Bringing back the trees -
Responses to deforestation
Teacher's Notes
| Case Study | Student Activities |
Overview
Nepal is a landlocked country located in the Himalayan region of Central Asia. Throughout the latter part of the twentieth century, poverty and a rapid rate of population growth have resulted in major land degradation problems on the steeply sloping lands of the country's Middle Hill region. Deforestation for fuel wood, building, the clearing of hill sides for farm terraces and removal of humus in the form of forest litter for fodder have resulted in serious soil erosion, poor catchment management and water supplies which are turbid and turgid. The Australian Government's overseas aid agency has been actively working with local villagers on community forestry projects since the late 1970s in an attempt to rehabilitate the land, empower local people and improve living conditions.
Level
Upper Secondary
Links with Nationally Developed Statements and Profiles
Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) Geography Units 1, 2, 3 and 4
Geography Course - Unit 1: Place and change
Area of Study 2: Changes in places
- the nature, rate and scale of change in different places
- human activities that alter places
Geography Course - Unit 2: Living conditions
Area of study 2: Change in living conditions
- the varied factors affecting spatial variations in living conditions, including economic processes
- the role of government programs and non-government organisations in reducing local variations
Geography Course - Unit 3: Resources
Area of Study 2: Resource Management
- the positive and negative aspects of resource use on people and their environments at a range of scales
- factors which affect the sustainable development of resources
- the effectiveness of management policy in regulating the use of resources and rehabilitating environments, in particular, the principles and practices of ecologically sustainable development
Geography Course - Unit 4: Global perspectives
Area of Study 2: Global responses
- government and non-government organisations' responses to selected phenomena in the short and long term
- responses which attempt to manage the effects of phenomena at a range of scales
- the effectiveness of the strategies in responding to the phenomena
National curriculum
Studies of Society and the Environment (learning area) Resources (concept strand) -Use of resources (concept strand organiser) Investigation, communication and participation (process strand)
Objectives
Students will:
- gain an overview of an environment undergoing major change
- identify the impact of these changes on people and place
- compare and contrast spatial variations in living conditions in Nepal and Australia
- describe responses to the global phenomenon of deforestation at a local scale
- establish criteria to evaluate the effectiveness that the Australian Government's overseas aid program has made to the issue of deforestation in Nepal.
Preparation
You will need to provide your students with the following materials:
- a black outline political map of Asia
- access to an atlas or map showing the location of Nepal and its geographic characteristics (size, topography, drainage and vegetation patterns)
- a photocopy of the case study and student activities
- an understanding of plate tectonic theory as it applies to mountain building in Nepal and South Asia
- access to computer facilities for the World Wide Web.
Procedure
It is likely that this unit will be used to provide case study material for students undertaking work on place and change, spatial variations in living conditions, resource use and management or responses to global phenomena.
This case study on Nepal allows you to provide students with a range of resources to examine these issues. Activities have been developed to cater for a variety of learning styles and the range of thinking skills from listing and describing through to synthesis, analysis, evaluation and prediction.
The variety of resources available from the Australian Government's overseas aid agency will enrich the teaching and learning experience.
Resources
Printed
- The Statesman's Yearbook, Macmillan, London 2000.
- The World Guide: an alternative reference to the countries of the planet, 1999, New Internationalist, Oxford 1999.
- Focus Magazine, June 1996, AusAID. Available from:
Canberra Mailing:
PO Box 650
Fyshwick ACT 2609
Ph: 02 6269 1230
Fax: 02 6269 1229
Email: books@ausaid.gov.au
Websites
General
- Population Reference Bureau (PRB). Information on world population trends with search facilities to find specific data on individual countries and regions:
- Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID)'s website provides information on the Government's aid program, including data on a range of projects in Nepal:
Maps
- Encarta Encyclopedia on line:
http://www.encarta.msn.com/find/search.asp?search=Nepal&submit1=Go
- Encarta Map - Nepal and surrounding nations:
http://www.encarta.msn.com/maps/mapview.asp?mi=T629461A&ms=0
Country Information
- Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has background information and facts and figures on Nepal:
http://www.dfat.gov.au/geo/nepal/index.html
- America's Central Intelligence Agency's website has a diversity of information on Nepal (Fact Book: Nepal):
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