Chapter one: Global Tourism

How do tourist destinations differ from one another?

- Places of scenic beauty
- Places with good facilities
- Places with rich culture
- Places of conflicts

Places of scenic beauty:

- Many of earth’s natural environments used as major tourist destinations. Includes
Gateway 1: How does the nature of tourism vary from place to place?

Tourists: are persons travelling to and staying in places outside their usual environment
for more than 24 hours but not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and
other purposes
- International tourism: tourism outside a tourist’s own country
- Domestic tourism: tourism within a tourist’s own country
- mountains, valleys, rivers, deserts, waterfalls
- Attract tourists with awe-inspiring scenery
- Different from the usual built environment of towns and cities where tourists
come from
- Provides opportunities for mountaineering, hiking, cycling
- E.g. wildlife sites like plains of Kenya give visitors a chance to view lions and
elephants closely in their natural habitat
- Mountainous areas have high altitudes, weather and unique wildlife that attracts
tourists e.g. himalayas in South Asia
- Honeypot tourism: refers to tourism that attracts large no. of people due to a
site’s scenic beauty
- Tends to be overcrowded during peak seasons
- E.g. Grand canyon of USA
- Tourist facilities such as hotels, shopping centres built neat these sites →
further attracting more tourists
- E.g. Victoria falls
- In africa
- Attracts 300,000 tourists a year due to the roar of falling water and
beauty of the rising mist
Places of good facilities:
- Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Events (MICE) facilities
- MICE locations usually host large-scale events such as meetings and
conventions
- Supporting infrastructure and services like hotels and retail shops also
built → attracts organisers of trade fairs and international conferences →
increase business travellers
- Cities located along international trade route or are associated with other
attractions such as coastal resorts and shopping, are more successful in
becoming a better MICE location
- Singapore is a good MICE location e.g. Marina Bay Sands
- Leading convention city in 2012, title held for 10 consecutive years
- Drew 3.2 business travellers in 2012
- Sg hosted important meetings like Youth Olympic Games in 2010
- Sg has a reputation of a major aviation hub
- Reliable telecommunication networks and variety of shopping and
entertainment options nearby
- Medical facilities
- Travelling for medical reasons → many from DCs like USA
- To avoid long waiting periods or high costs for medical treatment
in their home countries
- Some in LDCs also travel overseas to seek better medical treatment than
what is available in their own country
- E.g. South Korea is a well known destination for plastic surgery → due to
highly-skilled doctors and advanced technology
- Medical tourism: is when people travel to a destination to undergo a
medical procedure that would enhance or restore health
- Theme parks
- Places with amusement park settings or attractions that have central
themes like movies
- Caters to a large group of people → both the young and the old
- Theme parks are often a large-scale enterprise that is part of an
international chain e.g. Walt Disney operates theme parks in USA, Tokyo,
Japan and Hong Kong
- Walt disney world in Florida in the USA attracted around 17 million
visitors in 2011 → occupies an area about ⅕ on Singapore

Places with rich culture

- Heritage tourism
 - When people travel to locations to experience different cultures and to
understand the history of places better
- Reinforce nation identities for domestic tourists
- Help promote a country’s identity, culture and history to international
tourists
- E.g. Machu Picchu, Peru → located 2350m above sea level in the Andes
mountains → has ancient ruins from the last Inca civilisation
- Some places are so unique that the United Nations Education, Scientific,
Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has declared them World Heritage Sites
→ 745 sites listed as of 2012
- Film-induced tourism
- When people travel to see locations featured in films
- People may travel to places featured in films which they may not have
considered before watching the film → can understand how certain scenes
were filmed
- Curious tourists can understand how these places inspired parts of the
film
- E.g. Avatar featured scenery inspired by Zhangjiajie national park in
China. There are avatar-themed tours that tourists can join when they visit
this park → an attempt to attract more tourists and ride on the film’s
success
- Pilgrimage tourism
- When people travel to take part in a religious activity → usually to a sacred
place like a shrine or a church, that is important to a person’s belief and
faith
- Large crowds especially during major religious events
- E.g. the annual Hajj to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, is the world’s largest
pilgrimage → attracts over 3 million pilgrims

Places of conflict
- Refers to areas where wars, battles, man-made tragedies and unfavourable
political situations have occurred
- Visited by tourists interested in dark tourism
- Dark tourism is tourism that involves travelling to sites associated with death
and tragedy
- People take part in dark tourism usually are survivors, relatives and friends of
those affected, or are interested to know more about the event
- Sites include battlefields and memorials at places important in modern history
 - E.g. Ground Zero, New York, USA. on 11 sept 2001, twin towers collapsed after
terrorists slammed two hijacked planes into it → killing >3000

Factors affecting nature of tourism

- Tourism can be affected by human and natural factors
- Natural: landscape, weather and climate, grand canyon attracts more visitors
than sahara desert
- Human: costs of traveling, good or bad reputation
- Also affected by how people promote it

Roles of different groups in promoting tourism

Government
- Plays a crucial role in promoting tourism because ultimately, they are the final
authority
- Influences the no. of visitors, and their length of stay
- Authorising air landings
- Allow the building of facilities like hotels
- They are often directly involved in the planning, funding of projects linked to
tourism like airports
- Also ensures the safety and security of these sites
- May set up agencies that derive strategies to help promote tourism in the
country→ includes tourism marketing campaigns & promotional events
- E.g. Singapore Tourism Board (STB) is a govt. Agency that promotes sg as a
tourist destination
- Develops tourism as an industry and facilitates tourism-related businesses
to invest like cruises and airlines
- Also encourages building of new attractions like river safari → helps create
new business opportunities for the tourism industry
- Aims to develop sg as a leading tourist destination for leisure and business

Media
- Media reports of a country can influence tourist decisions
- Media refers to channels through which news and information are
communicated to the public
- Includes radio, newspaper and the internet
- Positive reports like the friendliness of the local population, attractive scenery,
an interesting culture and good shopping opportunities can encourage tourists to
visit
 - Negative reports like incidents of violence, disease outbreaks and natural
disasters can deter tourists immediately and for many years to come
- Because of media, tourists are now more aware of destinations that they haven’t
considered before
- long -distance cruises and treks in himalayas mountains are gaining popularity
due to favorable media reports
- Travel writers can offer their comments on media platforms too
- Main purpose is to offer opinions and reviews about destinations they
travelled to
- They evaluate destinations for their readers based on accommodation,
transport, climate and things to look out for like dos and don’ts of tourist
behaviour
- These reviews are easily accessible via the internet and can influence the
final destination of tourists

International organisations
- Is a group of countries that work together for a common purpose
- Reports produced by them can encourage and discourage tourists from visiting a
place
- E.g. OECD, UNWTO and World Health Organization (WHO)
- The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) meets
regularly to actively promote sustainable growth of tourism
- Address economic, sustainability and employment issues
- Also produces guidelines to measure the social and economic impacts of
tourism
- Analyse key challenges that affect tourism like employment and local
developments
- OECD vs UNWTO
- OECD: works primarily with governments and international
organisations, 38 member countries with majority from DC like
South Korea and Japan. tourism stats provided from OECD
members and selected non members. Promotes tourism as a tool for
national growth and job creation
- UNWTO: works primarily with private organisations including
academic community and governments, has 157 member countries.
Stats provided from its 157 member countries. Promotes
sustainable tourism development and tourism as a tool for poverty
reduction and job and business creation
 - WHO is an international organisation that provides leadership in global
health matters
- Capable of influencing global behaviour
- E.g. WHO provided situation updates and health advisories on
H5N1 avian influenza from 2003-2013 → discouraging tourists from
visiting at-risk countries

Gateway 2: Why has tourism become a global phenomenon?

