Fragile lands: coastal and arid environments KGA171 The Global Geography of Change Presented by Associate Professor Elaine Stratford Semester 1

Vulnerability L vulnerare – to wound; capable of being wounded; open to attack or damage; assailable Geographical imagination Exposure to the inevitability of the work of the elements John Constable, The Chain Pier, Brighton,

LOOKING BACK, LOOKING FORWARD Part 1

Revising Lecture Name, describe and explain some of the effects on the landscape of three phases of water. 2.Similarly, name and describe three sources of water. Which of these three is often considered the most important and why? 3.Of the total global water potentially available, how is it distributed among different parts of the cycle and how much of it is actually accessible for human use? What does that suggest in terms of management imperatives? 4.What is a glacial lake outburst flood and why are such floods likely to increase in the future and to what effects in situ and downstream? 5.Liquid water is key to landscape formation. How? 6.Debate the merits of the proposition that dams are a necessary evil. 7.What is a case study and what are some of its characteristics and strengths? 8.Trace the flow of the Mekong through several nations and explain to someone else the effects that modernization programs may have on the peoples and environments of those nations. A Woman Thinking

Learning Objectives Module 6 Lecture 3 be able to –describe and explain various processes that shape coastal and arid landscapes –comprehend and convey how these processes shape and influence other phenomena, including human actions –summarize select management responses to challenges such as coastline erosion and desertification KGA171 demonstrate knowledge of geographical concepts, earth and social systems and spatial patterns of change create and interpret basic maps, graphs and field data identify and analyse different viewpoints to contribute to debates about global development communicate in reflective and academic writing, referencing literature when needed

Textbook Reading AdgerAdger, W. Neil, Terry P. Hughes, Carl Folke, Stephen R. Carpenter and Johan Rockström (2005) Social-ecological resilience to coastal disasters, Science 309 (12 August), pp VerstraeteVerstraete, M. M., A. B. Brink, R. J. Scholes, M. Beniston and M. Stafford Smith (2008) Climate change and desertification: Where do we stand, where should we go? Global and Planetary Change 64(3-4), pp Critical reading 1. What is the author’s purpose? 2. What key questions or problems does the author raise? 3. What information, data and evidence does the author present? 4. What key concepts does the author use to organize this information, this evidence? 5. What key conclusions is the author coming to? Are those conclusions justified? 6. What are the author’s primary assumptions? 7. What viewpoints is the author writing from? 8. What are the implications of the author’s reasoning? [from Foundation for Critical Thinking]Foundation for Critical Thinking Old Woman Reading a Lectionary, Gerard Dou

COASTS Part 2

Swakopmund, Namibia

Waves are key forces on coasts

Erosion, sediment transport and deposition

Longshore drift

Climate change issues 1.Sea level rise Bruun’s rule of shoreline retreat (1954); see also Cooper and Pilkey (2004)Cooper and Pilkey

Coastal dune protection

Revisiting the human ecosystem Critical resources Natural Energy Land & water Flora & fauna Materials & Nutrients Socio-economic Information Population Labour &Capital Cultural Organization Beliefs Myth Social cycles Physiological Individual Institutional Environmental Social order Identity Social norms Hierarchy Age Informal Wealth Gender Formal Power Class Status Caste Knowledge Clan Territory Social institutions Health Justice Faith Commerce Education Leisure Government Sustenance Social system

Management challenges PROGRAMME AREAS A. Integrated management and sustainable development of coastal and marine areas, including exclusive economic zones Basis for action The coastal area contains diverse and productive habitats important for human settlements, development and local subsistence. More than half the world's population lives within 60 km of the shoreline, and this could rise to three quarters by the year Many of the world's poor are crowded in coastal areas. Coastal resources are vital for many local communities and indigenous people. The exclusive economic zone (EEZ) is also an important marine area where the States manage the development and conservation of natural resources for the benefit of their people. For small island States or countries, these are the areas most available for development activities Despite national, subregional, regional and global efforts, current approaches to the management of marine and coastal resources have not always proved capable of achieving sustainable development, and coastal resources and the coastal environment are being rapidly degraded and eroded in many parts of the world [Agenda 21, Chapter 17]Chapter 17

From one fragile ‘scape … to another

DESERTS Part 3

What is a desert? Antal Ligeti, Oasis in the Desert (1862)

Major deserts

Deserts, currents and climates

Hadley, Ferrel and Polar Cells

Water and deserts

Aeolian forces

Erosion, sediment transport and deposition by the wind [Marshak, S. (2001) Earth. Portrait of a Planet. Norton, NY]

DESERTIFICATION Part 4

World Day to Combat Desertification

Desertification Desertification – Coping with Today’s Global Challenges in the Context of the Strategy of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification: High-Level Policy Dialogue, Bonn, May 27, 2008