Replacing MDGs, what would you pick???

Hello everyone! For those of you who have just started college I hope it is going well; you have picked the best A-level!!! I am at uni now, although my proper lectures have only just started and I am not so great at the whole 'freshers' thing therefore I am really bored - so I thought what better to do than some geographical blogging!

Millenium Development Goals (MDGs if you are feeling lazy) are set to expire in 2015 when they are all meant to be met - something that will never happen globally, unfortunately. For a little recap on MDGs here is a revision post on them Millenium Development Goals. Anyway, this week a UN panel started work on a post-2015 development vision with the aim of essentially developing a new set of MDGs. You might remember that during this years Rio Earth Summit there was talk about replacing MDGs with SDGs (sustainability development goals) that would ensure sustainability was at the heart of all future development; offering one alternative to what should happen next....

Now the MDGs are important and over the past 12 years have played a crucial role in shaping government policy and the global distribution of aid, whilst outlining for developing countries some of the key areas for improvement that will allow the process of social and economic advancements that lead to improvements in peoples quality of life and general wellbeing (don't think I could ever forget that definition even if I tried to!!!) to occur. Basically, the world seems to need some form of MDGs to exist to help guide development, but in what format is the big question!?!

So is it just a case of MDGs vs SDGs? Well, I don't really think its that simple (unfortunately nothing in Geography ever is!). There are obvious issues with the MDGs, such as the unintended consequences like proper educational quality as countries push to get more kids into schools without improving and expanding the schools first, but I don't necessarily think that means we need to scrap them all together. However, on the other hand, with anthropogenic forcing of climate change largely driven by development/industralisation which at present occurs unsustainably due to its rapid effects (compared to more sustainable means such as eco-tourism). Therefore, having sustainability at the heart of any development goal is crucial if we are to lessen the impacts that development has on the environment.

Also, many topics were missed out of the original 8 targets, such as global climate change, economic inequality and human rights. Such topics are increasing significant in todays world, with many arguing that they simply cannot be left out of any future set of development goals. Can we stick to only 8 goals then? Now, I don't know what you think but I have spent sometime thinking about what 8 goals I would pick and its really hard!!! I believe that the 8 existing goals are stilll crucial steps in development, yet there are others that I fee needed to be added. So I suppose what I am saying is that I am not sure 8 is really enough to encompass every aspect of development. The problem though with having to many more is aid distribution, often guided by MDGs, being spread to thinnly.

The next group of dilema's are as follows; whether to set measurable targets; whether to focus on ends rather than means; and whether the post-2015 goals should be aimed at poor countries or the world as a whole. My opinion - well I reckon that they need to be measurable targets so that we can quantativiely work out how countries are progressing. As for the last one, this is slightly trickier but I also think that they should apply to all countries. Development is a complex process and no one country in the world is developed in every sense; there are always advancements to be made to improve peoples quality of life and general wellbeing, therefore development goals need to extend globally. Also this would then avoid the complications of selected countries based on clssification, something that is always changing and often subjective.

I am going to work on developing my own set of MDGs (although all we have sustainability at the heart!), and try and keep it down to as few as possible. When I have got there, I will post them on here so in the meantime let me know what you think on any of the questions I presented, but most importantly.....

                ............what would your post-2015 development goals be???

Development and Globalisation Case Study Map

This is by no means a definite or complete list of case studies for the development and globalisation module but is a few facts from some different countries - there is plenty more that I could (and probably should!) add but unfortunately I simply do not have the time! However, hopefully it may still be useful - the countries are in no particular order... Let me know if you have found any other interesting case study facts!


Case studies are by no means my favourite thing to revise, so if anyone has found a more interesting way to do so then let me know, I know I am not the only one who would love to hear it! The timeline of the FB page is really good, especially for the tectonics module I think, so check it out if you are struggling with your case studies!!!

A few brief TNC case studies....

Hello everyone - I hope the revision is going well; not long left now!!! Now, I realise that everyone, in my class atleast, did a different TNC case study as a research class, on top of the notes we made on Wal-Mart after watching that documentary, but a few people have asked me to write about a couple of notes on some TNCs - as well as Wal-Mart I have chosen Rio Tinto (that is the one my group did) and Unilever as that one is in the booklet.... I hope this is helpful!

Unilever
--> 400 brands globally, with 35 in the UK
--> Everyday 160 million choose one of their products
--> Founded in 1930
--> Headquarters in both Rotterdam and London
--> Grown mainly by acquiring other companies
--> Has operations on every continent (apart from Anatarctia), with 264 factories and research labs worldwide

+ Committed to source all palm oil from sustainable sources by 2015
+ 50% tea sourced from Rainforest Alliance Certified farms
+ 1.6% carbon dioxide emission reductions between 2007-2008, and a 39% reduction since 1995
+ 63% reduction in water usage during production of products since 1995

- Mecury pollution
- Gas pollution in Brazil
- Testing on animals
- Use of child labour
- Workers in Dalda fired
- Buying palm oil form sources responsible for deforesting Indonesia

Rio Tinto
--> Largest mining TNC - major products are iron ore, aluminium, copper and gold
--> Operates on 6 continents with headquarters in London and Melbourne
--> 77,000 employees worldwide
--> Worth US$147 billion with a net annual income of US$15.2 billion
--> Are making the 2012 Olympic medals!!!

+ Implementing health and safety, education and sustainability in African mining projects as seen in Guinea
+ Supporting Guinea's Classifed Forest project
+ US$130 million to ensure sustainable water supply for iron ore mining in Australia, with excess water used to cultivate crops needed to feed 30,000 cattle

- Poor working conditions in Nambia and very low wages, leading to strikes both in LDCs and MDCs
- Uranium mine workers exposed to radiation levels 7 times higher than limit
- removed workers health benefits and any other benefits recieved by retired workers
- Contaimination of rivers in UK by posinous metals

Wal-Mart
- Created in 1962 and originally based in USA
- Largest non-oil based TNC
- Vast majority of production facilites in China where workers are paid less than $3 per weeks and production runs 24/7
- Employ 189,000 females in Bangladesh working in inhuman conditions
- Somthering assembled for $0.18 is retalied for atleast $14.96
- Exported $18 billion worth of goods from China to USA in 2004 alone
- Employs 2.1 million people worldwide, including 1,4 million i USA
- 9600 retail untis operating across 28 countries
- Serves 200 million customers a week
- In USA workers are unhappy with pay, hours and last of health insurance. They are facing lawsuits in 31 states across America for unfair treatment, exploitation of illegal immigrants and discrimination against women
- Fined $10.1 milloin in 2001 for water contamination in Texas

Millenium Development Goals

I have had quite a few requests for this one! Sorry it has taken me a while to get round to doing it but I havent really done that much development revision for the last two weeks as have focused on the other modules!

- MDGs are 8 international development goals the 192 UN members and 23 international organisations have agreed to achieve by 2015
- World's poorest countries pay almost $100 million every day to MDCs in debt. A number of impoverished countries have recently recieved partial or full debt cancellations though
- MDGs are indeed achievbale with the right policies, adequate levels of investment and international support. Yet, progress has been uneven, and several MDGs will be missed by most countries
- LDCs, LLDCs, SIDS and those vulnerable to natural hazards or those who have just emerged from civil conflict, experience the most extreme challenges and many therefore will not reach the MDGs
- One of the biggest problems has been the global financial crisis: Progress towards the goals is now threatened by sluggish/negative economic growth, diminshed resources, fewer trade oppurtunties for developing countries and possible reductions in aid flows from donor countries. At the same time, the effects of climate change are becoming increasingly apparent, with a potenitally devastating impact on countries both rich and poor.