How is tourism changing?

International tourism
- Becoming increasingly diverse in its origins and destinations
- One major trend is that Asia Pacific region has increased in popularity as a
tourist destination
- 8.2% in 1980 to 21.7% in 2010
- After europe, it is now the second most visited place
- Before 1980s, most tourist destinations were in DCs
- Eruope, North and South America were still the main
tourist-receiving regions
- But now, they have declined in popularity and international arrivals
have decreased

Tourist origins and destinations

- Unevenly distributed throughout the world, most of them still originating from
DCs in Europe and America
- But there are more and more international tourists from rapidly developing
countries like BRIC
- North America generates tourist flow of over 10 million people;e to and from
central america, south america and europe

Domestic tourism
- Was and still is the most popular form of tourism despite immense growth of
international tourism
- 83% of all tourist arrivals were domestic tourism
- E.g. domestic tourism in China is at its peak during Lunar New Year
- During this period, many employees take a break from work and use this
time to go visit relatives and friends
 - Also use this time to go sightseeing in other parts of the country

Forms of tourism

Mass tourism
- Travel that involves large numbers of tourists visiting a place together
- Takes the form of packaged holidays
- Increased affluence and leisure time leads to mass tourism
- Package holidays usually involve a tour arranged by the travel agent, with
transportation, accommodation and most meals included
- Also includes tour guides who speaks the local language, are
knowledgeable about the sites

Niche tourism
- Special-interest tourism based on a particular area, interest or activity
- Can be done by independent travellers or with package tours
- Appeals to people who seek new destinations, activities and experiences
- E.g. whale-watching in Hawaii
- Common form of niche tourism: ecotourism
- The International Ecotourism Society (TIES) defines this as responsible
travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the
well-being of local people
- Some principles of ecotourism includes:
- Positive experiences for both visitors and hosts
- Build environmental and cultural awareness and respect
- Involves visiting relatively undisturbed natural areas → helps tourists
better appreciate natural beauty and biodiversity, also to provide funds for
ecological conservation
- For ecotourism, there are regulations that limit camping, walking, waste
disposal and disturbance to vegetation and wildlife → aims to conserve
natural environments for future generations
- E.g. Waitomo Caves in New Zealand → famous for glow worms that light
the cave ceiling
- Managed by the govt. In partnership with local Maori
- Monitors conditions within the cave to ensure minimal human
impact
- Can benefit the economy of the local Maori → increase employment
from cave activities
Short haul destinations: destinations that are a short distance away from the tourist’s
home country, can be reachable by car, bus, train or flight generally less than 5 hours
Long haul destinations: destinations that are a long distance away from the tourist’s
home country. Reachable by flight generally more than 5 hours

Reasons for growth of global tourism

Developments in technology: technology is the application of scientific knowledge to

develop machines, equipment and ways of doing things. Developments in technology
have changed the scale and ease of global tourism
- Better and affordable transport
- Developments in technology has led to shorter travelling time, lower
travelling costs and improved safety
- In the past, most commercial aeroplanes would fly short distances and
stop to refuel, used to take 2-4 days to get from singapore to london with
stopovers at different cities
- Now, aeroplanes can fly non-stop for 15,000 km and travel faster, takes 14
hours to fly from sg to london
- Budget airlines: made air transport more affordable with their low fares
- They operate more fuel-efficient and smaller aircrafts to lower fares
- They usually only fly short-haul destinations and sell tickets online
- E.g. Jetstar and Tiger airway
- Increases accessibility for people with lower disposable incomes to
go on holidays farther from home more frequently
- Also enables travellers to travel to destinations not covered by
major commercial airlines e.g. Bhutan
- Ease of access to information
- Developments in information technology have made information more
readily available and accessible
- Online booking and research
- Enables travellers to buy their own tickets and gives more options
and control
- Can view feedback and recommendations from other travellers
- Allows them to do research to find out more about their
destinations like what to see and where to eat
- Surveillance, electronic checks and other safety controls research
- Makes tourists feel safer and more confident about travelling
 - Provides more assurance for tourists as they can do all the research and
before visiting a destination and this lessens their worry when they are
actually there

Demand factors: people’s willingness and ability to buy goods and services
- Disposable income
- Leisure time
- Changing lifestyle
Disposable income:
- Is the amount of income left to an individual after paying taxes
- Income available for saving and spending
- Growth in income allows people to spend more on g&s that improves their
quality of life → spend on travelling for leisure
- Affluence is growing globally and more people are earning higher incomes →
more purchasing power → travel more → increased tourism
Leisure time
- Is the time when people are free from work, responsibilities and commitments
- Middle to high income earners have leisure hours in the form of paid leave → they
utilise this paid leave to go on leisure holidays → more inclined to travel
- There is an increasing number of income groups enjoying shorter working
weeks, more public holidays and paid leave → increased leisure time → more
people travel
- E.g. in australia, people can exchange paid overtime work for leave → increase
chances of taking longer holidays
Changing lifestyle
- Refers to the change in the way people live throughout their lifetime
- Pace of life is faster now, many people work longer hours → making travelling a
way for them to relax and take a break from the fast-paced lifestyles at work
- People now are also more healthy and health-conscious → thus live longer ad
more physically fit to travel frequently
- Improved medical technology also means more healthy retirees → more retirees
travelling as a meaningful way to spend the remaining years
- E.g. Grey nomads are retirees in australia that travels remote parts of the country
in their mobile homes

Destination factors : infrastructure and services in tourist destinations that allows a

more convenient and comfortable stay of tourists
- Attractions
- Investment in infrastructure and services
 - Access to information
Attractions
- Is a feature or quality that makes a place interesting or enjoyable
- Some attractions are natural and some are built
- Places of scenic beauty are natural attractions
- Theme parks are built attractions
- Both attracts tourists → provides a reason for them to visit
- E.g. Palm islands : world’s largest artificial island for high-end residential,
leisure and entertainment facilities is a well known attraction in dubai
- Govt. knows the value of investing in attractions as it provides something
unique for tourists → help increase tourist spending
Investment in infrastructure and services
- Tourist attractions require large investments in infrastructure and services
- Infrastructure refers to the transport and communication networks, electrical
frameworks and systems for water and waste disposal
- Services are a type of help or work that is provided by a business to customers
- Airport expansion is a needed development for tourism
- Few tourists would visit a place if it's airport cannot manage the air
passenger traffic
- Countries would also need to develop road and railway links to nearby
countries
- E.g. Changi Airport’s budget terminal was closed down in 2012 to make
way for the construction of a new terminal 4 → caters to the increasing
inflow of tourists
- Increased airport’s capacity → allows more tourist to visit
- Sufficient hotels must also be built to cater to the rising number of
tourists, prices should vary to cater to different income groups
- For services, tourist sites need hotel managers, tour guides and travel
agents
- Countries offer tertiary and diploma courses in hotel management
and catering as they know the importance of training people to
work in tourism industry \
Access to information
- Refers to the ease with which information can be obtained
- Tourists more likely to travel to a destination where travel-related information is
easy to obtain e.g. info on transport routes and schedules
- Tourists also needs access to the information in a language that they can
understand
 - Thus signs in tourist destinations are displayed in many languages →
provides security and comfort as it assures them there is language they can
understand
- Local tour guides should be trained to answer questions and help meet the needs
of tourists as well

Why is tourism subjected to fluctuations?

