2011+Murray+Darling+Basin

Spatial Concepts - [|**Spatial Concepts.pptx**]

You must understand the 9 spatial concepts and be able to apply them when answering questions. You will be expected to be able to use them comfortably when responding to questions during this course.

Use the sentence starters on page 12 of the textbook to help you in creating appropriate statements. **PRACTISE**.

There will be more work on various spatial concepts throughout the course, but if this is your first year of Geography then you should definitely be doing extra practise.



** Mapping **

Map skills are important in Geography and will be needed for your exam, especially map reading skills. You need to be able to satisfy mapping conventions, and the easiest way to do this is to use BOLTSS, use pencils, rulers, be neat and be ACCURATE!

1. Create an overlay of rainfall distribution in the MDB. This is done on transparent paper and must also include BOLTSS. Use the Rainfall Distribution map on p.4 of the supplement. 2. Stick the top edge of the overlay map onto the base map in your book. [|**MDB base map.doc**]

** Distribution **

Before we describe //Spatial Association// lets practise plain old //distribution//. 1. Describe the distribution of Ramsar Convention wetlands in the MDB using the map in New Perspectives p.

Use: **P**attern **E**xample **E**xception **Q**uantification

This acronym will help you create a solid answer. You must ALWAYS give an example with information from the source maps, BE SPECIFIC, e.g. an average of 300 mm/year of rainfall.

The average annual rainfall in the MDB has a linear pattern. For example, the east of the MDB receives on average more than 600 mm/year of rain in areas such as Narrabri and Tamworth (800+mm/year), and decreases towards the west where some areas such as Broken Hill and Morgan receive less than 300mm/year. However, the south of the MDB, along the Great Dividing Range there is still high average annual rainfall despite being further west, e.g. Seymour has over 600mm/year.

Use these worksheets to practise, and I will gladly mark them for you. [|Distribution worksheets.docx]

** Describing Spatial Association **

Use: **D**egree **E**xample **E**xception **Q**uantification

First state what the spatial association is (the degree). Is it strong/moderate/weak

When giving an example, be sure to use figures/names from BOTH maps.

1. Describe the relationship between population centres in the MDB and rainfall distribution.

First you need to identify, where are most of the towns? Then, are they mostly located in one area of rainfall?

YES, most towns are where there is more rainfall. There is a STRONG relationship.

Now, choose two towns as your examples and state how much rainfall they receive on average/year.

What about the other towns that are located in areas of low rainfall? They are the exceptions. Again, name two towns and their average rainfall/year stating that they are the exception.

There is a strong relationship between rainfall and population centres in the MDB. For example, the majority of towns are located where there is more than 600mm of rainfall per year, such as Tamworth (600mm/year) and Toowomba (800mm/year). However, there are population centres located in areas of low average rainfall such as Broken Hill and White Cliff which both receive less than 300mm/year of rainfall.

** History of use **

The way water is used in the MDB has been greatly influenced by history. To really understand water use we need to take a trip back to the early days.... The Systems in Crisis DVD is very good at looking back to the early settlers and how water use has evolved since then.

Regulation of the river system began with the early settlers. Many experienced difficulty and frustration with variable river flows and climate with their farming practices. The Europeans brought with them their ideas of farming, and set to changing the river system to suit them, as opposed to the other way.

We will a segment of the ‘System in Crisis’ DVD, Chapter //Early days//. Complete the worksheet [|Early days Worksheet for DVD.doc]

Have a look at this file for some more information...

Read supplement p. 10.

1. Complete activities 1 and 2 on p.13

** Land use **

As we know, the MDB is a hub of agriculture production. 52% of Australia’s total water consumption is in the MDB, so what is all this water for? Well, for both industry and households. Considering that 71% of Australia’s total irrigated land is also located in the MDB, probably no surprise there.

The MDB region can be divided into four ‘agricultural regions’. There is a strong spatial association between land use and rainfall. · Uplands · Plains · Rangelands · Irrigation areas

We will watch another segment ‘land use’ from the DVD //System in Crisis//. Again, complete the worksheet while watching.

1. Complete activity 3 on supplement p.13

Now we will have a go at putting together our own MDB landuse map. As Wednesday is our last class until next TUESDAY! you will need to complete the map over the next week.

You will use the land use handout and the MDBC land use map provided in class on Wed 09/03. Your supplement from page 11 will also help you.

1. Using the Land use map from the MDBC (before the MDBA), which shows rainfall, we will add the agricultural regions above. Do this by lightly adding colour with **pencil**. 2. Remember to add the 4 colours used into your legend. 3. We will now use the **symbols** already provided on your map to show where each of the agricultural products are from. Do not shade in the whole area, but add the symbol.

**Cotton**

Cotton is an important crop in the MDB and in Australia. It employs 10000 people and supports 4000 businesses as well as earning $1.5 billion in revenue for Australia!

Have a read through this fact sheet, in class we will take some notes down that will help us to collect facts to use in exam questions.

We will use this opportunity to practise describing the relationship between cotton growing locations and rainfall in the MDB. This is **spatial association**.

Remember that a **strong** association occurs when high or low areas occur **together**.