1. Eridicate extreme hunger and poverty (by half)
- Likely to be achieved by 2015 but some will fall far short, leaving 1 billion people in extreme poverty
- Number in extreme poverty fell from 1.8 billion in 1990 to 1.46 billion in 2005
- Number in extreme poverty anticipated to be 55-90 million more than before the global financial crisis - reductions are occuring at a slower rate
- Meagre progress on child nutrition is insufficient to meet the 2015 target, and will likely be eroded by higher food prices and economic turnmoil

2. Achieve universal primary education
- Improvements too slow to meet 2015 target
- More than 10% out of education, in developing world, 88% in education in 2007
- Sub-Saharan Africa improved by 15% from 2000 to 2007
- In 2007, almost 137 million children stepped into classrooms for the first time; 7 million more than in 1999

3. Promote gender equality and empower women
- 95 girls:100 buys in primary education
- Gender gap in school enrolement more evident in secondary education but more women enrolled at tertiary level
- 2005 target not met but 2015 target is likely to be reached

4. Reduce child mortality (by two thirds)
- Deaths in children under 5 has steadily declined
- Many Asian and sub-Saharan countries have made little or no progress
- Increase in deaths from 4.2 million in 1990 to 4.6 million in 2007, due to population growth
- Sub- Saharan Africa now accounts for 1/2 of all deaths among children under 5

5. Improve maternal health (reduce mortality by 3/4 and increase access to health care)
- 14 countries have maternal death rates of 1000 per 100,000 live births
- Half of all maternal deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa
- Very little progress has been made in sub-Saharan Africa, where women face the greatest lifetime risk of dying as a result of pregancy and childbirth

6. Combat disease (halt and reverse spread)
- 67% of AIDS victims live in sub-Saharan Africa
- 1 million people die of malaria in 2006; 95% lived in sub-Saharan Africa and the vast majority where children under 5. Nevertheless, major progress in fighting malaria has been achieved in recent years

7. Ensure environmental sustainabiltiy
- World ahead of schedule in meeting the 2015 drinking targets
- 36% of urban population live in developing world
- 884 million people worldwide still rely on unimproved water sources. Of this, 84% live in rural areas

8. Global partnerships
- Aid remains below UN targets and in 2008, only Scandinavian countries reached this target
- Increased internet connection is helping countries reach MDGS

That are the 8 goals, with a few statistics about each one. The main aim of the UN's MDGs was to lessen disparity in global levels of development; how successful has this been???

The MDGs are a set of 8 targets created by the UN with the aim of increasing development across the world, not just in LDCs, with the end goal of lessening the development gap to increase the qualit of life for the world population. The goals have targetted improvemements that factor in every aspect of development; which is the process of social and economic advanceents that leads to improvements in peoples quality of life and general wellbeing; although does focus on social advancements. The MDGs recognise signficance of demographic constraints on development, hence the goal to reduce CDR, and the intrinsic nature of education in solveing the issue and so the goals are tailored to address this. Whilst, in theory, the goals have outlined improvements required to enable development, in reality the complexity of probelms faced in LDCS are underestimated so there is no qucik fix. Therefore the timescales for reaching the goals is unrealistic in many examples, with 23 sub-Saharan countries predicted to fall drastically short of MDG4 by 2015. There are also many unintended side effects of this goal and for example the education-related tarets encourage increase number of children in educaition, not also improving quality so, as in Sierra Leone, the full benefits of education are not experienced and athe importance of th'Girl Effect' not witnessed. Also the MDG8 is often not prioritised and countries are becoming increasingly unlikely to meet this as they favour economic sustainability at the expense of the environment as TNC presence is the fastest way to initiate cumulative causation. Whilst MDGs outline steps for development, acheiving the goals relies on aid. Unfortunately, though, the MDGs ahs conicided with the global financial crisis and thereby restrcited the speed at which they can be achieved. Therefore the concept of MDGs is idealistically great for aiding and guiding development but in reality timescales are unrealistic and the MDGs underestimate how much additional help LDCs require to achieve them and the importance of colonialism in enabling many MDCs to develop.

A more recent development, that I am sure you all became aware of after our class discussion regarding climate agreements last week, is that at the Rio+20 conference this summer there is an aim to replace the MDGs with SDGs (sustainability development goals)  to ensure that environmentally sustainability is at the heart of development. What do you think about this idea? Will it work? Will it be a better means to lesson global disparity in development compared to MDGs? Let me know what you think!

Groupings of Nations

Got my mock back last week and I think it is safe to say that my development short answer questions didnt go quite as well as they should have done! It also seems that I was not the only one; with many struggling with the questions focusing on international groupings.... so for those out there, like me, who didn't do to well, here is a post of positive and negatives of groupings, with examples! Enjoy!
First up, some groupings we should be aware of - there are others but these are the ones I am planning on using!

APEC = Asia=Pacific Economic Cooperation
- loose grouping of countries bordering the Pacific Ocean (21 members including USA and China)
- pledged to facililate free trade amongst themselves and developing countries by 2015
- created in 1989 in responseto EU and each member has a separate economy
- recently China signed bilateral free trade deals with a number of APEC countries
- criticised as failed to clearly define themselves for a purpose and have yet to really achieve anything
- posess 40% of world's population, 54% GDP and 44% world trade

NAFTA = North American Free Trade Agreement
- Canada, Mexico and USA
- formed in 1994 to have free trade but also co-operation, invest  in each other and promote competition between each other to a degree that would boost industrial output
- trade between the 3 members tripled between 1993 and 2007
- TNCs and FDI has relocated to Mexico (= Maquiladora towns), causing unemployment in USA
- NAFTA is the largest trade bloc in terms of GDP
NAAEC = North American Agreement on Environmental Co-operation
NAALC = North American Agreement of Labour Co-operation
G20
- Brazil, China, India, Mexico, South Africa etc
- emerged during 2003 Cancun meeting on world trade
- powerful group which is starting to challenge the EU and US regarding trade negotiations
- insisting rich countriesmake concessions on agriculture before there will be any service or tariff reducions on manufactured goods
= 60% world population
= 70% of world's farmers
= 26% of world exports
Group of 77 (now actually 130 members!)
- all LDCs, forming the largest intergovernmental organisation
- gives voice to LDCs in world issues, promoting South-South co-operation for development
- China is an ally but not an offical member
- walked out of the Copenhagen 2009 climate negotiations
AU = African Union
- aiming to achieve democracy, peace, security, integration and human rights throughout Africa
- intervened in 2003 in Burundi and sent 7000 peacekeepers to Sudan since the Darfur Crisis started
- adopted a number of new documents including AU Convention on Preventing and Combating Crime in 2003
- future considerations include creation of a free trae, single market, central bank and a comment currency (AEC) by 2023
- nominal GDP of $1.627 trillion but measuring GDP by PPP, collectively AU totals $2.849 trillion, ranking it 6th after Germany

EU = European Union
- 1957 Treaty of Rome created EEC with 6 members
- now EU has 27 members with over 500 million citizens = 3rd largest
- single currency exists between 16 members
- 22% of world's total economic output
- EDF directs aid to developing countries and ERDF to members
- 178 out of 500 largest corporations have headquarters in the EU
* Has EU grouping only worked as countries allowed to join are located close to huge global markets, thereby enabling them to develop? Therefore AU would not work as they have no developed countries to 'feed off of', no global market to exploit and no model for development.....also there is the huge issue of peace. The EU was initially created to promote intercontinental peace and without peace Africa will not develop as a continent.
* Eurasian Union??? Groupings could become dangerous when global climate change makes life challenging and Russia could be a good place to move to. So would a Eurasian Union be a could idea???

What impacts do groupings have on development?
Although the contemporary world is increasingly globalised, groups of nations are still viewed as one of the best approaches to development; which is the process of social and economic advancements that allows for improvements in peoples quality of life and general wellbeing. Whilst most global groups share a common aim they are all slightly different; with the WTO set up as a liberalising organisation by capatialist countries to organise world trade, the EU developed after WW2 to integrate economies and thus power to prevent intercontinental conflict and the G-77 designed to give poor nations a voice in the international affairs of this money driven world - with these just three examples. In theory these global groupings should help all members achieve economic and social development, as a consequence of eased movement of goods, people and knowledge, but, in reality, not every member always experiences the benefits with some groupings collectively failing to make any progress towards achieving the ultimate goal of globally paralled development.