Fluctuations: in tourism, refers to the irregular rising and falling of tourist numbers or
receipts over a period of time. Can be due to:
- Disasters
- Political situations
- Diseases
- Recessions

Disasters
- Are events that cause great damage to properties, lead to injuries or cause great
loss of lives
- Poses greater risks for safety of tourists and may disrupt essential tourist
infrastructure → discouraging tourists from visiting
- E.g. After 2011 Japan earthquake, there were immediate fluctuations in tourism
rates
- Caused a tsunami and a nuclear meltdown
- Tourist arrivals decreased by 28% to 6.2 million
- Also discourages citizens of affected countries to travel out, causing a
decrease in tourist arrivals for other countries as well
- S.korea’s largest source of tourist arrivals come from japan, its tourism
industry were also affected by the earthquake
- A year after, japan authorities put in a lot of effort to recover its tourism
industry by promoting japan as a safe and beautiful japan
Recessions
- Is a period of general slowdown in economic activities
- During a recession, many experience a loss in income or jobs → thus people cut
back on spending → decrease in demand for g&s → less likely to travel overseas
during recession due to insufficient purchasing power → fewer tourists
- Recession can be caused by a sharp increase in price of g&s (inflation), or
problems in the financial markets leading to a decline in exports (firms sack
workers to protect profit margin)
- Regional recession: eruopean sovereign debt crisis
 - Started in 2010, when Greece was unable to repay back the government
debt
- After that, many european countries like spain and ireland have also
needed help in repaying government debts
- Affected many countries that used Euro as their currency
- Resulted in collapse of businesses and financial institutions → massive
unemployment
- Global recession: Global financial crisis
- Started when some of the world’s largest financial firms went bankrupt in
2007 and 2008 → firms collapsed after losing many investments due to the
crash of the housing market in the USA
- Triggered panic in most financial institutions around the world
- Caused the economies of many countries to slow down
- Increasing number of part-time workers
- Increase unemployment
- International tourists staying for shorter lengths of time and spending
less
- During a recession, domestic tourism becomes the more affordable option
as it involves traveling shorter distances thus spend less on transportation
- Thus promote domestic tourism during a recession to encourage people to
contribute to their own country's economy
Political situations
- Unfavourable political situations can discourage tourists
- E.g. political conflicts → a state of disagreement between diff. Groups of people
that may result in wars
- Pose dangers to people
- Disrupt services and cause damage to infrastructure
- Tourists may postpone or cancel their travel plans
- Governments authorities may also issue travel advisories → which are official
notices that discourage citizens from travelling to a particular region or country
- E.g. the governments of most countries banned their citizens from travelling to
Libya in 2011
- Civil war was happening, armed groups pose a threat to civilian lives
- Between march to october 2011 → there were no commercial flights to
Libya → hence no tourist arrivals by air
- When countries experience unfavourable political situations → need to rebuild
their reputation through promotions, new infrastructure e.g. Japan after Tohoku
2011 Earthquake
Diseases
 - An outbreak of disease refers to the sudden widespread occurrence of disease in
an area
- Tourists do not want to risk getting infected with a contagious disease
- Travel advisories may also be issued by govt.
- Causes huge declines in tourist arrivals
- Businesses postpone or cancel large-scale MICE activities
- E.g. the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in 2003 killed more than 700
people and infected more than 8000 in 25 countries
- caused hotel occupancy in Hong Kong to drop from 82% to 15%

Gateway 3: Developing tourism at what cost?

Impacts of tourism
- Economic
- Socio-cultural
- Environmental

Economic impacts:
Advantages
Employment opportunities
- Employment is work performed for a wage or salary
- Tourism-related employment forms part of the service sector of economy
- Increase tourism → increase in no. of tourism related jobs
- E.g. workers in hotels, tour agencies
- Jobs can be directly or indirectly linked to tourism industry
- Like when tourists travel, they need transportation, taxi drivers indirectly cater to
the tourist needs
- The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) estimated
235million people employed in the tourism industry worldwide
Growth in income
- Increased tourism → increase income for individuals
- E.g. fisherman on Pamilacan Island in the philippines
- They are hired to take tourists on their boats to look for and swim with
whale sharks and dolphins paid between US$80-100 per boat ride → a
significant amount for an average filipino fisherman
- High demand for their services from tourists → fisherman can earn
additional income on top of their fishing livelihood
- Tour companies also benefit from increased revenue
 - Overall increase in the country's revenue from tax on income and firms
- However, tourism receipts may be lost as leakage to other countries, especially in
LDCs as they have to import a lot of g&s to cater to the needs of tourists
- E.g. travelers may fly to Thailand but choose to stay in foreign-owned
international hotels and eat imported food
- These profits may be sent to another country, thus profits do not stay in
thailand → not benefiting the local economy much
Developments in infrastructure and facilities
- Without sufficient infrastructure and facilities like airports, roads and railways →
tourism cannot develop and unable to operate on a large scale
- Roads that link airports, cities and tourist sites together allow tourists to access
local attractions better
- This in turns benefit local people due to better access to more markets,
healthcare, education and jobs
- Sports venues and other infrastructure are built during major sporting events e.g.
The World Cup and the Olympics → can be useful even after key events
- E.g. beijing, china expanded their underground rail system to move large number
of visitors during summer olympic games in 2004
- Provides convenience for the locals after the games
- Developing infrastructure also creates employment for locals because workers
are needed during the construction process
- Local materials can be used → boost local industries
- Increased spending in the local economy encourages EG
Disadvantages
Seasonal unemployment
- Certain tourist activities depend on climate conditions during different times of
the year
- These countries can experience a sudden rise in tourist arrivals for a few months
followed by a drop for the next few months
- Thus people in some tourism-related jobs have to find other sources of income
when employment in the tourism industry is temporarily unavailable
- E.g. sapporo, japan, receives a large number of visitors from december to
february → winter season
- Tourists wan=t to engage in winter sports like skiing and snowboarding
- Ski resorts need to hire more people during winter due to high tourist
demand
- Unemployment during non-peak seasons of certain tourism-related jobs →
decrease in income → decrease in revenue for country → lowers EG
Under-use of facilities at certain times of the year
 - Since some types of tourism are seasonal, facilities built specifically for certain
events may be under-used once event is over
- Facilities may be costly to maintain because income from tourists normally pays
for the maintenance
- These facilities may become neglected due to low tourist arrivals
- E.g. beijing, china built many sport venues for the 2008 summer olympic games →
many were underused after the event → according to beijing sports university
report in 2011, only ⅓ of major sport venues in china managed to break even
Shortage of services
- Tourist infrastructure may require large amounts of land, water and power
- Can lead to shortage of services such as water supplies in non-tourist areas
- E.g. large amounts of water are required to water grass on golf courses →
drinking water for nearby residents could be diverted to meet the needs of tourist
infrastructure

