mali's severe water shortgaes have negative effects on crops, farmers, cattle and the economy which is why the aid is so desperately needed.   

The aid that was given provided the opportunity for the country to develop. The NGOs helped to educate people. It brought 36,000 animals that coud then be slaughtered for meat, provided food rations for 200,000 people for 4 months, provided nearly 65,000 people with seed. The aid also sparked development in the country.  

The aid was unsustainable because Mali needs a constant supply of aid to help tackle the ongoing issues it faces. They recieved aid in the 2009 drought, were little to no rain fell. This caused food shortge and a famine which affected the locals. Due to a lack of resources, people began to steal from each other. Droughts also have negative impacts on the enviroment by causing desertification and infertile soil. Mali needs to recieve aid that helps combat the problems in the future so that it can develop further.

Bowness is a honeypot location in The Lake Distirct National Park in Cumbria, North Eat England, North of Liverpool. Tourism causes problems in this area.

There are more visitors to the area thatn in the past. This is because the park is more easily accessable from the M6, people have more leisure time, car ownership has increased, more people now live within a 3 hour drive and improved accomodation  

Some of the problems caused by tourists are littering, congestion, noise pollution, air pollution, soil erosion and disruption of habitats.

The uses of the lake is an example of a conflict in the area. Lake windermere is long and ideal for water sports and in the 1990s was dominated by speed boats and water skiers. This was judged to damage the scenic and peaceful nature of the lake due to noise pollution. In addition the wash from the boats eroded the shore and disrupted ecosystems. In 2005 a 10 knot speed liit was introduced. This hit businesses in this secotr hard. They argued that there are 15 other lakes which offer tranquility and the speed limit puts young people off.  

The area is managed in a range of ways. Quiet area have been established using negative planning which discourages tourism. Positie planning in access corridors to reduce congestion and try to concentrate tourists into these areas. Some lakes e.g windermere, free access with restricitons and other natural lakes.

Lesotho

Nissan

Nokia

Mali

Lake Discrict