SOCIAL
+ spread of knowledge and culture = multicultural society which has aided globalisation
+ less social segregation and better understanding/appreciation of others = increased chance of peace as removes psychological barriers to integration.
      >EU = worked!
      >AU = NO! Due to inherent cultural differences which have not been seen to such a degree anywhere else ---> link to colonialism
+ European warrnat arrests has permitted increased global crackdon on crime e.g arrest of Bosian war criminals

- loss of indentity and culture
- some social tensions

ECONOMIC
+ single currency removes costs of business transactions
+ unemployment solved due to migration (However, money often moved away from country) which helps remove demographic constraints on development i.e Polish migration to UK (population case study from AS)
+ structural funds help poor countries and those within groups e.g EDF and ERDF
+ increases trading within blocs and TNCs attracted to regions to avoid trading tariffs

- debt defaulting
- market flucuations affect everyone in the group
      > Eurozone crisis at present is best example as vulnerability is accentuated by single currency

POLITICAL
+ greater overall democratic function
+ greater awareness of dictatorhsips and violations of human rights i.e NATO and Libya
+small nations given a voice in world affairs
* Groupings of nations could help form a more collective effort to mitigate climate change and adapt to coming changes???

- potential for conflict to escalate
- pressure to adopt centralised legislations i.e CAP and CFP!

ENVIRONMENTAL
+ sustainability kept and grown within groups
+ collective effort to protect environment with funding set aside for this purpose

- unintended consequences of CFP

DEMOGRAPHIC
+ Brain gain/ Brain drain
+ migration solving demographic constraints on development i.e Europe's ageing populations

As you can probably tell, I started to run out of ideas for environmental and demographic. These are just a few examples and if you can think of any really good ones for environmental and demographic then please let me know!

Keep you requests for topics to be covered coming in and don't forget Millie's live revision workshops on Wednesdays at 19:30 - if you have missed any you can catch the replays on her blog!

Economic Globalisation

Just a few quick notes on economic globalisation!

GATT = General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
- negotiated during UN confernce on Trade and Employment and outcome of failure of negotiating governments to create the ITO (International Trade Organisation)
- formed in 1947 and replaced WTO in 1995

WTO = World Trade Organisation
- incepted by capitalist economices, as a liberlising organisation, to organise world trade
- designed to help trade flow as freely as possible without detrimental side effects

Free Trade: Good or Bad?
Makes sense for countries to specialise in producing goods that they can produce most efficiently, and to trade their surpleses of these goods for the products they cannot produce, or are less efficient at producing
= principles of free trade
HOWEVER, free trade is risky as it introduces competition and often countries try to protet themselves from this by introducing tariffs which make foreign imports more expensive. Subsidies and quotas are also often introduced to have the same effect.
Currently, though, trade rules are unfair as some countries are forced to accept goods from abroad, whilst others protect their market with import tariffs, quotas and subsidies.

International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank
- play minor roles in running world economy
- IMF established to oversee global financial system and other assistance and renegotiate debt for struggling countries
- World Bank tries to reduce poverty in LDCs and promotes sustainable development

Colonialism and Development

Hello everyone! During half term I had may requests to write about colonialism as many expressed concern about a lack of note. I did post the essay I wrote on "To What Extent Is Colonialism To Blame For Low Levels Of Development In Sub-Saharan Africa?" - you know the first essay we wrote this year - as this is what I am using to revise from as it includes all the key case studies I am planning to use. However, a few of you said you still didn't really find that helpful, so I am going to try and briefly explain it for you!

COLONIALISM = a movement with the sole purpose of constructing and conserving colonies in one territroy by people from another

- European powers had a 'scramble for Africa' in the late 1800s and all land was claimed as colonies except Ethopia and Liberia
- Capturing of the Moroccan town of Ceuta in 1415 by the Portuguese marked the beginning of European colonialism in Africa
- Main European colonial powes were the UK, Belgium, France, Italy, Portugal and Spain
- 'Scramble for Africa' saw 1/5 of the globe added to European overseas territories
- 1884 Berlin Conference witnessed the fragmentation of the African continent from 10,000 territories to 57, as present
- Colonialismestablished the economies of many parts of Africa for many years due to the exporting of materials but left them economically vulnerbable as were reliant on one export
- African nations began to gain independence between the late 1950s and 1960s - note: not all colonies were African and India gained independence in 1947
- After gaining independence, countries aligned themselves with either the USA/France (mainly central and southern nations) or USSR (northern states), and they recieved aid from such countries, although in many cases primarily military aid

How has Colonialism hindered Development in sub-Saharan Africa?

Social:-
- Civil conflict due to the fragmentation, which occured at the 1884 Berlin Conference, as this occurred without consideration of psychological or societal divisions
- Religions introduction to Africa was a secondary impact if colonialism as did not aid unification, so by generating social tensions only increased the chance of civil conflict, and also hampered disease treatment, especially AIDS/HIV due to no recongition of use of contraception
- Impacts of disease were accentuated by colonial legacy as in worn torn nations it is increasingly difficult to deliver aid to those in need

Political:-
- Formation of dictatorships which have hindered formation of stable and sustainable trade partnerships, thus limited export potential, thereby restricting economic growth
- Political instability is not attractive to TNCs whose presence and appending FDI can provoke cumulative causation, and thereby accelerate development
- No peace means not options for preferential trading or successful groupings of nations

Environmental:-
- TNCs exploiting land that lacks environmental legislation, leading to environmental degradation, desertification and deforestation - evidence for the 'paradox of plenty'???
- Environmental exploitation and contamination leads to distruption of any regulatory in food and water supplies and quality


Economic:-
- Siphoning of resource wealth continued past post-independence trade agreements
- Economic vulnerability due to reliance on one export (this is a characteristic of all LDCs)
- Formation of HIPCs with most debts originating from ambitious development projects initiated by corrupt leaders following independence

Demographic:-
- Colonialism lead to introduction of European lifestyles, principally introduction of religion, which only increased population growth rate, which is expected to exceed Asia's
- Bites in population pyramids due to civil conflict and ethnic cleansing are demographically biased, targetting the young fit men which impacts agricultural productivity


The above are some on the ways colonialism has affected development throughout Africa and then how the resonnace of the colonial era continues to hinder development - for case studies, look at the essay, as I am too lazy to write them all out again! I was trying to think of positives of colonialism on Africa but I am finding it quite difficult. In India, for example there is the education system that was installed, with lessons taught in English which has greatly enabled its development via the service industry, but for Africa I am finding it quite hard. If you have any ideas then let me know!

What were the impacts of Colonialism for MDCs (the colonialists!)?
I think this is quite an interesting question as we don't seem to look at it from this perspective but do you think the UK, for example, would have developed so fast without colonialism and would we have gone so whole heartedly down the route of industrialisation? I don't think it would have happened so fast and underestimating the importance of colonialism in early development is arguably one of the biggest criticisms of the Rostow Model of Development. Formation of colonies gave us access to raw materials, provided jobs and a workforce which we exploited, whilst also enabling early trade partnerships; all of which were intrinsic to our development. Therefore could we say that the UK would not have developed without colonialism? Maybe that is going a bit far, but I definently think that it played an important role - let me know what you think?

Neo-colonialism
- There is now a new 'dash' for land in Africa but not from Europe this time, but instead from the oil rich Gulf states and Asia. Countries like Saudi Arabia and China are leasing huge tracts of sub-Sahara, sometimes in exchange for money, ports, schools etc, are using the land to grow crops for food and biofuels to send back home. Is this right? Well, developed countries do not really possess the moral highground to object and stop this as it is essentially the same as what we did! Can nations benefit from this with regards to development? It is probably to early to say, but if it is legal, managed and fair then sub-Sahara may benefit whilst its waits for the global shift (which could be for a while!!!). However, the biggest issue could be the leasing of fertile soils in areas which already struggle to feed their growing populations - a subject you need to form you own opinion on!!!

I think this really covers the basics and hopefully for those of you who didn't understand my essay, this makes a bit more sense. As this area is missing from the textbook, I am guessing it is something we need to understand and be aware of but is not perhaps something we are likely to be asked directly about; well that is what I am hopinf for anyway!

