Geo Study Notes PDF

# Population Concepts - Birth rates - The amount of babies born in a year per 1000 people in a country. - Death rate - The number of deaths in a year per 1000 people in a country. - Infant mortality rates - The number of babies that die before reaching the age of one. It is measured as the number o...

# Population Concepts - Birth rates - The amount of babies born in a year per 1000 people in a country. - Death rate - The number of deaths in a year per 1000 people in a country. - Infant mortality rates - The number of babies that die before reaching the age of one. It is measured as the number of deaths per thousand births. | Country | Infant mortality rate per 1000 | |---|---| | Ghana | 50 | | Mozambique | 89 | | South Africa | 55 | | Brazil | 24 | | France | 4 | | Japan | 3 | # Life Expectancy - Life expectancy - The average age people in a given population can expect to live. The average life expectancy in 2012 was 62 years. | Country | Life expectancy | |---|---| | Ghana | 61 | | Mozambique | 52 | | South Africa | 49 | | Brazil | 73 | | France | 81 | | Japan | 84 | # Factors affecting birth rates and death rates ### Disease Diseases like: - Malaria - HIV - TB - Cholera Kill millions of people every year. - In some countries the infant mortality rate is high because babies die of diseases like diarrhea. - An epidemic is when a disease spreads quickly in a large area or country *local area*. - A pandemic is when a disease spreads to countries. # HIV & Aids At least 25 million have died of HIV or AIDS across the world and about 36 million people of the people lived in Africa. # Economic Status - Someone's economic status affects birth rates and death rates. It is more common for richer people to have more children. Poorer people have more children to work on the land or in cities when they grow up. - Infant mortality rates are often higher in poor communities, so poor people have large families to make sure enough children survive. - Parents that are wealthier spend a lot of money raising their children. The average cost in raising a child in America is about $230,000 (0-18). This is almost 2 million rand. # Family needs, attitudes and beliefs - Some rural communities have big families so that the family members can help work on their farms. - In communities where there are no government pensions, people may have a lot of children so they will be looked after when they are old. - Some religions don't allow people to use modern family planning methods *methods to not get pregnant*. - In some communities it is the custom for leaders and very wealthy men to have many wives and children. # Conflict and Wars - Between 1900 and 2000, approximately 160 million people died due to wars and conflict. - Wars keep birth rates low. People have fewer children in times of war. - Some wars can take place on farm land which results in food shortages. - Some people may move off land during a war and live in cities or even leave the country. - Wars prevent farming a living normally. - Many people die from hunger and disease. - Farm land is destroyed or farmers may go to war as soldiers resulting in food shortages. # Government Policy - Aims to change peoples behaviour. - During the 1960s, the South African government encouraged white families to have more children. - In 1979, the Chinese government made a law that said women in certain areas may only have one child. # Conservation of SA's Marine Resources - South Africa protects about 17% of its coastline. - Fishing, pollution from ships, coastal industries, growth of settlements and expansion of tourism industries threaten marine and coastal areas. - The first marine area to be protected in SA was the coastal area around Tsitsikamma, near Knysna in 1964. Now SA has 21 marine protection areas. - Fishing is not allowed in many reserves. Human activities are also tightly controlled. International laws prevent fishing companies using certain methods that damage the fish, or take too much time. There are laws that allow companies to take so many tons of fish. Some fish companies break this law. **In summary:** - Protect and conserve marine life. - Control the fishing and harvesting of coastal marine species. - Reduce conflict between people competing for coastal resources. # Eco-Tourism - Type of tourism that involves tourists visiting an area of natural beauty without harming the natural environment or resources. - Eco-tourism aims to manage and protect: - Natural beauty and biodiversity of an area. - An area's important historical and natural sites. Types of typical eco-tourism activities include: - Game viewing - Pony trekking and horse riding - Bird watching - Scuba diving or snorkeling - Hiking - Whale watching - Mountain biking - Visiting historical sites - Rock climbing # The importance of dams and water cleaning and distributing systems - In order to get water to people, a number of things need to happen. - Water needs to be stored in dams. - Water needs to be cleaned so it is safe to drink. - Clean water needs to be stored. - Water has to be pumped along pipes into settlements. - Dams store water. - Dams provide a regular supply of water for settlements, farms and industry. - Dams also help control the flow of rivers. - Water can be moved from one dam to another. Some dams are used to generate electricity. - Alternatives to building more dams. # How farmers can use water more responsibly - Choose an irrigation method that reaches each plant and ensure water gets to the plants root systems. - Ensure irrigation occurs at the coolest part of the day, and only when needed. Irrigation isn't necessary when it's raining. - Make sure the soils well drained *waters able to be through into lower layers of the soil easily*. - Plant crops that don't need a lot of irrigation.