Socio-cultural impacts
Advantages
Preservation of local customs and heritage
- Is the protection of the way people live, including their economic activities,
traditional beliefs and religious practices
- Heritage is the traditional belief, values and customs or a family, country or
society e.g. art
- Customs are the traditional ways of behaving or doing things that are specific to
a particular society e.g. greeting by bowing
- Well preserved and restored historical sites makes a place more attractive to
tourist
- Restored sites also builds a sense of belonging among the local population
- Entry fees at the great pyramids of Giza can directly help fund conservation
efforts → conserve heritage
Disadvantages
Dilution of local customs and heritage
- Identity of a place can be lost when tourism becomes the major activity of an area
- Commercial activities that cater mainly to tourists like food outlets and souvenir
shops can become the major commercial activities of an area
- Older buildings may be converted to host tourist activities or land can be used up
- These activities can force the locals to relocate their original activities to other
places → loss of identity
- To meet the demands and expectations of tourists, local cultural festivals and
rituals can be modified
 - E.g. dancers deliberately pose for tourists to take photographs
- E.g. rituals may also be shortened to fit into the itinerary of tourists, can also be
repeated several times → reducing authenticity and significance
- E.g. in thailand, tourists pay a hedt amount to enter the village of Kayan Lahwi
women
Increased crime
- High crime levels in popular tourist sites
- Tourists can carry valuable items like wallets and jewellery
- Toursis can be vulnerable to muggings near hotels and tourist attractions
- Also prone to cheating and scams → information, goods or services are sold at
greatly inflated prices or people scam tourists to buy fake products→ these
‘tourist traps’ deters tourists from visiting a place
- Thus many countries have police to help serve tourists and sort out conflicts
- E.g. in China, there are skillful pickpockets that can retrieve your belongings
from you swiftly just by walking past you for a brief second, common due to weak
enforcement laws
Environmental impacts
Advantages
Conservation of natural environments
- Funding from tourism helps conserve environments like coral reefs, rainforests
- Funds collected from revenue earned from entrance fees to diving sites or
national parks, or from levies collected on nearby accommodations
- E.g. in Kenya, the survival of animals in the country's national parks relies on
funding from international tourists coming to visit them
- A single lion can generate US$7000 a year → money raised can become a way to
help preserve the animals and their habitats
Disadvantages
Vandalism
- Is the crime of deliberately damaging property belonging to other people
- Cultural, historical and natural sites can be vandalised
- E.g. many stones and bricks of the great wall of china → visited by 10 million
tourists a year → covered with graffiti
Littering and pollution
- Excessive litter from tourists
- Authorities sometimes fail to implement measures that can properly manage the
waste left behind by tourists → degradation of area
- E.g. irresponsible tourists often dump plastic bottles and food packaging
overboard ships
- Causes harbours and oceans to be polluted
 - E.g. many islands in the Caribbean have limited land, thus sometimes waste from
ships are dumped into the carribean sea → pollution
Destruction of habitats
- Poplar tourist sites like scenic villages can be overwhelmed by tourists during
peak periods
- When there's a surge of tourists → may destroy habitats and wildlife
- Careless tourists trample on plants
- Can also make too much noise which disturbs and frightens off animals
- E.g. Egypt’s red sea coast
- Habitats of coral reefs and exotic fish damaged by some swimmers
collecting corals as souvenirs and from people dumping waste into the sea
Carbon footprint
- Is the amount of gge that would be produced by activities that involve the use of
fossil fuels
- E.g. travelling by planes, tour buses and electricity consumption of hotels
- E.g. a one-way economy flight from sg → KL has a carbon footprint of 30kg of
CO2 per passenger
- More tourists travelling means higher gge
Increased congestion
- Large no. of tourists causes overcrowding in areas near popular attractions
- Due to the large crowds, tourist shops and accommodations want to make use
and cluster around such areas → increasing congestion
- Vehicular and pedestrian traffic becomes congested too
- In rome, italy, some old walkways and streets are narrow af → magnifies the
congestion problem
- Huge inflow of cars can also lead to air pollution

How are the impacts of tourism managed?

- Damage to the environment can be minimised or even avoided
- Benefit both the natural environment and the lives of the locals
- So that the site can be sustained for future generations
- Sustainable tourism: a form of tourism organised in a way that allows it to
continue without causing damage to the environment or leaving negative impacts
on surrounding society and culture

Conserve fragile environments and promote sustainable tourism

- Conservation is the careful management and use of resources so they won’t be
depleted → important for fragile environments (easily affected by change)
 - Fragile environments e.g. coral reefs → easily distrubed through the disposal of
waste into water bodies
- Conserve fragile environments and promote sustainable tourism can be made
possible with the help of laws and regulations and support from local people
- E.g. red sea coast of egypt
- Sustainable tourism also involves minimising leakages from tourism revenues
- Thus train locals to perform skilled tourism jobs like management
- Develop homestay accommodations where visitors can pay locals directly
for the stay
- Promoting local food and drink in restaurants to provide a market for local
food producers and distributors
- E.g. UNESCO provides funding for conservation activities as well as assistance to
sites in immediate danger
- A well-protected environment attracts tourists → repeated, steady arrival of
tourists can benefit the local economy → more incentive to preserve and care for
the sites that tourists visit as it ensues a steady stream of income in the future

Tensions in managing the impacts of tourism

Tensions between tourists and locals
- When the needs of tourists conflicts with that of locals
- E.g. tourists may wear skimpy clothing that may be too revealing for the locals in
a conservative country on a hot sunny day as they find it uncomfortable as it goes
against their values
- Bali, Indonesia received 2.9 million tourist arrivals in 2012 when its population is
only 4.2 million, the large inflow caused tensions:
- Tourist sites are often congested, making it difficult for locals to conduct
their daily business
- Large number of hotels and resorts and other facilities can deprive some
locals of their water supply
- Tourism industry consumes 65% of the islands water supply
- Resulting in water shortages in some areas
- Islands poorest most affected as they cannot afford to connect to
the city’s tap water supply thus rely on dug wells that have now
gone dry
- Locals expect tourists to respect local customs which tourists can
sometimes fail to do e.g. many people in Bali object to PDA, which some
tourists may still do
Tensions between tourists and the environment
- when needs of tourists conflict with the need to conserve the environment
 - E.g. some natural attractions can depend on tourist income for conservation, but
at the same time, the tourist inflow can damage the attraction
- Machu Picchu, Peru
- Is the last stronghold of the Inca civilisation located in the Andes
mountains 2430m above sea level
- Rich history and beautiful landscape of Machu Picchu makes it a popular
tourist destination, which can cause tensions:
- Physically able tourists choose to use the ‘Inca Trail’ for the
mountain scenery and Inca ruins (a more enriching experience) it is
covered with rare plants and wildlife. But the trial is slowly being
eroded due to many tourists hiking on it , they may also litter
- Some may choose to use helicopter to reach for convenience, but
authorities have banned helicopters in fear that the noise will
disturb the wildlife
- The sheer weight and combined footsteps of tourists visiting can
slowly damage the land and artefacts on site

Measures for managing the tensions

- Govt. plays an important role in resolving the tensions
- Countries set up organizations to manage it
- They impose measures to help balance the needs of tourists against the
needs of locals and the environment
- E.g. limiting the number of visitors to a site to minimise congestion and
degradation, holding discussions with locals regarding their needs and
concerns
- Trying to balance can be hard e.g. residents may be happy that there is a limit of
visitors to a site but business owners may complain about loss of income
- Locals also need jobs, which defeat attempts of conservation
- Thus various groups and stakeholders have a responsibility to ensure a balance
between conflicting interests

Responsibilities of various groups : various groups can contribute in different ways to