I am thinking about moving on to write about climate for a while, with some tectonic stuff, so let me know if there are any topics, especially with development and globalisation before I move on too far, that you would like me to cover - case study maps for all three modules are on the way but they take a while so you will have to bare with me! I hope the revision is going well!

Geography related Books and Films

Teachers may disagree with this but I dont necessarily think that staring at a textbook all night every night is the only way to revise. Of course there is no substitute for hard work but sometimes (especially for development) I think that watching a relevant film can be quite good. Now for those of you who have kept up with your three hours extra reading each week since Septembet (haha!) then you may have watched/readed a few of these but seeing as a few have asked me for suggestions, I thought I would just qucikly write it all up on here! Follow the links for more detailed reviews, explanation of relevance to modules and trailers....
Development and Globalisation:
Darfur - a group of international journalists travel to a village in Darfur in search of evidence to persuade the UN that genocide has occured but are forced to live after the Janjaweed turn up and threaten to kill them. I am sure you are all aware of the Darfur Crisis and it is a case study you caould name-drop into an answer, also could be useful AS population module but be warned it is very graphic and definetly not one for the faint-hearted!

Invictus - after 27 years imprisionment, Mandela becomes South Africa's first elected president and this film follows his bid to unite the country via the rugby world cup, seeing unification as a prerequisite to development.

Goodbye Bafana - follows the unlikely friendship that forms between Mandela and his prision officer and illustrates some of the social and political impacts of colonialism in South Africa and how they continued to hinder development.

Blood Diamond - amid the explosive civil war overtaking 1999 Sierra Leone; it explores many issues including those surrounding the diamond trade, supply of arms to rebels and child soldiers. This includes links to globalisation, colonialism, the 'paradox of plenty' and simply how civil unrest prevents development.

Painted Veil -  set in China, in the 1920's, and explores the impact of a cholera outbreak on a village, including references as to how religious beliefs make containing cholera even more challenging and the impacts of an earthquake. Focuses quite a bit on the importance of a water supply to development - the link to the module is slightly more tenuous than with some of the other films and books but it is still worth a watch!
Cry Freedom - in South Africa and tells the true story of Biko and his friendship with a white liberal newspaper editor. Good film to watch for development as explores impact of apartheid on development and the importance of political stability for development to occur.

Gandhi -  a biopic about the life of Gandhi with particular reference to his prominent role in India's struggle for freedom from colonial rule.

Slumdog Millionaire - provides an insight into the life of children living in the Indian slums the problems associated here. Also illustrates how they are trying to improve education to enable development.

Erin Brockovich - a good film that presents the negative impacts of the natural gas industry and the extent to which large companies are prepared to go to, to cover this up. Not only would this be good for the AS Energy module but also globalisation with reference to the negative impact of TNCs.

The Constant Gardener - a rather sad story about how a drug company exploit the Kenyan population to allow them to test a new drug, despite the fact they know it has harmful side effects. Also explores the idea of corrupt governments and issues faced in LDCs.
The Cove - this film is very thought provoking and presented the issues surrounding the dolphin trade - before watching this I didn't know a lot about the issue, especially the scale of it in Japan, and it left me feeling very shocked that something like this still exists today in such a developed country. Issues of groupings, tied aid and trade are briefly explored also.

Blood River by Tim Butcher - tells the story of Tim Butchers quest to retrace the journey taken by H.M Stanley in the 1870s. from this you get an insight into the history of the Congo and the factors have effected its development - great book for the development and globalisation module as it provides an insight into the impact colonialism has had on Africa. Chasing the Devil: On Foot Through The Killing Fields of Africa is another Tim Butcher book, although this time based in Sierra Leona, that covers many issues intrinsic to low levels of development in Africa and the problems associated with this.

The Boy Who Harnessed The Power Of The Wind by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer - tells the extraordinary true story of a Malawian teenager who overcame many obstacles to provide electricity and clean water for his village by capturing the energy in both the wind and the sun. Good for AS Energy as well as A2 development and illustrates the importance of energy supplies and appropraite technology to development. It also touches on the issues of living in areas of climatic extremes, the role of education and how corrupt governments influence aid distribution.
PeopleQuake: Mass migration, ageing nations and the coming population crash by Fred Pearce - a book about the population bomb and how demographics is driving politics. Explore how we got to this point and where we are currently heading and how it can be solved. Therefore it is a great book for AS Population (covers practically the entire module with some useful case studies and statistics!) and for A2 development and Globalisation. Human geographers will not doubt love this book but any geographer out there, like myself, who get carried away with the science and forget to mention people, this book is worth a read!
Globalization and Its Discontents by Joseph Stiglitz - as chief economist at the World Bank that author has a unique insider's view into the management of globalisation. In this book he speaks out against the IMF and WTO and the role of the West in driving global politics. This makes it a very good book for globalisation!

Plate Tectonics and Associated Hazards:

Aftershock - based around the Tangshan 1976 earthquake, which killed 242,000 people and coincided with huge political changes in China. This film cover issues including aid, politics and follows China as it changes over the time period covered. However, it is centred on one question; which 7 year twin will the mother chose to save? Bewarned it is a very said film, Millie was not overexaggerating when she said it was!

Dantes Peak - we watched this one in class, the worksheet we used in lessons is on Millie's blog so this could be a useful thing to watch and complete again as part of your revision. Covers preparation, evacuation and monitoring techniques as well as a few inaccuracies that you should be able to point out!

Eruptions That Shook The World by Clive Oppenheimer - I havent quite finished this book yet but I thought I should mention it as I am finding it quite useful for finding the odd statistic or two! Bascially this book covers everything we need to know about volcanoes and a bit more! Geologists, this is probably a really good book for you to read, but for Geographers it does link all the volcano stuff back to its impacts on people.

Weather, Climate and Associated Hazards:

The Day After Tomorrow - the Larsen B ice shelf collapses, the thermohaline circulation shutdowns, provoking glacial inception in the northern hemisphere, with other appending impacts - a good film to watch and then point out the geographical/scientific mistakes to test how much you have understood about the influence of ocean circulation on global climate and how a freshwater input could affect it!

Encounters at the End of the World - a great documentary with some simply stunning footage and interesting interviews that collectively provide an insight into life in Antarctica and the important research that is taking place
The Age of Stupid - great film to watch for the energy module as it talks about climate change, energy consumption and production via some interesting case studies so also good for the A2 climate module
Gaia by James Lovelock - presents the Gaia hypothesis which is the idea that the Earth functions as a living organism and so self-regulates to adapt to changing conditions. This book puts forward some very interesting ideas, linked very closely to climate change both naturally and anthropogenically forced, making for an interesting read!

 The Revenge of Gaia by James Lovelock - applies the Gaia hypothesis to global climate change - again an intriguing read which presents some interesting ideas and solutions to problems we are likely to face with population expansion and coming global climate change
An Inconvenient Truth by Al Gore - I am guessing most will have heard of this one! It presents the issue of climate change and discusses how it has been caused and the impacts it is likely to have - well worth a read but if you prefer there is also a film version.

Our Choice by Al Gore - this book follows on from An Inconvenient Truth by offering the solutions Al Gore thinks are required to solve the issue of global climate change
Here on Earth by Tim Flannery - This is essentially a "revolutionary dual biography of the planet and our species." It covers the history of the earth from its earliest origins to the world we currently live in. it offers answers to a long list of questions - How did life first emerge? What forces have shaped it? Why did humans come to dominate? And when didiwe start to have an impact? How has this changed use as a species? It is probably wise to have a bit of knowledge of the Gaia hypothesis before reading this as it does mention this a bit. It is a very interesting book and one that leaves you questioning why on earth we did some of the things we have and continue to do - essentially a great book for all Earth Scientists!

