Lesson video

Hello geographers, my name's Mrs. Hormigo.

I'm really looking forward to teaching you today.

I hope you're going to learn lots and enjoy the lesson.

Let's get started.

Today's lesson looks at conflicts that can exist between the different land uses taking place in glaciated upland areas, and how the pressure between development and conservation can be difficult.

By the end of the lesson, you'll be able to understand how conflicts may exist between different land uses and between development and conservation in glaciated upland areas.

Conflict are the tensions between people or activities with opposing views or impacts.

Development, usually involving landscape change, for example, road building or new houses.

Conservation, preserving the natural or built environment, usually with minimal change.

And stakeholder, individuals or groups with an interest or concern in a particular issue.

There are two parts to today's lesson: Why do conflicts occur due to different land uses? And what conflicts arise due to developments? Let's get started with our first learning cycle: Why do conflicts occur due to different land uses? What is conflict? So conflict refers to disagreement or clash between individuals, groups, or countries, often caused by differing interests, values, or needs.

So it can happen on very different scales and for many, many different reasons.

Tourism, farming, quarrying, and forestry are economic activities that take place in glaciated upland areas.

They bring many benefits, they provide jobs, and they support the local economy.

However, they do have negative impacts as well, and it does lead to conflict.

Let's look first at tourism.

So tourism leads to new infrastructure development, which is of a benefit to local people and businesses, as well as tourists.

However, footpath erosion can lead to habitat loss and damage.

And local people can be affected by rising house prices as more and more homes are taken for second homes or for use with tourists, and more people and more cars in the area can lead to greater congestion.

Tourists can cause harm by damaging fences, picking plants, and trampling on crops, or disturbing livestock as they explore the unique natural environment.

Quarrying: So quarrying will damage habitats, and it is very unpopular with conservationists.

We can see there that there's been a removal of a layer of vegetation and soil before they dig into the rock to extract the minerals that they're looking for.

Open mines, such as this one, can cause unsightly scars on the landscape once they've been left alone.

And large transport vehicles used to collect the mined minerals can disrupt small local villages, leading to noise pollution, and quite often, the roads nearby are very narrow and it can make congestion quite difficult.

Check for you now.

Which of these are positive impacts of tourism and quarrying in glaciated upland areas? A: create jobs for local people.

B: can reduce biodiversity.

C: can cause pollution in the local area.

Or D: can support local industries.

Pause a video and make your decision.

I expect you chose A and D.

They can create jobs for local people and they can support local industries.

Forestry involves the felling of trees which harms local habitats, and the resulting deforestation can cause an increased risk of flooding and surface runoff as there are less trees to absorb the rainwater and protect the soil.

Evergreen forests tend to have lower biodiversity compared to mixed woodlands, which would be what you would expect as a natural ecosystem here.

Farming can lead to increased flooding as the trees will be cleared for grazing, so surface runoff will increase.

Overgrazing can cause soil erosion that reduces the quality of the soil and can lead to pollution of water sources.

And conservationists believe that natural environments should be preserved and farming changes it, removes the natural vegetation, and changes that to support the farming practises.

True or false then? "Farming does not cause conflict in upland glaciated environments." Make your decision, and remember to have a reason why.

Pause a video, and come back when you are ready.

I hope you said False, and your reason may have looked something like this: Farming supports traditional economies and it provides jobs.

However, the clearing of land for farming can increase the flood risk, and overgrazing can damage soil quality, well done.

First task for you now.

Can you complete a table similar to this and explain how tourism and forestry can cause conflict in glaciated upland areas? Jacob's got a good point.

"As the question says explain, I must make sure my answer identifies the impact and gives reasons why." Pause the video and come back when you've had a go.

Your table might have looked something like this: For tourism, tourism can cause conflict with local people as it increases congestion on roads and leads to a rise in house prices.

It also causes conflict with environmental groups as footpath erosion leads to the loss of habitats.

And for forestry, it can cause conflict with environmental groups as biodiversity will be reduced, as native habitats are lost or disrupted in the process of growing and logging trees commercially.

Well done if you had something similar to those answers.

Let's move now to our second learning cycle.

What conflicts arise due to developments? Glaciated upland areas are often protected due to their unique geological features such as lakes, valleys, and mountain ranges.

Quite often in the UK, we find there are national parks protecting these areas.

Conflicts arise when developments threaten these protected areas.