protect tourist areas
- Local communities
- Visitors
- Tour operators
- Planning authorities
- NGOs
Local communities
 - A local community is a group of people living in the same territory
- Can help conserve a tourist area, and also benefit economically from tourism
through community-based tourism
- Community-based tourism: tourism that has close contact with the local
communities and benefits mainly them
- E.g. Candirejo Village in central java, indonesia
- With support from the govt., the villagers of Candirejo set up
cooperatives in 2003 to manage and implement the community’s
tourism related programmes
- Villagers also took part in decision making through discussions
with the cooperatives about programmes to carry out
- Programmes include homestay accommodations and local transport
- Programme also trains villagers to produce handcrafts
- By 2004, village had 22 homestays compared to 10 in 2002
- Strengths:
- Involves locals in decision making: they enlist the residents in discussions
about tourism related decisions about their own community
- Increase in tourism-related employment and business for locals:
community-based tourism make locals a priority when it comes to
businesses and employment. Locals get employed as tour guides
- Limitations:
- Difficulty in obtaining external funding: especially for the disadvantaged
ones, they can face funding problems when setting up businesses
- Shortage of skilled labour: may not have enough skilled labour like
managers that can help manage the impact of tourism → community may
need to seek help from other organisations to provide skilled labour or
training
Visitors
- They have a responsibility to respect both the environment and the locals of the
place they are visiting
- Visit without causing damage or offence
- E.g. in 2007, the Tourism Sustainability Group encourage tourists to select their
holiday destinations based on conservation efforts of the place
- Because some tourists may want to minimize carbon footprint → thus
consider factors like the amount of water used and the amount of waste
recycled
- Makes their visits more rewarding knowing that they have done their best
to avoid damaging these environments
- Strengths:
 - Fund conservation and preservation: visitor spending can act as funds to
help conserve environment or maintain a tourist attraction. E.g. entrance
fees
- Provide income for locals: income from employment and businesses. Tour
guides, waiters are jobs that locals can easily fill and are jobs that tourists
need the services from → also provide opportunities for locals to set up
businesses like tour companies
- Raise awareness to conserve and preserve attractions: when they visit →
realise value of conserving → raise awareness at home by sharing
experience via word of mouth
- Limitations:
- Damage tourist attractions: they may irresponsible behaviours that
damage the environment → vandalism and littering → sometimes just the
sheer number of visitors can damage a site with their collective footsteps
and noise
- Dilute local customs and culture: when dancers deliberately psoe for
cameras or some rituals are shortened for tourists → a place loses its
original identity → is severe whenever tourists outnumber locals in an area
and commercial activities focus mainly on catering to tourists
Tour operators
- May belong to associations that are concerned with conserving and protecting
the environments visited by tourists
- Because fewer tourists are likely to visit if unspoilt landscapes, rich biodiversity
and unique cultures deteriorate
- E.g. tour operators who wanted to operate under Phuket Alternative Tours (PAT)
had to:
- Operate in an environmentally sustainable way
- Seek to enhance natural environment
- Create awareness about environmental conservation for visitors in Phuket
- Strengths:
- Provide feedback on tourist attractions: tour guides can offer valuable
feedback about the social and environmental conditions of an attraction →
help planning authorities and local communities better plan for
management strategies in a tourist attraction
- Regulate tourist behaviour: they have in-person contact with tourists and
spends much time with them → thus they are in the best position to
regulate tourist behaviour → e.g. preventing them from littering and
control their noise leve;s → tour operators have incentive in maintaining
the quality of the attraction as its their source of income
 - Limitations:
- Profit-driven. → they need to make money to survive as a business → the
need to generate profits can bring them into conflicts with other
stakeholders → they may ignore concerns about preserving the
environment when addressing these concerns reduce their profits
Planning authorities
- Can greatly influence future quality of environments by determining how many
visitors a site can copr and allocating space for infrastructure like roads and
hotels
- E.g. the STB ensures that it attracts tourists to sg and ALSO take into account
the need to conserve national heritage
- They have tried to enhance ethnnic districts like chinatown and little india
- This way they have greater appreciation for sg’s rich heritage
- This is the most important group in ensuring that tourist areas are well protected
- They should consider local sensitivities while maintaining the physical and socio
cultural conditions
- They are the first to enforce rules, regulations and principles for sustainable
tourism while discussing with the industry and community
- Local communities and tour operators should refer to them when operating tours
- Strengths:
- Develop and maintain infrastructure and attractions: often successfully
fund, plan, develop and maintain infrastructure that helps manage impacts
of tourism
- Draft laws and policies: they do this to help improve the quality of a
tourist site e.g. limiting no. of tourists
- Work with government agencies: they are part of the government and can
cooperate ore easily with other government agencies to manage impacts of
tourism → also able to utilise a range of government resources
- Limitations:
- Difficult to plan for unforeseen factors: even the most well-planned
programmes can fail due to these factors → includes extreme weather
conditions and general lack of interest from the public
- Opposing stakeholders: stakeholders like local communities and NGOs
may oppose management strategies of planning authorities → e.g. these
strategies can affect their livelihood → they think there is a different
approach to solve the problem → strategies have limited impact without
cooperation from these stakeholders
Non-governmental organisations (NGOs)
- Are non profit organisations operating independently or governments
 - Some are concerned with tourism’s impact on natural and human environments
- Since 1990, The International Ecotourism Society (TIES) has developed
guidelines, conducted training course and provided assistance related to tourism
and the environment
- It works with numerous organisations from 124 countries
- Groups like TIES can help in achieving sustainable tourism and protecting
the environment
- Strengths:
- Facilitate communication between various stakeholders: Acts as channels
of communication between various stakeholders → like between tour
operators and planning authorities → they also encourage local
communities to actively participate in managing the impact of tourism
- Support various stakeholders in managing impacts of tourism: can come in
the form of additional manpower or expertise
- Limitations:
- As a non-profit organization → they rely on donations and their efforts can
be hampered by the lack of financial resources

Chapter two: Food Resources

Gateway 1: How and why have food consumption patterns changed since the
1960s?

How does food consumption patterns vary between DCs and LDCs over time?
- Food refers to any nutritious substance that is consumed by the body
- Global food consumption patterns vary between DCs and LDCs → can be seen
from indicators of food consumption and changing food preferences

Classification of DCs and LDCs

- Gross domestic product (GDP per capita)
- Adult literacy rate
- Those 15 and above who can read and write a short simple statement on
their everyday life
- Generates more professionals
- Employment opportunity
- Availability of jobs in country
 - More employed in country → higher SOL
- Life expectancy
- Influenced by the quality of healthcare, water, sanitation
- Area affected by war, poverty and disease → population has lower life
expectancy

Indicators of food consumption (useful info)

- Food consumption per capita : average amount of food a person consumes per
year (kg/capita)
- Total daily calorie intake: total number of calories obtained from food consumed
per person, per day
- People in DCs usually have higher total daily calorie intake than people in
LDCs
- Starchy staples as a % of all calories: can be used to measure food consumption
because staple foods usually form the main part of a diet
- Cereal: a staple food → high in starch → most common form of carbs
- LDCs demand for more cereals than DCs
- For DCs, non-staple food like meat, fruit and vegetables can form a major
part of their daily diet instead

Changing food preferences

Food preferences: the choice of one food type over another can change due to many
reasons e.g. Increase in income → when a country becomes more developed → higher
income per capita
- Diets change from crop based to meat based
- E.g. china today consumes less cereals but more meat, fruits and vegetables

Cereals:
- Crops harvested for its grains
- Most important food source in the world
- Composing large % of global calorie intake
- Consumption of cereals per capita decreases @ higher income levels
- One type of cereal is often substituted for the other @ higher income levels

Meat:
- Livestock refers to domesticated animals e.g. cows, chickens and pigs → meat and
dairy products → provides protein
- Higher income → consume more meat
 - In LDCs, meat consumption is starting to increase due to rise in disposable
income (PP increased)
- In DCs → red meat consumption have decreased due to the related health
diseases linked to it like heart diseases and obesity

Fruits and vegetables:

- Consumption increased in both DCs and LDCs
- DCs: increased awareness of the healthy benefits of it → reduces risk of health
problems
- LDCs: increase in incomes e.g. BRIC

Why do food consumption vary between DCs and LDCs

Economic
Disposable income
- Is the amount of income left to an individual after taxes have been paid pit
- DCs have higher DI than LDCs, but DI is increasing in both
- DCs increase a lesser % of their income spent on food for every US$1 increase in
income, whereas LDCs will increase more of their spending on food
- For both → increasing financial ability → consume larger amount and more
variety → e.g. more meat and less cereals → because meat consumption is
generally associated with wealth and status
- But DCs tend to increase the quality of their diets instead → they can afford more
expensive food that has certain health benefits e.g. organic food, bird nests
- E.g. 1959-1991: taiwan experienced high EG → income per capita soar to levels
comparable with DCs
- Rice consumption decreased by half and meat consumption increased 4x
Pricing of food
- People in LDCs more affected by food prices than DCs
- LDCs have lower DI → cannot afford to spend more on food as it takes up a
bigger % of their income
- E.g. 2006-2008: food prices soar worldwide → global food crisis → LDCs
unable to even afford staple food → pushed more people into chronic
hunger → riots
- In DCs, less severe, they just switch to less expensive options