Climate Wars: The Fight For Survival As The World Overheats by Gwynne Dyer - "An increase of 2C in average lobal temperature - which is almost inevitable - will hear global politics to boiling point." Bringing together extensive interviews and latest research this book revela the realities of a planet facing scarce food, water and land. Can out technology save us, or is it too late? It is written in an interesting way as takes the science, makes it understandable before focusing on what excatly this means for society now and in the future. Any geographers out there, like myself, who get too carried away with the science of climate change, without consideration of what that means for people, this book is definently worth a read!!!
Storms of My Grandchildren: The truth about the coming climate change and our last chance to save humanity by James Hansen - covers global climate change, with both causes and consequences and the more contemporary role of politics, especially in the USA, in climate research - an interesting read but in places the level of science goes beyond the A-level syllabus.

Well, there are plenty more but this is probably enough to keep you busy for a while! There are also all the relevant documentaries, parts of which we have watched in lessons, like How Earth Made Us, for example, and I think quite a few of them are in the LRC. Unfortunately not many Geography related things are that happy so perhaps don't watch/read them all at the same time! I am still on the hunt for a 'happy' geography film or book! If you have any suggestions for others, or any comments on the above, let me know!

'Paradox of Plenty' - Myth or Reality???

Ever since watching the film Blood Diamond, reading some of Tim Butcher's books on various African countries and revising the impacts of colonialism on sub-Saharan African development; I have been thinking about this idea of the 'Resource Curse', also known as the 'Paradox of Plenty'. The general idea is that, in some cases, on balance, natural resource abundance is more of a hindrance than driver of development...... BUT the question is, is this a myth or can an abundance of natural resources significantly hamper development?

Attraction of colonial powers to Africa is perhaps testament to the existence of the ‘Paradox of Plenty’, whereby the abundant raw material reserves easily exploitable and profitable offered by Africa, provoked detrimental European attention, consequential impacts clearly visible in Sierra Leone and along the Gold Coast. This is not only seen in Africa but in other parts of the world too and neo-colonialism in Africa and South America is arguably a continuation of this trend. This is the idea on its very basic level and there are many complexities to it, with economic repercussions, such as economic vulnerability as perhaps countries with one abundant raw material are more likely to rely on that for trading and industry, generating a lack of economic diversity that leaves the nation vulnerable to market fluctuations.

However, as a continent, South America through preferential trading has illustrated the benefits that possessing resources can have and how, if exploited, they can help accelerate the process of development. Therefore, this indicates that if utilised appropriately it can help rather than hinder development so why is it then that having resources has so far failed to aid African development?
The re-occuring development hindrance seems to be the lack of peace and political stability throughout the continent and once peace can be achieved then perhaps development will occur. However cultural differences are so inherent in society, to a degree not previously seen that, when combined with political instability formulates a strong barrier against trade and ensuring environmentally sustainable resource exploitation can be utilised to generated economic sustainablility that can support development.

As with much of this Development and Globalisation stuff, there is no right or wrong answer, but forming opinions on it is crucial so let me know what you think! Does the Paradox of Plenty exist in reality??? And, if so, what can be done to dilute its influence?

Quick review of basics of globalisation...

Hello everyone - I hope the revision is going well!!! I thought I better crack on with some revision notes considering our mock is coming up soon!

Before I start though, and this is linked to globalisation, this is quite an interesting article regarding the future for Asia and is probably worth a read as part of your revision - Will This Be The Asian Century?
GLOBALISATION = increasing interconnectedness of the world's economics, culture and politics
    Economic globalisation = existence of TNCs/MNCs and the role they play in the global economy and development; also the existence of the WTO, tariffs and quotas etc

    Political globalisation = existence of trade blocs and groupings of nations
  
    Cultural globalisation = westernisation of other cultures and global marketing strategies

Measuring globalisation:-
We have four methods of measuring globalisation - I don't think we really covered this in much detail in clase but there is a very detailed geofile in the module booklet on it....

1. Globalisation Index
---> 72 countries ranked account for 97% of the world's GDP and 88% of the worlds population
Takes into account:
- FDI, trade, tourism data
- International phone calls
- Number if internet users and hosts
- Political engagementin international organisations

2. KOF Index of Globalisation
Takes into account:
- Actual economic flows and restrictions on trade and capital
- Number of organisations and UN peace keeping missions engaged with
- Personal contacts, information flows and cultural proximity

3. Global Internet Use
---> took 4 years for 50 million internet users to be reached
---> digital divide between countries and between urban and rural areas
---> 75% of all internet users are from MDCs, accounting for only 14% of the global population

4. Geographical Variations In Landlines
---> population size /density/wealth, TNC presence, migration, language, colonial history all influence spatial variation in landline usage

.....interestingly, as with development indicators, all these measures of globalisation yield different results!!!

Factors that have permitted Globalisation to occur.....
1. Development of Internet and Teleconnections:- ensured the spread of capital and quick communication around the globe, practically instaneously

2. Increased Mobility and Containerisation:- goods can easily and cheaply move around, just like people, resulting in transfer of cultures and knowledge also

3. Political Stability and Improved Foreign Relations:- trade agreements and formation of groupings

Patterns of Production, Distribution and Consumption

Production = shift from MDCs to LDCs, provoking de-industralisation in MDCs and industralisation in LDCs
e.g British Steel employed 150,000 which fell to only 35,000 in 2000
TNCs move abroad primarily due to cheap labour costs, and due to colonalism, ability to speak English in large work forces. Also they offer raw materials with minimal environmental legislation. However some re-industralisation of MDCs has occured as they require expertised and being within a group means they avoid tariffs. Although due to globalisation, contemporary production is a truly global affair!

Distribution = all about containerisation!!! This reduced transport costs so much it is possible to have truly global products
e.g Wimbledon tennis ball is now produced in the Philippines to reduce transport costs
Containerisation is the development of standardised containers which occured in the 1960s, with ships limited by the Malcca Max, and was intrinsic to globalisation.
- 90% non-bulk cargo moved by containers, with 26% from China

Consumption = higher in MDCs as have disposable incomes but fastest rates of growth are in NICs
Richest fifth consume:-
- 45% of all meat and fish
- 58% of total energy
- 74% of all telephone lines
- 84% of all paper
- 87% of vehicle fleet

Development and Globalisation Disussion

Those of you that joined in the discussion last week seemed to enjoy it and I hope you learnt something from it! I must say though I wasn't expecting it to go on for as long as it did! Consequently, I am going to host another one, this Thursday, going live at 7:30pm again and hopefully we can finish off the last bit of development (just aid left I think) and then go through globalisation.

Join in if your around and you can leave questions and discussion points on here in advance!!!

Aid - Is it working? To what extent is it helping LDCs develop?

Hello - I hope everyone's revision is going well, it is hard work isnt it!!! I have had a few requests for this topic, and am going to link in African debt, so here goes.....

Aid is a rather controversial subject as is whether we should cancel LDCs debt...... How effective is the aid we give? Is it actually helping improve peoples quality of life? How dangerous is reliance upon aid? When should we stop giving aid to countries i.e India? Is trade better than aid? Should debts of LDCs be cancelled?
First up though, a few key definitions:
BILATERAL AID = aid that is directly given to the government of one country from another
MULTILATERAL AID = aid that is given by governments to international organsiations which use the money to assist programs in other pooer countries
NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATIONS (NGOs) = distribute aid in a variety of ways. Many are charities which raise money for development projects, ensuring aid is directed to the people who truly need it
SHORT TERM AID = given in response to a sudden problem within a country - usually a natural disaster
LONG TERM DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS = where help, advice and investment is given on such things like agriculture, energy supplies, infrastructure, education and medical supplies
TOP DOWN AID = where a responsible body, internally or externally, directs the operations 'from the top'
BOTTOM UP SCHEMES/GRASSROOTS INITIATIVES = often funded by NGOs, working closely with local communites and using their ideas and knowledge to bring about more change (more sustainable???)
TRADE = the act or process of buying, selling, or exchanging commodities, at either wholesale or retail, within a country or between countries.
HIPC = Heavily Indebted Poor Countries

Origins of African Debt
- For somer countries, like Ghana, debt began with ambitious development projects in the 1960s following independence and the formation of dictatorships which were a result of vast power vacuums generated
- By the 1970s most independent sub-Saharan countries were seriously in debt
- Oil crisis of 1970s dramatically increased the price of imports
- Worldwide recession decreased the willingness of the USA and former colonial powers to distribute aid in grants
- Consequently, between 1970-1976 Africa's public debt quadrupled
- Debt servicing began to take a substantial portion of GDP
- Demands of debt and structural adjustment often rendered governments less able to supply the needs of their people and less able to claim grassroots legitmacy
- Debt seen as attached to a country, not a government - therefore is transferred even when government is deemed illegitimate

