Transcript Biodiversity and the SIDS - School

Biodiversity and the SIDS
Synoptic Module
What are the
SIDS like?
1) Describe their
location
2) Summarise figure 4
• What does it tell
you?
• What are the trends?
• What are the
anomalies?
• Can you explain any
of these?
Island Biogeography
1200 islands
200 inhabited
height and shape ……
Water – Surrounded by water but freshwater is
scarce
Pre-Release - “The island gets plenty of rain, which helps to carry
the fertilisers and chemicals off the sugar cane fields and into the
streams… Many of Suva’s rivers are contaminated with sewage
which also finds its way to the sea”
Biodiversity
Dugong
Similar to manatees or sea cows dugongs are vulnerable to
extinction and can be found in the South Pacific, Indian Ocean
and South China Sea.
Biodiversity
Zooxanthellae (microscopic algae) live in the tissue of many corals in a symbiotic relationship.
Coral bleaching occurs when the coral host expels its zooxanthellae. Without the zooxanthellae, the tissue of the coral
animal appears transparent and the coral’s bright white skeleton is revealed. Corals begin to starve once they bleach.
While some corals are able to feed themselves, most corals struggle to survive without their zooxanthellae. If conditions
return to normal, corals can regain their zooxanthellae, return to normal colour and survive. This stress, however, is likely
to cause decreased coral growth and reproduction, and increased susceptibility to disease.
Bleached corals often die if the stress persists. Coral reefs suffering severe mortality following bleaching can take many
years or decades to recover.
The primary cause of coral bleaching is high water temperature. Temperature increases of only 1.5–2°C lasting for six to
eight weeks are enough to trigger bleaching.
Uses of
Biodiversity
Fisheries
Tradition
&
culture
Aesthetics
ENVIRONMENT
(REEFS)
Physical
protection
& survival
Tourism
Global Changes to the
Environment in the
SIDS
Physical environmental
changes
- Global warming
- Climate change
- O3 depletion
- Sea level rise
Economic environmental changes
- Globalisation
- Economic restructuring
- WTO
- Economic status
Some other Threats
to the SIDS
Sharks in Palau
Environmental Determinism
Palau jellyfish tourism
•2 distinct periods of jellyfish ‘die-off’:
•Firstly, El Nino in 1998 causes rapid rise in lake temperatures –
many jellyfish could not spawn
•Secondly, an invasive species, an anemone has entered the lake
and is predating the jellyfish – introduced by tourists?
More General
Threats to the SIDS
Using the pre-release,
complete the table:
Environmental Threats
Economic Threats
Social Threats
Global
Global
Global
Local
Local
Local
Example question: Summarise
the threats to biodiversity in
the Pacific SIDS (12 Marks)
Humans in the
SIDS
Of the 15 LDCs in Asia, how many are SIDS?
Humans in the
SIDS
• Analyse figure 2 – write three observations
about the table
• Complete main threats to the SIDS table
• Explain how the issues shown in your table
affect the different types of species shown in
figure 4.
Climate Change
and the SIDS
Climate change challenges in the Pacific SIDS:
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Extreme weather
Erosion
Water
Drought
Health
Food shortages
Biodiversity
Use page 5 figure 6 to find out more. Rank these in order of
importance
Climate Change
The changes brought about by sea level rise and
el Nino will create environmental refugees:
"Environmental migrants are persons or groups of persons who, for reasons of sudden
or progressive changes in the environment that adversely affect their lives or living
conditions, are obliged to have to leave their habitual homes, or choose to do so,
either temporarily or permanently, and who move either within their territory or
abroad.“ (International Organization for Migration)
The Sinking of Tuvalu
Kiribati Climate Refugees
El Nino and the
SIDs
• El Nino is a natural phenomenon.
• It is occurring with increased frequency and
intensity (now every 2-3 years).
El Nino and
Climate Change
• In a 1998 report, scientists from NOAA (National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) explained
that higher global temperatures might be increasing
evaporation from land and adding moisture to the air,
thus intensifying the storms and floods associated with
El Niño
• Some scientists believe that El Nino may be functioning
like a pressure release valve for the tropics. With global
warming driving temperatures higher, ocean currents
and weather systems might not be able to release all the
extra heat getting pumped into the tropical seas; as such
an El Niño occurs to help expel the excess heat.
Globalisation and
Sugar
EU heavily protectionist over sugar:
“the World Bank estimates that 80% of the worlds sugar production is traded at
subsidised or protected prices.”
HOWEVER for 50 years there has been a sugar trading
agreement made between the EU and the ACP
countries (which includes the SIDS)
The WTO pursues free trade and forced the EU-ACP trade
agreement to reform
EPA (economic partnership agreements)rose from the
ashes of the EU-ACP trade agreements
Globalisation and
Tourism
Shrinking world – jet travel allows increased
movement of people and tourists
Concept maps
Complete three concept maps with these at the
centre:
Social impacts of
changes in the SIDS
Environmental
impacts of changes
in the SIDS
Economic impacts
of changes in the
SIDS
It may help you to consider some of the main
themes: biodiversity loss, globalisation,
climate change, water shortages
Key Words for the Future
A question about sustainable futures is likely. Key
words to use:
Carrying capacity
Sustainable Yield
Global Interdependence
Research the 5 initiatives and find similar successful
examples (they don’t have to be in the SIDS)
The spiral of decline
of unsustainable
yield
Fragile Paradise?
Fragile Paradise 1
Fragile Paradise 2 (coral gardening and tuna
fishing)
Fragile Paradise 3 (long-line fishing threats to
albatross and sharks)
Fragile Paradise 4 (Tuna, Greenpeace and
Marine Reserves)