Activities: 1. Using p18-19 of the supplement, make bullet points under each of the sub-headings. 2. Complete the questions on p.19, 2,4,5,6,7b

means you njeed to weigh up and interpret a atatement, viewpoint or a situation. You need to consider each aspect referred to in the statement, commenting on **strengths** and **weaknesses**. You need to finish with your own judgement.
 * Evaluate**

//evaluate - 'More land should be devoted to growing cotton in the MDB'//

//** Impacts of water use **//

· Millions of people in Australia and around the world are fed and clothed by its products.

· 2 million people live in the region and work in agriculture, processing, transport, tourism, and service industries.

· Irrigation has enabled this development to happen.

· Management is necessary so that the reliability of water supplies and food security is maintained.

· Basin now has more tourism and is becoming very important for the region. But reports that the drought in the Basin has meant visitor numbers are dropping, in fact so much so that in the Riverland region of S.A the number of visitors in the 2008/2009 year dropped by 40%. The perception is incorrect as the weirs and locks and river regulation in general provides plenty of areas for recreation. · The MDB river system is now heavily regulated.

· In 200 years it has changed dramatically. Before settlement, all precipitation was used by the environment.

· As Australia grew, and developed, more and more water was used to support the population and the most productive agricultural region.

· The MD river system is now one of the most regulated systems in the world. Weirs, dams, irrigation channels have all contributed into regulating the river system.

· It has taken a lot of time and effort and money to transform the Murray and its tributaries.

//** Salinity **//



// 1. Read p.22 of the supplement and copy figure 1.24 into your books. Be sure to use a ruler, and annotate the diagram carefully. //

// 2. Complete activity 5 on p.23 //

// To answer ////Explain// questions – //Give reasons as to why a particular situation exists or process occurs.//

3. Watch the System in Crisis chapter and answer the questions. [|Salinity MDB.doc]


 * Management**

While I am away visiting students, you will use the last two lessons of the term to complete an introduction into Management of the MDB.

Be sure to use your own words, and be as accurate as possible in your mapping.[|Intro to MDB Management.docx]


 * Holiday Homework: [|2011 Unit 3 Conflict Research Holiday Homework.doc]**

**Management**

We have seen throughout this Unit that water in the MDB is used in many ways and the amount of water needed is increasing. We will now see how these competing demands for water are managed and who is involved.

Management: The decisions made

Policy: An aim or plan to change a situation

// e.g. To improve the health of river environments..... //

Strategy: Ways in which a policy can be achieved. They are __specific__ actions

// e.g. To limit the amount of water that can be removed in any period of time //

The __Water Act 2007__ was introduced to as a policy for managing the Murray Darling Basin water.

// From your research prior to the holidays, complete: //

The Water Act aims to return water....................... to environmentally .......................... levels, to protect ........................., and to maximise the ...................... return to Australians from the use and .............................. of the Basin ........................... resources.

Water; Extraction; economic; ecosystems; management; sustainable

1. Read top of p.28

2. Brainstorm ways as to why policies in the MDB have changed over time since European settlement. Use SHEEPT. [|Management Policies change over time.doc.docx]

3. Complete the handout attached. [|Management Policies in the Murray Darling Basin.docx]



Management policies in the MDB have changed depending on what was valued in the area and what was needed most. The top of the timeline above, shows how the focus has shifted from transpost in the 19th century to sustainable management today.

1. Use the info to cut and paste into the timeline above. Most of them have dates, so it shouldn’t be too difficult!

** Evaluating Policies for Management of the Murray-Darling Basin ** ** Policy ** An aim or general statement of intent by an organisation to develop and modify a particular set of circumstances. E.g. of a policy is ‘to have halted and begun to reverse the worldwide incidence of malaria by 2015’.

** Strategy ** The means to achieve a policy. This is the breakdown of activities that ensure the development and implementation of policy. E.g. of a strategy is ‘to have increased the number of doctors to provide vaccination programs against malaria’.

** Evaluate ** To express an opinion, support it with evidence and measure the extent to which sustainable management is achieved. Evaluation words are strengths and weaknesses, beneficial / detrimental etc.

** Criteria ** Standards or measures used to evaluate success and sustainability. Criteria help to determine what is most appropriate for the present and the future.

** SAFEIT ** A range of criteria could be used to evaluate responses to management strategies in the Murray-Darling Basin. These could include:

** S ** ustainability: Can the use be managed into the future and not harm the environment? ** A ** ffordability: The cost of implementation of the policy and strategies (is it affordable?) ** F ** airness: Is it equitable to all users? ** F ** lexibility: Is it able to be adapted to new ideas, technogies etc. ** E ** ffectiveness: How effective the response is to deal with the issue at a local, regional and national scale? ** I ** ncentives: Users may get a ‘reward’ e.g. new facilities ** T ** imescale: The time it will take to implement the management plans, can be long or short term.

** Effectiveness ** Refers to the degree to which a particular policy or strategy achieves its goals. A very effective policy results in all goals being satisfied. At times, successful goals may be achieved over a longer time. Therefore when we describe effectiveness we say a policy is //very effective, partly effective// or //ineffective.//

**The Living Murray Initiative**

**SAC 1B on May 2nd.** It will be out of 10 marks.

Revise: · History of use of the MDB · SHEEPT factors as to its use · The Living Murray Initiative · Basic info about the Water Act and MDBA


 * CONFLICT **


 * Here are the links to the North South Pipeline videos we watched in class :) **

 ABC Stateline []
 * An unpopular view **

[] 