Aid - NOTE: not all aid given is in the form of money!
- Since the 1970s, general trend has been a decrease in aid to Africa (halfed by 1990)
- A large proportion of what is counted as aid by donor countries is known as 'phantom' aid - e.g same 50% of all technical assistance is said to be wasted due to inappropriate usage on expensive consultants, their living expenses and training
- Aid frequently carries restrictions with regards to its use

- Most donor countries use aid as part of a broader forgein policy focused on 'national interests'
- USA has directed aid to regions which pose national security threats whereas Sweden has targetted 'progressive societies' and France to preserve and spread its language and culture
- However, as of 2000, over 2/3 of American aid was tied

Recent Improvements......
- A shift towards more grassroots projects following the successes of NGOs in small scale poverty alleviation
- Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands and the UK have untied their aid from trade agreements
BUT aid has been reduced - Value of OECD aid drops for first time in 15 years, and in the UK where the government announced last year that we were reducing our aid contributions to 0.7% of GNI - Was this a good move?
Whilst on the topic of aid given from the UK, we still give aid to India, despite the fact their economic growth is greater than ours and the country themselves say that they do not need money but that other forms of aid would be more appropriate, this short video clip is worth watching - Do you think we should still be given aid to India?



Trade vs Aid
Whilst in theory, aid sounds like a great idea, in reality this has not been the case and trade is arguably a more sustainable alternative, capable of provoking cumulative causation within a country and accelerating development. Trade is more predictable and a safer option, with aid dictated my economic climate of other countries and aid dependency a dangerous occupation. However, some countries do not have the ability to trade (especially worn torn sub-Saharan nations) or do not have desirable raw materials and for long term development this is problematic as aid often only offers a short term solution.

This area of the module is very debatable, I may try and start of focusing on this area in the next live discussion. The only way to form opinions on it is to read about it; but when you have let me know what you think.....

Reasons for low levels of development in sub-Saharan Africa - Is colonialism really to blame???

The capturing of the Moroccan town of Ceuta in 1415, by the Portuguese, marked the beginning of European colonialism in Africa; a movement with the sole purpose of constructing and conserving colonies in one territory by people from another, reaching its peak between 1880 and 1914, a period infamously known as the ‘scramble for Africa’. The main European colonial powers (UK, Belgium, France, Italy, Portugal and Spain) were attracted to this continent by its abundance of industrially valuable raw materials and the opportunity to exploit them. Despite independence granted to most sub-Saharan countries in the 1950s and 1960s, the vast majority remain LDCs with prevalent social, political, environmental, economic and demographic issues on a multitude of levels. Many feel that development, which is the process of social and economic advancements which leads to improvements in people’s quality of life and general wellbeing, in sub-Saharan Africa has been greatly hindered by colonialism, thus leaving European colonial powers to blame for low levels of development reflected by projections that at least 23 sub-Saharan nations will fail to reach the Millennium Development Goal 4 by 2040. Although at first, it may seem easy to completely lay blame with European colonial powers, other contributory factors are also responsible for the current situation in sub-Saharan Africa.

The ‘scramble for Africa’ saw 1/5 of the globe added to European overseas territories whilst the 1884 Berlin Conference witnessed the superimposition of colonial powers domains on Africa, condensing a previous 10,000 territories into 57. Fragmentation occurred without consideration of psychological or societal divisions and consequently has seen the continent torn apart by civil war, such as the 1994 Rwandan genocide which claimed 800,000 lives. Societal resonance of the ‘scramble for Africa’ has provoked civil conflict, such as the unresolved Darfur Crisis, therefore colonialism can be blamed in part for the low development levels in these countries with both considered one of the 33 classified as LDCs by the UN. The introduction of religion to African society was a secondary impact of colonialism and whilst not aiding unification of these greatly divided countries thus generating social tensions which heighten the probability of civil conflict, their greatest hindrance has been with regards to disease treatment. Religions such as Catholicism do not recognize or accept the use of contraception, making controlling the spread of HIV/AIDS incredibly challenging, with 68% of people with this disease living in Africa. This is proving to be a huge problem in Botswana where 38% of its population are infected and 1/3 of its working force. Appending demographic issues have been developmentally detrimental, with 10 million AIDS orphans in Africa alone and the wider demographic implications of religions introduction to Africa evident within Uganda’s youthful population; a factor that can be linked back to colonialism which has without a doubt de-accelerated African development. Disease, in general, is a huge social problem in Africa, greatly hindering development and whilst some diseases, such as malaria, are a result of Africa’s climate, the impacts that they have on society and thus development have been accentuated by the colonial legacy as in war torn nations aid is increasingly difficult to deliver to those in need, as currently seen in the Horn of Africa, whilst in countries such as DR Congo which has seen 111,971km of road disintegrate into 1000km following independence, the lack of infrastructure hampers aid distribution.

Civil conflict clearly has economic, social, demographic and environmental implications on a multitude of levels with its roots often lying within the political colonial legacy. Upon authorization of independence, power vacuums capable of overthrowing embryonic democracies fabricated by colonial powers led to the formation of dictatorships, with only 9% of sub-Saharan countries classified as democratic. Whilst democracy has often permitted development Botswana, who gained independence in 1966 and have sustained arguably the most stable democratic political system in Africa, have failed to rank significantly higher on development indicators, thus suggesting the dominating development hindrance lies elsewhere. Dictatorships have hindered the formation of stable and sustainable trade partnerships, thus limited export potential, thereby greatly restricting economic growth and therefore development. Inherent cultural differences, which have not be seen to such a degree elsewhere, are the complicating factor preventing not only peace but also preferential trade which permitted 8% growth for the past 5 years in South America and is possibly the best path for Africa to follow. Whilst the occurrence of civil wars cannot solely be blamed on colonialism, its legacy generated favourable conditions for conflict, making it a reoccurring issue continually hampering development.

Attraction of colonial powers to Africa is perhaps testament to the existence of the ‘Paradox of Plenty’, whereby the abundant raw material reserves easily exploitable and profitable offered by Africa, provoked detrimental European attention, consequential impacts clearly visible in Sierra Leone and along the Gold Coast. Unsustainable mining practices have resulted in environmental degradation, accelerated expansion of the Sahara as a consequence of desertification and wide spread deforestation four times the global average, where it would take 260 years for reforms on par with Amazonian ones to be achieved. Political instability and corruption have escalated this as lack of recognised land ownership (only 2% of African forest is under community control), environmental laws and enforcement have enabled the oil industry, for example, in Nigeria to provoke large-scale environmental degradation, impeding development by exploiting the local people and destroying regularity in food sources. Presence of Lake Nyos and Nyiragongo continually pose a threat to countries whilst natural disasters have wiped out all withstanding development, such as the 2002 lava lake burst which consumed 15% of Goma, leaving 120,000 homeless. Constant threat, such as this, further restricts attractive powers of a country to TNCs, whose presence provokes cumulative causation, thereby accelerating development. 50 droughts over the past 50 years and the Horn of Africa currently experiencing the worst famine in 60 years, demonstrates how climate prevails to dictate development, with it linked to multiple influential factors. A recent study links 1/5 of conflicts since 1950 to climate, with a 6% increase in risk of conflict during an El Nino, with every year fighting has broken out in Sudan coinciding with the commencing of El Nino. Although climatic forcing cannot be solely blamed for conflict it is a contributory factor, with the extensive nature of the impacts that climate has allowing it to dominate with regards to determining development; a dominance overpowering colonialism apparent by equally low development in Ethiopia and Liberia, the two un-colonised countries. Africa is an uninhabitable land with climatic extremes occurring with detrimental frequency and unnerving unpredictability whilst absence of regularity in food, water and energy supplies make it practically impossible to settle in an area and kick start development. Restrictions on agricultural productivity, imposed by climate, are most destructive to sub-Saharan development as both the Demographic Transition Model and Rostow Model of Development (although both arguably out-dated and Eurocentric) indicate increased agricultural productivity is intrinsic to initiating development. Although not directly linked to colonialism, it can be argued that political fragmentation has reduced people’s ability, especially the nomadic tribes such as the Rendille, to adapt and deal with Africa’s naturally variable climate. Consequently, subsistence farming persists and without large-scale farming, accompanied by appropriate mechanization, progress will continually be restricted, unless they are able to establish a contemporary route to development. Global climate change threatens to accentuate already large-scale problematic effects of climate on Africa’s development, with as much as a 6C temperature increase, 15-95cm sea-level rise, drastic precipitation reduction and increase in magnitude and frequency of extreme weather events predicted, partially as a result of anthropogenic forcing from industrialised countries; the persistence of climate’s hindrance upon development making it detrimental to a degree beyond colonialism’s comparative contemporary extent.

