Is there more to development than wealth?

What is the definition of wealth?

Wealth (or ECONOMIC WELL-BEING) is purely based on money but does not include other things that are important to our happiness or QUALITY OF LIFE. What factors are important in our lives?

Task 1Make a copy of the diagram.

Task 2IN YOUR OPINION…

Which are the 3 most important aspects of the quality of life?

Give reasons to explain your choices – to develop your work further explain WHY your chosen 3 are MORE IMPORTANT than the others by explaining why you REJECTED the others

What is development?

Definition 1• Development occurs when there are improvements to

individual factors making up the quality of life. (write this)

• Can you think of an example of this?

• A new well dug in a LEDC village with a pump supplied to bring clean water for the first time. Benefits include; improvements to health and the fact that people will no longer have to walk long distances to collect water.

What is development?Definition 2• Development refers to how much progress a country has made/is

making in terms of socio-economic criteria. (Socio = social, economic = wealth/income/jobs) (Write this)

• Can you think of an example of this?

• GDP per capita (Gross Domestic Product per capita). This is the total value of goods and services produced by a country in a year divided by the total population. A figure is produced in $US and countries can be compared in terms of this.

http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/

What is development?Definition 2• Development refers to how much progress a country has made/is

making in terms of socio-economic criteria. (Socio = social, economic = wealth/income/jobs) (Write this)

• Can you think of an example of this?

• GDP per capita (Gross Domestic Product per capita). This is the total value of goods and services produced by a country in a year divided by the total population. A figure is produced in $US and countries can be compared in terms of this.

http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/

Why does development in poorer countries need to be sustainable?

• Most people would agree that development is a good thing for the population of poor countries at least in the short term….HOWEVER, long-term costs MAY outweigh the benefits.

• As a result of this, future generations may have a lower quality of life because the development was unsustainable.

• Can you think of an example of this?

Why does development need to be sustainable?

• Modern farming methods may increase soil erosion and reduce soil fertility which makes crops harder to grow and could lead to food shortages

• Rapid industrialisation may lead to large-scale pollution of land, air and water

• Rising incomes and commercialisation (growth of MNC e.g. Nike) may undermine traditions/values and cultures leading to communities breaking down

• Write down one these examples of unsustainable development

Sustainable development is…

Can you think of some examples in terms of agriculture?

Sustainable development is…

Sustainable development in LEDC’s

• Careful planning can help countries avoid making mistakes that may damage the quality of life of future generations.

• For example – New construction projects above a certain size require an Environmental Impact Assessment in most countries. They consider the potential problems that may be created immediately but also the future disadvantages.

Rural areas in LEDCs usually experience significant levels of poverty particularly in terms of food shortages and poor living standards. Sustainable development practices can help to reduce this as they move towards food security.

The diagram on the left summarises different strategies that can be used to tackle rural poverty.

Explaining sustainable development strategies

Target F – EExplain how this strategy will reduce rural poverty by giving at least 1 benefit.

Target D – CExplain how this strategy will reduce rural poverty by suggesting at least 2 benefits.

Target B – A*Evaluate how this strategy will reduce rural poverty by giving at least 2 benefits and 2 potential problems

Model answer

• By improving the local infrastructure this will help the rural farmers keep in contact with potential customers in urban areas. This is assisted by the introduction of basic internet facilities which could be used by the rural businesses to market themselves via the internet to increase awareness of their products and services. Both improvements would help to overcome the problem of isolation that can affect rural communities. However, both the internet connection and signal strength could be weak which could impact on the communication links, this could have an impact on the sustainability of the improvement.

Plenary

Random name generator to select students

Students from each ability group