The environment is the surroundings we live in. What people do to land, water and air comes back to the community.
The idea
The physical environment includes land, water, air, plants and animals. People depend on it for food, water, shelter and work. Activities that damage it include bush burning, deforestation, illegal mining, dumping of rubbish, overgrazing and overfishing. The damage is not only ugly. Soil is washed away, rivers silt up or become poisonous, and habitats are lost.
Effects reach people as well as wildlife. Farms become less fertile. Flooding gets worse where trees no longer hold the soil. Diseases spread where water is polluted. Responses that the syllabus expects you to explain include planting trees, enforcing the law on mining and dumping, educating communities, and giving people other ways to earn a living so they do not have to destroy the forest to eat. A list of problems with no remedy is only half an answer.
What earns the marks
Separate causes, effects and remedies. One sentence that names an activity and its effect can earn two marks if both ideas are clear. "Illegal mining" needs the effect, such as polluted rivers or abandoned pits, not the word alone. Do not invent a figure for how much forest has been lost. The paper asks for the link, not a statistic.
Practice questions
These are practice questions in the style of the paper, with a model answer and a mark scheme. They are not a promise of what your paper will ask.
1Question 1
4 marks
(a) State two human activities that degrade the environment. (2 marks)
(b) For each activity, state one effect. (2 marks)
Model answer
(a) Deforestation and illegal mining.
(b) Deforestation leaves the soil open, so it is easily washed away. Illegal mining pollutes rivers with mud and chemicals.
Mark scheme
Two relevant activities, one mark each. Examples: bush burning, deforestation, illegal mining, dumping of waste, overgrazing2 marks
An effect correctly linked to the first activity1 mark
An effect correctly linked to the second activity1 mark
2Question 2
4 marks
Explain two ways a community can repair environmental damage caused by cutting down trees. (4 marks)
Model answer
The community can plant trees to replace those cut down, which holds the soil and brings back shade. It can also agree rules, and enforce them, so that new cutting is limited to what is needed and is replaced.
Mark scheme
Planting trees or afforestation named1 mark
A reason it helps, such as holding soil, restoring habitat or providing shade1 mark
A second measure, such as rules, education, or an alternative livelihood1 mark
A reason that second measure reduces further damage1 mark
3Question 3
2 marks
Give two reasons people still carry out activities they know damage the environment. (2 marks)
Model answer
They may depend on the activity for income, for example mining or charcoal. They may also not feel the effect immediately, so the harm seems distant.
Mark scheme
A livelihood or survival reason1 mark
A second reason, such as weak enforcement, lack of knowledge, or the harm not being immediate1 mark
Practise Social Studies with Kevin
More questions on this topic are inside GLearn, marked as you answer, with the reason written out. The first ones need no account.
It is the worsening of the surroundings people depend on. Cutting down forests, burning bush, mining carelessly and dumping waste are common causes. The effects include erosion, polluted water and lost habitats.
Why do Social Studies answers need a remedy, not only a problem?+
The syllabus treats the environment as something citizens can act on. A full answer names what is going wrong and what a person, a community or the state can do about it. All BECE Social Studies past questions