Economic progression is intrinsic to development, thus by delaying and prevailing to restrict economic growth via siphoning of resource wealth continued by post-independence trade agreements, colonialism has hindered development. 29 of the 40 HIPCs are sub-Saharan with large debts, originating from ambitious development projects initiated by corrupt leaders following independence, rendering governments incapable of investing in health care and education – essential areas with both capable of diluting demographic constraints and provoking the ‘Girl Effect’. As seen by the 1970s oil crisis, increasing globalisation is amplifying Africa’s vulnerability to market fluctuations, initially generated by economic centralisation during colonialism. Attraction for TNCs is limited, due to the afore-mentioned, consequently casting doubts over whether Africa could be the next recipient of the global shift, making it difficult to reduce economic vulnerability currently preventing substantial progression. In some cases aid has been anti-developmental, with tied aid prompting recipients to spend funds inappropriately, such as the Pergau Dam, whilst 60% is considered ‘phantom’. European countries have since ‘untied’ their aid but 2/3 of American aid is still tied, with most recipients those posing national security threats. Imbalance and inconsistencies are hazardous with dependent countries suffering from aid reductions since the 1970s (50% reduction in 1990) and the export side of economies, arguably the most vulnerable, benefitting the greatest, meaning aid fails to directly address people’s quality of life.

Demographically, the impacts of the slave trade were substantially greater than the number actually enslaved (7-12 million) as the targeting of young men hampered agricultural progression, with social and political instability additional consequences. Clearly, the slave trade contemporarily hindered development, with the argument that it made way for colonialism, but in comparison to the colonial legacy and climate, its influence on modern day development levels is minimal, with similarly adverse bites in population pyramids repercussions of civil conflict and ethnic cleansing, as seen with the Rwandan genocide which claimed the lives of 20% of its population. Population growth, rapidly accelerating across Africa, is the greatest demographic constraint and, again, whilst not directly linked to colonialism, introduction of European lifestyles, principally religion, has only increased growth rate which is expected to exceed Asia’s over coming decades.

European colonialism has detrimentally hindered sub-Saharan development, leaving the political map of Africa a permanent liability resulting from the insatiable hunger of colonial powers for raw materials, thus constitutes a reason to lay some blame with Europe for current low levels of sub-Saharan development. Other factors, such as disease prevalence, environmental degradation, corruption, conflict, issues with aid and global market fluctuations have drastically slowed development and, in extreme cases, halted it all together for a period of time. Whilst many of these contributory factors can be linked to colonialism, thus increasing its influence on development, the impacts are likely to only have short-term affects, compared to those of climate, and with international guidance, investment and support along with appropriate technology, stimulating the economic growth required to accelerate the development so long anticipated in Africa is possible. Therefore, it is large-scale natural events such as failed monsoons, floods, droughts, significant natural disasters, sea level rise and global climate change that have played the most dominant role in dictating African development and continue to do so. Unfortunately, these climatic limitations are not evenly distributed around the globe and are likely to increase in severity and magnitude in the future; being concentrated in the areas lacking in the levels of development which enable countries to adapt and mitigate the impacts of natural variability and extremes. So intricately linked are factors affecting development that they formulated a lethal combination which presents on-going challenges to the resolution of Africa’s development issue; absence of peace, due to inherent cultural differences on a level not previously observed, and Africa’s unique environment, continually plagued by variability and extremes, are the greatest complicating obstacles preventing development. Whilst we cannot attempt to fully understand issues facing African development, perhaps combining knowledge acquired from European colonialism, a movement although unsustainable and exploitative saw some advancements, with our understanding of the process of development elsewhere and greater African independence, collectively a solution to their problems could be conceived; allowing sub-Saharan nations to arguably gain from colonialism for the first time.

Development Discussion

Hello everyone! Right, I am about to try something different, so you will have to bare with me...... after Millie suggested in our last lesson before half term that revising in groups is the best way to do it, I have had numerous questions to do so. Therefore, I thought, why not do them online so, after some consultation with fellow students I have decide to try and run live discussions like Millie does. The idea is that we can discuss things, ask each other questions, share resources and revise together online and it is just easier to host it through my blog. Hopefully, they will prove beneifcal to everyone involved and become a regular thing.

So, the first one is scheduled for this Thursday (05/04/2012) at 19:30. If you are around join in, and spread the word to all other geographers. First topic for discussion is development and globalisation - I have a few discussion starting points in mind, but think of some questions to ask etc and I will see you there......

Development revision - the basics

Hello everyone - this is the first, of many to come, revision posts over the next few weeks, so enjoy!
Development Mindmap
Development Continuum
The development continuum is the contemporary way of viewing development; percieving it as a contiual process and recognising that it can occur in a number of different ways, not necessarily in the way the UK did, as outlined by the Rostow Model of Development. Ranking countries using HDI, a composite indicator, essentially the development continuum is a sliding scale from most to least developed with lots of intermediates such as RICs and NICs; meaning it illustrates the complexities that the Brandt Line fails to display. Therefore it also indicates the importance of the changing roles of countries such as the Asian Tigers, orginally LDCs who attracted TNCs and consequential cumulative causation accelerated development. Now they are mature NICs and their role in the global economy has changed and will change again as they continue to develop and the global shift moves. This idea has replaced older classification (like first, second, third world and MEDC/LEDC) as the use of LEDC and MEDC as discrete groups implied that all countries within that group are of the same development level, which is not the case, and subsequently the development continuum is more reflective of reality.

Gross National Product (GNP) = total value of goods and services for a country's companies at home and abroad
Gross National Income (GNI) = GDP plus or minus the interest and repayments on debt
Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) = measure of the value of the local currency
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) = total value of goods and services within a country (including foreign companies)
Issues with using GDP as a measure of development:
- Inequalities = in many LDCs wealth remains with a few and does not filter down through population
- Informal employment = in LDCs many work in informal employment, such as street vending, so money is exchaged without record
- Subsistence lifestyles = many farmers lead a subsistence lifestyle, so it is impossible to accurately measure income and population

Composite indicators vs Single Indicators
Development is the process of social and economic advancements that leads to improvements in peoples quality of life and general wellbeing, as such when trying to measure it, it is important to not only consider the economic indicators. This realisation, was one of the main driving forces behind moving away from first, second, third world classification and the Brandt Line, to the development continuum. HDI, for example, takes into account GDP using PPP, life expectancy at birth and educational attainment, thus considers several aspects of development. Therefore just because a country is rich, i.e Qatar which has a really high GDP, does not mean it scores highly on HDI, and vice versa as seen with Kerala which has a low GDP but would rank high on HDI. However, there is clearly often a positive correlation between GDP and HDI as countries with a high HDI can distribute funds to health care and education, subsequently raising life expectancy and educational attainment. Despite this, composite indicators make global comparisions a lot easier but some composites, like HPI, are subjective, meaning that it is a less accurate measure of development than solely using GDP. There are some advantages of using single indicators as they do not shroud individual measures and so, with regards to pinpointing what social and economic improvements are required for a country to develop, should also be taken into consideration when determining level of development.