Socio-cultural
Food preferences
- What people choose to consume and hence what their diet is mainly composed of
 - Fast food: food that can be prepared easily and quickly, as a quick meal or
packaged for takeaway
- Has a standardised production and handling process in fast food outlets
that ensure the consistency and quality
- People prefer dining here due to the convenience and affordable prices
(poplar in LDCs)
- Young adults like to spend time here due to comfortable dining
atmosphere
- Globalisation has allowed many fast food chains to set up in LDCs like
india e.g. Domino's Pizza and mcdonalds
- People may choose these fast food outlets over local food stalls
- In DCs, though fast food is still popular, people are trying to consume less
due to increased awareness of its harmful effects on human health → a lot
of oil and chemicals in it
- Organic food: food grown without the use of artificial inputs
- More people are consuming due to the perceived health benefits,
especially in DCs as they are influenced by the health concerns about
conventional methods of growing food
- E.g. cancer from the use of pesticides in farmland
- In the USA, a survey in 2011 → 58% prefer organic food
- Organic food VS non-organic food
- Produced with organic fertilisers like manure and compost that
helps retain soil moisture VS produced with chemical fertilisers
which are chemically perfected to release certain quantities of
nutrients
- Smaller crop yield as no chemicals used e.g. growth hormones VS
large crop yield as chemicals are used to increase it
- Requires more labour to manage tasks like hand-weeding because
no pesticide used VS less labour needed due to use of pesticides
- More ex because higher COP VS less ex due to lower COP
- Healthier as no chemical inputs VS less healthy as chemicals are
used which may remain in food produce after harvested
Population growth
- Increased food demand due to increased population
- Higher birth rates in LDCs due to lack of family planning and the need for child
labour
- Increased demand for food due to population growth is higher in LDCs than in
DCs
Political
Stability of food supply
- A country has a stable food supply when safe and nutritious food is available to
all people at all times
- Sometimes government needs to take action to increase food supply
- Increase food production through improving technology and use of more
agricultural land
- Increase food impots
- Generally, DCs have better ability to ensure stable food supply due to
better access to technology and finances
- Civil wars can lead to disruption of food supply
- E.g. Libya april 2011: food stocks in country rapidly depleted and not
readily replenished
- Led to people not consuming as much as many were fighting over food
shortage and people didn’t want to venture out to buy food due to safety
issues
- Natural disasters
- E.g. Zimbabwe 2008 : a severe drought destroyed most of the corn harvest
in the country → lack of stable food supply → decrease consumption
Food safety
- A system that provides guidelines, ensures proper handling, preparation,
transportation and storage of food → prevents food-borne diseases
- Govt. plays an important role in ensuring food safety
- By setting food standards and ensuring they are met
- Makes sure contaminated food is removed off the shelves
- E.g. Tsunami in 2011 damaged nuclear plants in Fukushima japan →
radiation contaminated farmland and water resources → SG restricted
imports of seafood from japan
- Govt. also restricts supply when there is an outbreak of food-borne
diseases
- E.g. mad cow disease → from eating meat of infected cows
- Countries decreased imports and exports of beed, overall demand
for beef falls

What are the consequences of variations in food consumption?

(i) Impacts of inadequate food consumption

Health : a state of complete physical, mental and social well being

Malnutrition: a condition in which the body does not get sufficient or balanced amount
of nutrients it needs to stay healthy
- Results in death or long-term development problems
- Underlying cause of child deaths associated with diarrhoea and malaria
- People in LDCs are especially prone to malnutrition because they may not have
the variety and supply of food that a person in DC has access to e.g. sub-saharan
africa
- But it does still occur in DCs
- Elderlies are prone as they eat too little as they find it hard to chew and
digest
- Or people have disorders like anorexia, bulimia → malnutrition
- E.g. lack of calcium in system → osteoporosis → condition in which bones become
weak and fragile → lack of consumption of dairy like milk
- Leads to loss of workdays and productivity as unable to do manual labour
when got osteoporosis
- E.g. lack of vitamin A → sourced from eggs, cheese, meat and vegetables → visual
impairment and blindness if insufficient/ vitamin A deficiency
- Loss of educational opportunities → lower earning power in the future
Starvation
- State of extreme hunger from severe lack of food
- Body becomes skeletally thin and organs become permanently damaged
- People may eventually die if not treated
- More common in LDCs because:
- Greater number living in poverty
- Lack of resources to recover from natural resources
- Unstable political situations like rebellions and wars
- E.g. in Mali 2012: 5 million threatened with starvation due to poor harvests and
rebellion

Economic
Lower productivity
- When workers consume imbalanced amount of nutrients → fall sick more often
- Decreases productivity → lowers income of individuals
- Children: loss of educational opportunities due to loss of school days
- According to the International Food Policy Research Institute, found significant
link between nutrition and productivity
- Poor health of farmers → less innovative → unable to make improvements
Diversion of financial resources to healthcare
 - Public health expenditure will increase due to increased demand for it → because
more are sick
- Increases overall cost of providing healthcare
- For LDCs : increased spending on healthcare emans limited financial resources
directed for education, housing and transportation → slows down EG
Long-term debt due to food and financial aid
- This is given to help people and countries to cope with insufficient food supply →
long-term debt problems
- Results in them spending more money to import food than it would take them to
just produce it locally (34% more expensive to import) → can incur losses in the
LR → tied aid → increase debt of LDCs to DCs

Political
Social unrest
- Is a political situation in which people protest or behave violently, often to
communicate their unhappiness towards a political system
- E.g. food prices in Mozambique rose by 30% in 2010 → violent protests broke out
leaving 400 injured, 10 dead

Social
Scavenging
- Searching through things that other people throw away → food is so hard to
come by for them that they just eat wtv they can find to prevent starvation
- However, scavenged food can have health risks as they can contain high levels of
bacteria or heavy metals
- They may trespass private properties while searching for food → land themselves
in dangerous or illegal situations
- Thus they are perceived as a public nuisance and may be harrassed
- E.g. Smokey mountains in the philippines → people in LDCs may set up their
makeshift homes near this dump to scavenge and make a living by picking
through other people’s rubbish

(ii) Impacts of excess food consumption

Health
Obesity
- Condition of having excessive accumulation due to over-consumption of
nutrients, to the extent that it has a negative impact on health
 - People who are obese may suffer from health problems like diabetes, heart
disease and high blood pressure
- Obesity is more common in DCs due to increase DI → increased PP → increase
consumption of food → higher calorie intake e.g. USA
- However, also increasingly common in BRIC nations due to growing affluence
that leads to increase in food consumption
- Other diseases related to excessive food consumption includes kidney failures
due to over consumption of sugar, alcohol, salt and meat

Economic
Lower productivity
- Health impacts from obesity → more workers are absent and taking more leaves
from work
- Decreasing their productivity → decreased income
- Children lose educational opportunities from loss of school days
- On national level, employees absent from work can cause companies millions in
productivity and insurance costs
- Even if they are present → they aint productive due to poor health
- E.g. in Duke University USA, those with a BMI over 40 → 2x more likely to fall
sick while working → compensation claims needs to be paid by the university to
them if they fall sick during work
Diversion of financial resources to healthcare
- Public health expenditure will increase due to increased cases of obesity-related
illnesses
- When more people are suffering from this, Govt. needs to channel its financial
resources to the healthcare, reducing funds available for economic development
- Other sectors receives less monetary support, and with time the overall progress
of the nation will fall

