Human Geography for AS & A level students

DISCOVER GEOGRAPHY
Human Geography
Number of participants: 15-30
Time: 10am-2pm, 23 January, 30 January, 12 June

This day contains two activities one of which concerns sustainable development in a developing country and the other utilises GIS technology to identify potential flooding that may impinge on properties and businesses.

The sustainable development of wetlands in Ethiopia: whose knowledge counts?

In this session we will be highlighting how Geography, as an interdisciplinary subject, is ideally placed to help us address the challenges of sustainable development in the developing world. In particular, we will be discussing the case of Western Ethiopia where wetlands are being developed for agriculture by local people, but where conservationists also fear the widespread destruction of wetland ecosystems. Can local people be trusted to manage wetlands in a sustainable manner? Without giving too much of the punch line away… this is an interactive lecture in which students are introduced to the tensions between environment and development in the developing world. In developing win-win outcomes for both, planners and projects have increasingly turned towards local people and their ‘indigenous’ knowledge for answers. Within this session, students are invited to undertake an activity to assess their own indigenous knowledge and reflect on the strengths and weaknesses of involving local people in planning and development decision-making.

Geographical Information systems: Using GIS and on-line resources to map extreme flood events within the City of Worcester.

In this session we would look at the availability of on-line flood resources and consider their accuracy when mapping flood risk. We will then use Geographical Information Systems to identify properties and businesses who may be at risk during an extreme flood event. In addition the session will look at the use of GIS in creating maps of potential geological hazards. The session will look at the availability of real-time earthquake data and how these are used to predict areas where potential problems may arise.