There needs to be a balance between conservation, the need to protect the environment, and development, the need for economic activities to support the area.

Why is it that these conflicts arise? Economic gain versus environmental impact? It may be that people see certain areas as rich in natural resources, and so they want to extract those and make use of those to create jobs, employment, and exports to support the economy, against the impact that will have on the environment.

Access and restrictions.

So it may be that certain areas are protected or that indigenous communities have more rights to the land, and this may cause problems as people try to use it differently.

Different stakeholder viewpoints.

They may think different things are better for that local area or for that unique landscape than others.

Pressure on resources, so more people in the area puts greater pressure on natural resources and communities.

And competing priorities.

People see a different outcome being better for themselves than other groups, and so they want to change the land use in order to support their needs.

Cairngorms, the Lake District, and Eryri National Park, all provide ideal locations for the development of renewable energy projects, and this is due to natural resources they may have, the geography, so their location and their climate, the low population density and the space, and the existing infrastructure.

However, there is conflict between different stakeholders over these types of developments.

Environmental groups, farmers, local communities, and government agencies all have very different viewpoints and interests in doing this.

How do you think their viewpoints will differ? What do you think their priorities will be? Let's just check, what is a stakeholder? A: a person who buys shares in a new development.

B: a person or group with an interest or concern in a particular issue.

Or C: a person who is employed in a company.

Pause the video and make your decision.

Hopefully you chose B.

So a stakeholder is a person or a group with an interest or a concern in a particular issue.

Development of renewable energy can cause conflict with conservation.

Large-scale developments like wind farms and hydroelectric schemes can dramatically change the natural landscape.

Wind farms and hydropower projects could threaten local wildlife.

For example, bats and birds of prey may be at risk from wind turbines in the Cairngorms, while changes to river flows could harm fish populations in Snowdonia.

Another example of a conflict that may exist between farming, tourism and local communities through the development of renewable energy is the construction of wind farms or large reservoirs may require land that is currently used for agriculture or housing, which would potentially affect local communities' livelihoods.

And developments like wind farms or large-scale hydroelectric plants can detract from the scenic beauty that actually attracts the visitors.

Government policies for renewable energy can conflict with local community and conservation needs.

Government energy policies will prioritise renewable energy production to meet national goals, whereas this may not align with local communities' needs, and may have a negative impact on the landscape or wildlife.

True or false then? "Development of renewable energy can conflict with conservation in glaciated upland areas." Make your decision, and have a reason why.

Pause the video, and come back when you've decided, Hopefully you said True, and a reason may have been, "They can often cause conflict between different stakeholders.

For example, environmental groups want to protect the landscape and biodiversity, whereas local governments may need to prioritise renewable energy production to meet national targets." Well done if your answer was similar to that.

Right, there's a task for you now.

You need to read through this scenario and then answer the questions.

"A company is planning to build a new hydroelectric dam in the Cairngorms National Park to produce renewable energy.

The dam will be constructed on a river known for its unique landscapes.

The project aims to generate electricity to supply nearby communities.

The area has a variety of plant and animal species, some of which are protected.

The park also attracts thousands of tourists each year due to the scenic beauty and outdoor recreational opportunities of this glaciated upland area." The two questions to think about: Identify two land uses in the scenario above that might conflict with each other.

And two, explain how these land uses might cause conflict.

Pause the video, reread the scenario, and think carefully about some answers to questions one and two.

Your answers for these questions may be similar to this: For the two land uses, you may have identified environmental groups and local government.

And explaining how these land uses might cause conflict, you may have said, "Environmental groups could oppose their hydroelectric dam in the Cairngorms due to its potential to damage wildlife habitats and disrupt this park's scenic beauty, which is vital for tourism.

On the other hand, the local government would support the dam for its potential to provide renewable energy and boost the local economy through jobs and infrastructure development.

Well done if you had something similar to that.

Let's look now at a summary of today's lesson.

There can be conflict in glaciated upland areas over land use because the benefits to some stakeholders of using the land in one way can have negative impacts on others who favour using the land in a different way.

Glaciated upland areas are often protected due to their unique landscape.

However, they often provide ideal locations for renewable energy production.

This can lead to a common area of conflict between development and conservation.

Well done today.

Hopefully you now feel more aware of the types of conflicts that can exist through different land uses in upland glaciated environments.

I look forward to seeing you again soon.