Development Gap

Type of Event: Flooding

Where?: Bangladesh

When?: Septemeber 2004

Effects: 350mm of rain 24hrs. Snowmelt in Himalayas. Flat land - 70% is over 1m above sea level

Short Term: Floods covered over 50%, 760 people killed, 8.5 million homeless, rice farms and fishing distributed, roads and bridges damaged, 35 million affected in some way

Long Term: Over 1 million children suffered from malnutrition and disease eg cholera

Immediate Responses: Emergancy aid brought in by MEDCs by UK and Australia. Water, food, medicines, tents, purification tablets etc were dropped in by UN by helicopters

Long Term Responses: Repair to roads, bridges costing $2-3 billion. Also build flood defences - borrowed $5 million from the worlds bank. Flood warning systems have been developed and people have been encourgaed to build their houses above flood level by the help of NGOs such as Oxfam

Location: Dam build on Zambesi river to provide Mozambique with electricity

Type of Aid: From Portugal - colonlised Mozambique before. Aid was:

• BILATERAL (1 country to another)
• TIED (had to fulfil conditions laid down by that country)
• DEVELOPMENTAL (aimed to improve the quality of life for Mozambique)
• TOP-DOWN (aid given to the government to help people in the country)

Consequences:

• Electricity was sold mainly to South Africa (richer, more able to afford it, more demand)
• Profit goes to the Mozambique government (doesnt do anything for the people)
• Only 1% of Mozambique's rural population (the poor) have access to it/can afford it
• Dam and lake caused environmental damage - destroyed land and affected the flow of the river
• Other places downstream had a fall in water supply
• HOWEVER...It had helped control flooding which has caused serious damage before

GNP (Gross National Product): US $ per capita - measures countries wealth based on value of goods and services produced by people and companies in one year

GNI (Gross National Income): US $ per capita -  Measures countries wealth based on the value of goods and services from one country plus the profit received by that country from economic activity

HDI (Human Development Index): Based on 3 variables: life expectancy, education, standard of living. Only goes uo to 1.0. Wealthy countries over 0.9, poor countries 0.5 and below

Birth Rate (BR): Number of live births per 1000 population, per year

Death Rate (DR): Number of deaths per 1000 population, per year

Infant Mortality Rate: Number of babies (0-12months) dying per 1000 live births

Adult literacy rate: % of adults that can read and write

Life expectancy: Average age which a population can expect to live to (male/female is different)

 Quality of Life: QUANLITATIVE - Personal (can't be measured)

• How enjoyable a persons life it,. High quality is living comfortably (without always being wealthy). Low quality is always trying to survive eg. Poverty - having to steal, benefits etc

Standard of Living: QUANTIFIABLE - Measurable and can be compared

• A measurement of the standard of different social factors in a country, such as health, eductation etc

Unfair Trade:

Fair Trade:

• Farmers join a trading group or a fair trade scheme
• This gives them a fair price for their crops and protects them from very low prices
• Also protects the environment and strengthen the community - sustainable development

Conservation Swaps:

• Poorer countried will use every natural resource avaliable, resulting in future difficulties
• Rich countries will wite of a portion of countrie debt in exchange for a promise by the debtors country to do environmental conservation projects
• Eg: Bolivia set aside rainforests as a nature reserve, N.America took of $650,000 of debt

Loans:

• Borrow money, with interest, and pay back over a period of time
• Eg: IMF - Internation Monetary Fund, The World Bank and International Banks lend money

Aid:

• Short term aid - can save lives - eg. blankets, food, tents, water etc
• Long term aid - used to build buildings, infrastructure, facilities such as schools + hospitals
• Some aid is lost to corrupt governments

Debt Relief and Abolition:

• Poorer countries are helped with debt relief by reducing interest rate or amount of the loan
• Some debts are abolished or written of completely
• The money saved can help develop the country

What is it?: - Charity, improving countries access to safe, clean water, hygine and sanitation

Where has it helped?: - 27 countries in Africa, Asia, the Pacific region and Central America

Bangaladesh 2011 - after floods (other case study):

- Helped 259,000 people gain access to clean, safe water

- Helped 536,000 people gain access to sanitation

- Bad water - has diseases - diarrhoea, cholera etc poor health

- Safe water - better health, go to school, get a job, earn money - better standard of living

- They educated people about water and keeping dirty and clean water seperate