Social
Food wastage
- Societies with excess food available for consumption has higher food wastage
- DCs waste as much food as the entire amount of food available in Sub-saharan
Africa (230 million tonnes)
- DCs throw away more food than LDCs
- The waste puts a strain on landfills, resources such as water and oil used
to prepare the food are wasted too
Dieting
 - Practice of regulating the amount of food consumed in order to maintain and
ideal body weight
- People overweight may choose to go on a diet
- eat low-calorie food e.g. salads or exercising
- Also provides employment for the economy, increase jobs in the health sector
- E.g. in 2012, USA weight loss industry valued at US$20 billion
- Inappropriate dieting can lead to depression, iron-deficiency anemia

Gateway 2: Trends and challenges in production of food crops

Trends in production of food crops

- Increasing intensity of production of food crops
- intensification : increase in productivity of farm
- Productivity: how efficient the farm is
- Productivity = output per unit area/ input per unit area = amount of crops
produced / amount of resources used
- Can measure in two ways
- 1. Labour per unit area: no. of people working on a unit area of land → less labour
to produce the same amount of crops = higher productivity
- No. of workers / land area (hectares)
- 2. Crop yield: amount of crops produced per unit area area of farmland → more
crops produced with the same amount of land = higher productivity
- Amount of crops produced (tonnes) / land area (hectares)
- Countries intensity in food production increases due to increased demand from
increased population growth

What factors affect the intensity of food production?

Physical
Climate
- The average condition of the atmosphere at a specific place over a long period of
time
- Affects the types of crops that can be grown → because rainfall and temperature
can affect the growth of plants
- Temperature affects rate of photosynthesis and seed germination
- Temperature less than 5 degrees celsius is difficult for plant growth, but it
can vary
- E.g. strawberries need cooler climates
 - Soybeans need warmer climates
- Rainfall also important and also varies from plant to plant
- Corns need more water than soya bean
- High temperature and rainfall usually conducive for growth
- Thus tropics best → longer growing seasons and allows more harvests (2-3)
a year
- Places with winter has less harvests
- Greenhouse can be used to create optimal conditions for plant growth, useful for
places with seasonal weather like USA
- Greenhouse can overcome short growing seasons because light, temp. And
irrigation can be controlled
- Enabling crops to be grown throughout the year
- Cattle and poultry also need favourable environments for growth
- They become stressed in extreme hot and cold temp. → likelihood of
infections → less milk less eggs → die
- Placed in shelters to protect them against harsh weather
Soil and drainage
- Soil is the top layer of earth’s surface made of rocks, mineral and organic matter
- Fertile soil: rich in minerals that are essential for plant growth, phosphorus,
potassium and nitrogen (PNK)
- Fertile soil usually found in floodplains, deltas of river mouth or near
volcanoes
- E.g. Mekong delta of vietnam → high in water supply, got flat terrain →
good for rice production
- Soil drainage: ability of soil to retain or drain off water
- Improper soil drainage can hinder growth
- E.g. oats need sandy soil that is well-drained and rice needs soil that
retains water well
Relief
- Is the slope and altitude of land surface
- Slopes can be modified to create flat land for farming through terracing →
increasing crop yield as land is maximised
- E.g. Longji rice terraces in china
- When relief is steep → rain is likely to remove top soil as it becomes less stable
when saturated with water → gets washed down slope → beneficial as topsoil is
rich in nutrients
- Steep relief allows well-drained soil → suitable for grapes, coffee and tea
 - Temperature also changes with altitude → increasing altitude → lower
temperatures → cooler temperature of mountainous areas suitable for growth of
strawberries

Economic
Demand and capital
- Demand refers to people’s willingness and ability to obtain a particular food crop
or product
- Demand affects intensity of food production
- Dd changes according to taste and preferences
- Affects type of food produced
- E.g. china used to be a huge exporter and producer of corn. However, in recent
years, more corn is needed to feed livestock as demand for meat has increased
due to increased affluence
- Thus china started to import corn from other countries, and other
countries have increased their production of corn to export to china
Purpose of farming
- Subsistence or commercial
- Subsistence:
- Small land (1-3 hectares)
- Purpose is to feed the farmer and his family
- Labour includes family members
- Capital: simple farming tools and seeds from prev. Harvests
- Low crop yield
- E.g. popular in sub-saharan africa
- Commercial:
- Large land (30 thousand hectares)
- Purpose is large scale production of crops intended for sale → cash crops.
Not really to meet consumer needs of farmers or its livestock
- Labour is hired
- Capital: machinery like tractors and combined harvesters
- High crop yield
- E.g. DCs - china, america, europe
Agribusiness
- Business or industry involved in food production
- Usually refers to large-scale farming and related business e.g. processing,
packaging, distribution and retailing
- Usually place importance on investing in R&D (research and development)
of food crops
 - Larger companies able to better withstand impact of changes in the environment
e.g. pests and floods, as compared to small-scale farmers due to greater financial
ability to absorb losses
- Larger companies also invest more, including R&D

Political
Government policy
- A plan of action taken by the government to change a specific situation
- 2 policies: helps achieve food security, when all people in an area are able to
obtain sufficient quantities of safe and nutritious food to maintain a healthy
lifestyle
- Agricultural policy
- Policies pertaining to domestic agriculture
- By deciding how limited resources like land and money may be
used
- The Government can influence the intensity of food production
- The Government can choose to channel resources into educating
farmers or more efficient ways of farming
- E.g. India, Punjab Agriculture Department started an education
programme for its wheat farmers where they were taught about
best available seed varieties, pesticide treatments and irrigation
methods
- Food policy
- Refers to a decision by government that affects how food is
produced, processed, distributed, purchased and packaged →
helping to ensure food security
- Stockpiling:
- Setting aside the storage of food to ensure food security
during emergencies (food from local farms or imported)
- Making sure government can still provide food in times of
food shortage or when food prices soar
- Diversifying the source of food supply:
- More food supplies sourced from other countries to defend
against food shortages and price fluctuations
- E.g. last time SG bought its vegetables mainly from
malaysia
- Today, a large % of its vegetables bought from other
countries like USA and China
International policy: ASEAN
 - ASEAN: Association of SouthEast Asian Nations. Organisation of 10 SEA
countries
- In 2011, ASEAN signed with china, japan, and south korea the ASEAN + 3
emergency rice reserve
- Requires commitment of large rice producers to supply rice for the reserve
- Rice can be used by the ASEAN + 3 countries in times of disaster
- China - 300,000 tonnes of rice
- During 2012, thailand, as the largest rice producer among ASEAN countries,
started a programme for other ASEAN nations to intensify food production in
the region
- Greater international cooperation allows for more stable agreements, allowing
food production to be intensified reliably without fear

