Examine the costs and benefits, for different stakeholders, of one recent integrated drainage basin management (IDBM) plan.

Examine the relative importance of erosion and deposition in the formation of floodplains and meanders.

Refer to Paper 1 markbands (available under the "Your tests" tab > supplemental materials).

Increasing demands on water, and reduction in quality, necessitate management of resources in a drainage basin. Integrated drainage basin management (IDBM) coordinates conservation, management and development of water, land and related resources for a river basin. Different stakeholders will receive different economic and social benefits from water resources without depletion.

Candidates may not focus on an actual IDBM plan, but use examples such as the Mississippi basin, Mekong river basin and Great Artesian Basin with reference to management. These examples should be accepted.

Possible applied themes (AO2) demonstrating knowledge and understanding (AO1) include:

• locational knowledge of a named basin
• description of the management strategies employed, recognizing that they are integrated in some way
• costs and benefits may be economic, political, environmental, social
• costs and benefits vary for different stakeholders
• costs and benefits may be both short and long term
• the importance of sustainability principles.

Good answers may be well-structured (AO4) and may additionally offer a critical evaluation (AO3) of the statement in a way that explicitly examines the balance of costs and benefits, and may show understanding that perspectives (eg, political, economic, social and environmental) differ on where the balance lies. Another approach might be to examine which stakeholders gain greater benefits, perhaps in relation to varying power over the decision-making process. Another approach might be to examine changing costs and benefits over different time scales.

For 5–6 marks, expect some outlining of a recent IDBM plan, and some of its costs and/or benefits. The response is partial, narrow or lacks supporting evidence.

For 7–8 marks, expect a well-structured account, which includes:

• either a well-evidenced explanation of a range of IDBM stakeholder costs and benefits (do not expect balance)
• or an ongoing evaluation (or discursive conclusion) grounded in geographical concepts and/or perspectives.

For 9–10 marks, expect both of these traits.

Refer to Paper 1 markbands (available under the "Your tests" tab > supplemental materials).

The focus of the response should be on both erosional and depositional processes and their role in the formation of these landforms. Floodplains and meanders involve both erosion and deposition. Over time the relative importance of these processes varies according to discharge, base level and other factors.

Possible applied themes (AO2) demonstrating knowledge and understanding (AO1):

• Floodplains are the result of deposition at times of high discharge when the flow exceeds bankfull discharge. This is dependent on erosion upstream and transportation downstream of bedload and suspended load.
• Rivers meander across floodplains eroding the valley sides over time. With changing conditions, rivers may erode into floodplains, creating river terraces.
• Both erosion and deposition are essential in different parts of the meander curve with erosion on the outside of the bend and deposition on the inside.
• Meanders are formed as a complex interplay of erosion and deposition as the river seeks to flow efficiently and minimize energy loss.

Good answers may be well structured (AO4) and may additionally offer a critical evaluation (AO3) which examines the statement in a way that shows understanding that the relative importance between erosion and deposition varies over different time scales (seasonal or short / long term). Another approach might be to examine spatial variations in the operation of erosion and deposition processes for each landform (eg, slip-off slope and river cliff) and the way these processes interact to create landforms. Another approach might be to examine interactions between the creation of floodplains and meanders.

For 5–6 marks, expect some outlining of the formation of floodplains and/or meanders. The response is partial, narrow or lacks supporting evidence.

For 7–8 marks, expect a well-structured account which includes:

• either a well-evidenced explanation of the formation of floodplains and meanders by erosion and deposition
• or an ongoing evaluation (or discursive conclusion) grounded in geographical concepts and/or perspectives.

For 9–10 marks, expect both of these traits.

Integrated drainage basin management plans caused a few problems. There was some good use of examples, such as the Danube, Mekong, Murray-Darling, and Great American Initiative. However, many candidates attempted to use a case study from elsewhere in the syllabus to fit the question. These included inappropriate examples such as the Three Gorges Dam, any wetlands (where no river was named) and the Grand Renaissance Dam. Good answers were able to examine a range of costs and benefits for different stakeholders, with detailed supporting evidence. 

This straightforward question was generally well answered, showing good understanding of the formation of floodplains and meanders, and the relative importance of different fluvial processes. It was pleasing to see some effective use of diagrams to aid explanation of formation of these landforms. Weaker responses were descriptive and did not examine the relative importance of erosion and deposition. There were some misconceptions over the formation of meanders as being caused by the river moving around obstacles or rocks. Some candidates also mistakenly wrote that meanders only occur in the lower courses of rivers.