Industrialisation
The Value of Coastal Ecosystems
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All ecosystems offer people a range of opportunities – goods and services
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Goods – a material resource that can be extracted and used
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Services – general benefits and advantages
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- Coastal ecosystems can provide the following:
Goods | Services |
Fish Shellfish Salt |
Protection from: Storms Coastal flooding Rising sea levels |
Fishmeal Animal feed |
Harbours Natural Shelter |
Seaweed for: Food Industrial Use Medicines |
Recreation Leisure opportunities |
Land for: Building Farming |
Biodiversity Wildlife habitats |
Construction Materials: Sand Timber (Mangrove) |
Natural waste treatment |
Worked example
Explain the value of a named coastal ecosystem (4)
- Answer:
- Coral reefs have a large range of biodiversity. For instance, the Great Barrier Reef in Australia has over 700 species of coral, 1500 species of fish and 4000 species of mollusc (1)
- Coral reefs also protect a low lying coast from the impact of tropical storms (1)
- Coral reefs have a rich fish stock that can supply basic food requirements to many developing countries (1)
- However, its main value lies in its recreational opportunities, such as tourism, snorkelling, and scuba diving (1)
- As a tourist destination as over 150 million people each year take holidays in areas with coral reefs (1)
Industrial Threats
- Threats to Coral Reefs
- Coral reefs are easily stressed by human action, if the stress persists, then the death of the reef soon follows
- Pollution, overfishing and quarrying of coral for building stone
- Industrialisation is responsible for rising sea temperatures and sea-level rise, putting coral reefs under threat
- Rising sea temperatures increase levels of coral bleaching
- Threats to Mangroves
- Pollution, overfishing and deforestation for aquaculture
- Clearance for land development particularly in developing countries
- Threats to Sand Dunes
- Least threatened at a global level due to value being mainly tourism and leisure
- Local level the biggest threat is sand mining
- Threats to Salt Marsh
- Industrial pollution
- Ideal sites for nuclear power stations
- Clearance for development - commercial and private
- Development can lead to increased noise and light pollution which may affect wildlife behaviour and nesting