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Development in an African Context

The environmental costs of development

  • 2 things to know
  • Component 3 Section B

Overview

Link between rising incomes and consumerism in Africa, environmental damage caused by galamsey and why cocoa expansion drives deforestation in Ghana.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Key term

Explain the link between rising incomes and consumerism in Africa.

Key term

What was Agbogbloshie?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    Explain the link between rising incomes and consumerism in Africa.

    Model answer

    Higher urban incomes increase demand for vehicles, appliances, packaging and processed food. Waste volumes and energy use then climb faster than population.

  2. 2

    What was Agbogbloshie?

    Model answer

    Agbogbloshie in Accra was one of the largest informal electronic waste sites in West Africa. Workers burnt cable insulation to recover copper, releasing dioxins and heavy metals.

  3. 3

    Why does electronic waste reach Ghana in the first place?

    Model answer

    Second-hand electronics are imported cheaply as working goods and fail soon afterwards. Disposal costs in the exporting country are far higher than the cost of shipping.

  4. 4

    Define galamsey.

    Model answer

    Galamsey is small-scale unlicensed gold mining in Ghana. Operators use mercury and heavy machinery in and beside rivers.

  5. 5

    Describe the environmental damage caused by galamsey.

    Model answer

    Mercury and sediment enter the Pra, Ankobra and Offin rivers, raising turbidity and poisoning fish. Water treatment costs rise and farmland is stripped of its topsoil.

  6. 6

    What action has Ghana taken against galamsey?

    Model answer

    Ghana banned small-scale mining between 2017 and 2018 and deployed a joint military and police task force. Enforcement has been undermined by the income the activity provides.

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