Economic Activities
Irrigation in the Nile Valley
• The Nile is Africa’s longest river at 6.671Km
• It flows to the northwards through the Sahara to the Mediterranean
Population distribution • The population of Egypt is 77 million
• People live in the floodplain of the River Nile and in the delta region
Annual Flooding
• Since ancient times, the Nile floodplain in Egypt was under water for several weeks every year
• When the waters lowered, people grew crops on the damp soil.
• The soil was fertilised by sediments carried by the waters
Disadvantages of the dam• Nile floodplain no longer floods annually;
therefore sediments are stored at the bottom of Lake Nasser.
• The canals that distribute the water contain a water snail that’s is harmful to humans
• Much water is lost through evaporation in Lake Nasser
The Aswan Dam• In 1975 the construction of the Aswan dam was
completed. • The dam stores millions of tonnes of water in
Lake Nasser and is released throughout the year through canals and pipelines along the Nile valley
Future plans
• Scheme being developed to irrigate parts of the western desert to help people move from the overcrowded Nile Valley
Case StudySaudi Arabia
Exploitation of Ireland’s peat lands• Raised bogs are found in
shallow depression in the midland counties and can be up to 12 metres deep.
• Blanket bogs are found in upland areas in the west of Ireland and are 3 to 4 metres deep.
• Bogs can be worked out (exhausted) in 50 years
Traditional methods of peat cutting
• Meitheals of workers cut turf using a sleán (a type of spade).
• The sleán was an example of traditional technology.
• Output was very slow
Bord na Móna• In 1946 Bord na Móna began to exploit Ireland’s
bogs.
• Modern machinery was used to exploit the resource.
• Bogs were drained to allow water to run off allowing the peat to compress.
• Machinery could then travel over the bogs
Stages in the exploitation of a bogi) The bog is drained ii) The peat is harvested iii) The peat is transported iv) The peat is marketed
Machinery used• Ditcher Miller Harrow Ridger
Peat products• Horticultural products such as peat moss • Peat briquettes are sold to domestic consumers
for home heating• Milled peat used in power stations to generate
electricityConservation
• Bord na Móna is now returning some bogs to wetlands and preserving them in their natural state for future generations to enjoy.
Fishing
Sustainable exploitation
• Fish is a renewable resource if it is sustainably managed
• Fish stocks will eventually disappear when trawlers take more fish than are replaced by breeding
Irelands continental shelf
• The seas off the Irish coast form a continental shelf
• This is an area of sea close to land in which large shoals of fish can thrive
The Irish fishing industry
• The Irish fishing industry was small in scale until recent decades (joining the EU in 1973)
• Many fishermen used small trawlers with small nets or in currachs
Fishing ports in Ireland
EU membership
• EU membership meant that Ireland surrendered its control of its fisheries to Brussels
• Ireland had to share its fisheries with other EU countries
• Therefore greater amounts of fish were caught especially after Spain joined in 1985
Modern fishing technology
Endangered Fish species• Due to overfishing 25 of the 56 species of fish
caught in Irish waters are in decline• These include cod, herring, hake, haddock and
sole
Reasons for overfishing include the following
• Too many well equipped trawlers are chasing too fish
• Illegal fishing in Irish waters• Juvenile fish are being caught reducing the next
years catch
Conservation • The Irish conservation box is an area of 100,000
km2 used for spawning ground
• Scientists check numbers of species of fish• Quotas are placed on the amount of fish caught• Number of trawlers is being reduced • Mesh size of nets is fixed so juvenile fish can
escape• Fishing season for some species is shortened • Trawlers from outside EU are not allowed to fish in
EU waters
Farming
Farming is a system with many inputs, processes and outputs
Inputs fertilisers & machinery
Processes milking cows & spreading fertilisers
Outputsmilk & beef
Mixed Farms
Processes throughout the year