Rostow Model of Development


Produced in 1960, this model can be used as a rough guide to development and, in conjunction with the Demographic Transition Model can be used to formulate population policies. Transitions between both models are very similar, illustrating the intrinsic link between population and development. Rostow suggeseted that all countries could break the viscious cycle of poverty and develop between this 5 stages. However, it is very eurocentric and underestimates the role of colonialism in early development of the 15 countries it is based on.

All those 'lovely' development acronyms............

Okay, so I realise that my blogging record since we started back in September has been appalling but I am going to try and sort that out so that I start writing regular and (hopefully!) useful blog posts again. My plan for the next few weeks is to write all the book reviews of the books I have been reading over the last half term, write a couple posts on current issues/discursive topics relevant to the Development and Globalisation module we have just finished, write a summary sort of revision post on everything we have covered so far (with special emphasise on the areas that people have asked me to write posts on) and then make a start on our exciting new module - Plate Tectonics and Associated Hazards! So where to start? Well, after my classes appalling performance in the quiz on Monday, I thought a post on all the development acronyms was desperately required. There are quite a few to remember so let me know if I miss any off this list!

Classification of Countries
LDC = Less Developed Country
e.g Sierra Leone, Haiti, Myanmar
- 33 out of the 50 LDC's are sub-Saharan
- highest HDI ranking of LDC is Gabon at 119th and then South Africa at 121st (out of 197)
What makes an LDC?
1. Income below $750 per capita per year
2. Weak human resources
     - Health
     - Education
     - Nutrition and calorie uptake
3. Economic vulnerability
     - Instability of exports
     - Instability of agricultural production

MDC = More Developed Country
e.g USA, UK, Norway

NIC = Newly Industralised Country (more than last 40 years)
e.g South Korea, Hong Kong

RIC = Recently Industralised Country (last 40 years)
e.g Brazil, Russia

ORC = Oil-Rich Countries
e.g Qatar, Saudi Arabia

LLDC = Land-Locked Less Developed Country
e.g Central African Republic, Bhutan, Moldova, Bolivia
SIDS = Small Island Developing States
e.g Vanuata, Dominican Republic, Seychelles
HIPC = Heavily Indebted Poor Countries
e.g Rwanda, Ghana, Afghanistan
- 29 out of the 40 HIPC's in the world are sub-Saharan

Development Indicators
HDI = Human Development Index
= Compoisite indicator first used by the UN in 1990 to replace the sole use of GDP
Takes into account:-
   - GNI PPP per capita
   - Years of schooling
   - Life expectancy at birth
End figure is between 0 and 1, with proximity to 1 indicating development of a country
e.g 1st = Norway 0.943, 28th = UK 0.863, 84th = Brazil 0.718, 101st = China 0.687, 134th = India 0.547, 187th = DR Congo 0.286 - it is worth checking out an updated list as this years results were released by the UN last week

HPI = Happy Planet Index
- Introduced by the New Economics Foundation (NEF) in 2006
- Doesn't indicate which is the happiest country in the world but the relative ecological efficiency with which human well-being is delivered around the world
- First index to combine environmental efficiency with human well-being
- However it is based mainly on opinions not facts and so is subjective
e.g 1st = Costa Rica, 2nd = Dominican Republic, 3rd = Jamaica, 20th = China, 74th = UK

PQLI = Physical Quality of Life Index
- Developed in the 1970s due to dissatisifaction with the use of GDP
Takes into account:-
   - Literacy Rates
   - Infant Mortality
   - Life expectancy at age 1
- Criticised as there is considerable overlap between IMR and LE

GDP = Gross Domestic Product
= the total calue of goods and services within a country (including foreign companies)
What are the issues with using GDp per capita as a measure of development?
1. Inequalities: - In many LDCs the wealth remains with a few people with control over the government and industry so does not filter down through the population
2. Informal Employment : - In LDCs many people work in the informal business sector, such as street vending, and so money is exchanged without record and, therefore, does not appear during GDP calculations
3. Subsistence Lifestyles: - Many farmers lead a subsistence lifestyle and so it is impossible to accurately measure income and population

GNP = Gross National Product
= the total value of goods and services for a country's companies at home and abroad

GNI = Gross National Income
= GDP plus or minus the interest and repayments on debt

PPP = Purchasing Power Parity
= essentially a measure of the value of the local currency (basically how much can be brought in a country with a set amount of money)

International Groupings
EU = European Union
- 1957 Treaty of Rome created the European Economic Community (EEC) which had 6 members (France, Italy, West Germany, Belgium, Netherlands and Luxemburg). Slowly more and more countries have joined and there are now 27

AU = African Union
- Founded in 2002 to succeed the Organisation of African Unity (OAU)
- Includes all African nations apart from Morocco who left the OAU in 1984 and Madagascar who were suspended in 2009
Aims to: -
   - Accelerate political and socio-economic integration of the continet
   - Promote democracy and human rights
   - Achieve continental peace
   - Promote and defend Africa's voice in world affairs

NAFTA = North American Free Trade Agreement
- Founded in 1994 to create a free trade zone, encourage investment in each other and promote competition
- Grouping consists of USA, Canada and Mexico

NATO = North Atlantic Treaty Organisation
- Founded in 1949, with 28 members, and is classed as an intergovernmental military alliance
- Accounts for 70% of the world's defence spending

OPEC = Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries
- Founded in 1961 and consists of 12 countries all of which are net exporters of oil. They are responsible for setting the global oil prices

OECD = Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development
- Founded in 1961 to replace the Organisation of European Economic Cooperation (OEEC) which was founded in 1948
- Includes 34 countries and aims to stimulate economic progress and world trade

AOSIS = Alliance of Small Islands States
- Established in 1990 with 42 countries to consolidate the voices of SIDS to address global climate change

UN = United Nations
- Founded in 1945 and has 193 members
- Aims to promote and provide international law and security, economic development, social progression, human rights and world peace

APEC = Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
- 21 members bordering the Pacific Ocean all pledging free trade

G-8 = Group of 8
- Group of the worlds major economies. Founded in 1975 with France, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK and USA. Russia was then added to make it the G-8 in 1997.

G-20 = Group of 20
- The G20 was established in 1999, in the wake of the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, to bring together major advanced and emerging economies to stabilize the global financial market.


G-77 = Group of 77
- Currently 130 members who are all LDCs, constituting the largest intergovernmental organisation of developing states in the UN, providing LDCs with a greater voice. China has always been an very close ally of this group but is not an offical member.

BRIC = Brazil, Russia, India, China / BRICM = BRIC + Mexico
- The world's emerging markets
- Why do the BRIC's matter?

All the others which I can't think of a catergory for

MDG = Millenium Development Goal

- Eight development goals that 23 internation organisations and all 193 UN members agreed to aim to achieve by 2015

TNC = Transnational Coporations  MNC = Multinational Coporations
- Corporation that has production establishments or delivers services in at least two countries. Some TNCs have grown so large that they have budgets that exceed those of many countries in which they operate

FDI = Foreign Direct Investment

CPC = Communist Party of China

SEZ = Special Economic Zone
e.g Many set up in China, for example, like Bejing to act as growth poles and all development to spread

SAR = Special Adminstrive Regions
e.g Hong Kong

GATT = General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
- Formed in 1947 during the UN Conference on Trade and Employment but only lasted until 1994 when it was replaced by WTO

WTO = World Trade Organisation
- Replaced GATT and aims to gradually lower barriers to international trade. Liberalising organisation created by capitalist economies

IMF = International Monetary Fund
- Founded in 1945 with 29 members but has since grown to 187
- Promotes international economic cooperation

DfID = Department for International Development
- UK government department that seperated from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1997
- Aims to promote sustainable development and eridicate world poverty

NEF = New Economics Foundation

UNESCO = United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation

ERDF = European Regional Development Fund
- Aims to strengthen economic and social cohesion in the EU by correcting imbalances between its regions

ISO = International Organisation for Standardization
- Ensures the standardization of containerization across the globe

NGO = Non-Governmental Organisation

I don't think I really appreciated just how many there were until I started writing them down! Hope this helps - let me know if I missed any of the list....