Technological advances
Green revolution: refers to the rapid increase in productivity of agriculture through the
use of science and technology
- High yielding varieties (HYVs) : improved strains of crops such as rice and
wheat that have an increased growth rate
- Developed through selective cross-breeding found to exhibit favourable
characteristics e.g. grow faster, resistance to pests and diseases → more
harvests a year
- However, they require more water and nutrients
- E.g. wonder rice: growing season of 100 days compared to non-HYVs of
120 days
- IR8, a HYV rice → saved india from famine in 1960s → enabled 2x as much
crop yield
- Fertilisers : substances added to soil to provide nutrients for healthy plant
growth
- Are needed because nutrients in soil will be depleted gradually especially
after continuous use of farmland
- Often, farmland is not given the chance to fallow, thus small amounts of
nutrients → decrease crop yield
- Fertilisers bring back nutrients to soil and increases crop yield
- Pesticides : chemical substances used to kill insects and small animals that
destroy crops
- Herbicides: used to kill other undesirable plants that compete with the
crops for resources
- Pesticide malathion used to address fruit fly problem in california,
USA → necessary to fight high level of pest damage
 - With the removal of pests → crops protected → increase crop yield
- Irrigation: methods of supplying water to the land other than by natural means
(rain) to help crops grow
- Supplying water to areas that used to be too dry for farming → increase
amount of arable land worldwide
- E.g. great man made river in libya → allowed crops to grow in sahara desert
- A network of underground pipes, canals, reservoirs, tunnels that
draws water from underground aquifers deep in the Sahara desert
- Also flood irrigation (rice fields) and centre-pivot irrigation
- Mechanisation : farmers using more advanced technology to perform tasks that
they otherwise would have done manually
- Speeds up processes like preparing land, tending crops and harvesting →
helps increase crop yield as more land tended with less labour
- E.g. combined harvesters used to harvest crops → reduce reliance on
human labour

Effects / challenges in intensification of food production

Effect of irrigation on water and soil quality

- Water logging : when too much water seep through soil → causing it to be
over-saturated
- Cause roots to be deprived of air and nutrients that is needed for plant
growth → may eventually die
- Salinisation: occurs when water that’s added to the soil during irrigation,
evaporates directly from the moist soil → causing salt to be left behind on the soil
after evaporation
- Or when there is no proper drainage of excess water which allows
groundwater to reach the upper soil layers, bringing up dissolved salts
from ground → cause saline salts → unsuitable for crops
- E.g. Murray Darling basin in vitoria, australia → salt commonly found here,
salinisation occurs → causing soil surface to appear hard and cracked
Effect of chemicals on water and soil quality
- Contamination of groundwater
- Overuse of fertilisers and pesticides can cause chemicals to become
concentrated in soil → contaminate groundwater
- Can be washed into streams
- Contaminated water → unsafe for drinking
- Eutrophication : is the presence of excess nutrients in water → leading to algae
bloom
 - When chemicals washed into streams and rivers → they become nutrients
for algae to bloom on the surface of water → depletes oxygen in water and
blocks sunlight from reaching aquatic plants → death of underwater
species
- E.g. USA
- Measures taken to cope:
- Implementing control measures to manage run-off
- Raise awareness through programmes, campaigns, school
education
- Cooperation between government organisations and the
community to manage such environmental degradation

Why do food shortages still occur?

Physical: atmospheric conditions such as weather and climate or pests

Climate change:
- Refers to variations in the global climate or climate patterns in the long term
- Changes may cause existing farmland to become unsuitable for farming, may also
lengthened growing seasons
- Crops may no longer be able to grow in certain areas which were once suitable
for farming due to increased temperatures
- Seasonal melting of glaciers provides meltwater that feed into several river banks
like india and china
- Rapidly receding of glaciers caused by climate change can cause a loss in
water during dry seasons → decrease harvests
- E.g. when global temperatures increase, some countries will see their food
production decrease by 50%, like brazil and usa
Extreme weather events
- Refers to weather events which may cause loss of lives or damage to property
- E.g. droughts, cold waves, tropical cyclones, heat waves
- Droughts reduce water supply available for crops to grow
- Tropical cyclones can lead to flooding of farmland
- Thus this causes crop damage and makes it difficult to grow crops
- Can lead to significant food shortages, especially if the country is unable
to recover
- E.g. tropical cyclone Yasi struck Queensland and damaged half of the
states crops like bananas
Pests
- Are wild rabbits, moles and insects
 - They eat crops and reduces crop yield, damage crops
- E.g. in liberia, 2009, tens of millions of caterpillars invaded the country, ate plants
and food crops in their path → food shortage

Political
Civil strife
- Refers to a situation in which a country faces major internal conflicts e.g. riots,
unrest civil war, and disputes over the control of resources of food production →
land and water
- These resources may be destroyed in the midst of all these unrest → hinder food
production
- Stop food production during and after conflict
- Vicious cycle may occur if root cause of conflict i lack of food supply
Poor governance
- Governance is the exercise of economic and political authority to manage the
country's affairs
- Poor governance → corruption, policy errors, inability to implement policies →
food shortage
- Government can also threaten food security when they prioritise other
development needs over ensuring food security
- Local farmers thus left with smaller plots of land for farming → decrease
crop yield
- E.g. indian state of madhya pradesh, in 2010, 40,000 villagers were
deprived of land for farming due to the development of mining → lost
means to produce own food
Economic
Rising demand for meat and dairy products from emerging economies
- A no. of LDCs - BRIC are growing at rates that allows them to contribute
significantly to the global economy
- Due to increase in DI, allows them to afford more meat and dairy products → food
dd increases
- Sustained growth in dd will deplete global food inventories, especially grain
- Thus an increase in urban middle class will have more PP → causes food
shortages in poorer countries due to increased dd which leads to an
increase in price due to shortage → unable to afford
Soaring cost of fertilisers and transport
- Cost of fertilisers and transport can directly affect the cost of food
- Prices of fertilisers increase → COP increase → price increases, also the same
direct relationship with transport
 - Energy costs, especially oil, also responsible for the rise in prices
- Fuel costs increase, transport and machine operation increases too→
increase food prices because modern agriculture uses petrol to fuel farm
machinery and transport
- E.g. March 2011, world crude oil prices went up by around 10%, kazakhstan,
major producer of wheat, increased the prices of wheat exported to neighbouring
countries (pass on costs)
- Increase in food prices affects the poor very badly as a large % of their income is
already spent on food, any further increase in price will cause them to be unable
to afford to meet their basic nutritional needs
Conversion of farmland to industrial crop production to produce biofuel crops
- Growing crops for industrial use is more profitable than growing food crops, thus
many companies and farmers have converted their farmland to grow biofuel
crops instead
- Biofuels: fuels that derive energy from biological carbon instead of fossil fuels
- E.g. corn and sugarcane are biofuel crops
- With rising demand for biofuel, less food is grown for nourishment of people
(eating)
- E.g. experts estimate that about 25% of all food in america became fuel for
vehicles instead of food for people

Social
Lack of accessibility
- Accessibility refers to how easily residents can reach the food available
- Transport facilities e.g. road and rail links must be made available so food can
also be reached by people living far away from food sources
- Accessibility also depends on the number of locations of food outlets
- In LDCs, food outlets may be few and far apart from one another → people have
smaller food intake and unable to obtain fresh produce
Inadequate logistics of food distribution and storage
- Food distribution: movement of food from farms to retail outlets → depends on
presence of good transport networks
- Sometimes affected due to physical barriers e.g. landslides, mountains →
affects stability
- Significant if local production cannot meet local demand → during these times,
imports for food is necessary
- E.g. ⅓ of Timor-leste experiences food shortages, worsened by lack of storage
facilities and difficulties in accessing to the rural communities
Rapid population growth (unstoppable man)
 - High population growth from high birth rates in LDCs → food supply unable to
meet growing demand for food
- Crucial to increase food production to match population growth rate
- E.g. by 2025, 75% of sub-saharan africans will rely on food aid
- They have small amounts of land for farming, worsened by increased
temperatures and high population growth in both urban and rural areas →
food shortage

Is technology effective in helping to reduce food shortage?

- Successful
- However, dealing with food shortage is a challenge that involves management
through various perspectives → unequal distribution of food → meaning food
shortage may be reduced but there is still uneven distribution → hence food
shortage still present
- So it can increase crop yield but not fully effective in solving food shortage, does
not ensure everyone gets sufficient food