| Date | November 2014 | Marks available | 1 | Reference code | 14N.1.SL.TZ0.6 |
| Level | Standard Level | Paper | Paper 1 | Time zone | Time zone 0 |
| Command term | Suggest | Question number | 6 | Adapted from | N/A |
Question
The cartoon below is a comment on the strategic importance of each country securing its own water supply.
Figure 4
Suggest one reason why “in the future, wars will be fought over water”.
Suggest one way governments can encourage the reduction of domestic water use.
Predict how a technocentric and an ecocentric might differ in their views about dams.
Markscheme
more people in world and so less freshwater to share;
freshwater being used from fossil resources/aquifers at unsustainable rate;
development needs more/uses more water;
global warming is making some areas drier;
pollution of freshwater is limiting available source;
rivers cross international boundaries;
uneven distribution of water leaving some areas with a limited/insufficient supply;
control of water means control of agriculture/agriculture profit/food resources;
Award [2 max] where one reason is explained in sufficient depth.
Also credit responses that cover two valid reasons.
Do not award marks where a reason for water scarcity is not given.
[2 max]
increase the cost of water;
public education programmes;
promote use of water efficient goods;
incentive schemes for replacing water wasting devices with water saving ones;
metering water use;
fines for wasting water;
bans on hoses/washing cars etc/restrictions of date and time of using hoses;
encouraging/incentives for the use of low water use plants in gardens;
Do not award marks for actions such as “have showers instead of baths” without explanation of how that is achieved.
[1 max]
Technocentric would apporove of a dam [1 mark]:
as a technological solution for collecting and storing water;
large scale and supplies many people/areas;
the reservoir can be used by many groups for a variety of activities;
Ecocentric would oppose new dams [1 mark]:
as they would prefer smaller/local water storage solutions;
would prefer recycling and using less water and therefore avoid the need for dams;
would consider dams as interrupting environments downstream /reducing flow;
Do not accept only “technocentric support dams and ecocentric oppose dams.”
[2 max]
Examiners report
Most responses were too vague and did not give reasons why water may become limited in the future.
Most candidates correctly answered this question. A common mistake was to focus on actions such as ‘have showers instead of baths’ without explaining how this could be encouraged by governments.
Responses to this question varied widely. A common error was to only provide generic technocentic and ecocentric viewpoints without linking this directly to the dam.
