First post from Mrs J!

This is mainly a record of my musings from todays lesson.

The module is about:
What we mean by wilderness environments, and how we define them eg harsh climate
landforms and ecosystems of outstanding global importance, and indigenous lifestyles and how these might be vulnerable to damage.
Conflicts which develop between indigenous people, wilderness quality, and resource developers
How the pressures on wilderness environments can be managed.
How the environmental quality of wilderness areas might be preserved.

Demands on wilderness areas can be divided into social, economic & environmental issues. Demands on wilderness areas are increasing, but why? Population growth, inc. demands for resources, demand for space (from pressures of the modern world?)...... Which examples are good illustration of the impact of these growing demands? e.g. Clayoquot Sound -demand for timber but why? What is the timber used for? Who is making the demand? What exactly is the impact of this growing demand? Is this coming into conflict with other wilderness users? Why? How is this been managed?

Does a demand for wilderness land always create conflict? Are some uses compatible?

Consider these questions. Is your current research sufficiently comprehensive. At this stage I doubt it! Remember to have a range of scales & from a range of biomes. MEDC/ LEDC contrasts may be useful too. Consider short term & long term situations if you can. Create a mind map to summarise your understanding of the generalisation if you can. You could list your case studies on the blog, along with an outline of your research, for the benefit of the rest of the group. Remember that you have to LEARN the work before the exam so consider this as you are recording your research. I will aim to summarise & post a list of a possible reasonable range of case studies over the next few days.