Resource security: stocks, conflicts and alternative futures
Analyse resource availability and power, compare water and energy security, and evaluate scenarios with distributional effects.
A-level study: check your qualification and chosen options below.
Distinguish physical resources and usable supply
Resource availability depends on physical occurrence, technology, costs and institutions. A geological resource is not the same as an economically recoverable reserve under stated conditions.
Water quality and seasonality, energy conversion and infrastructure, and mineral processing affect usable supply. Security also concerns access and reliability.
Worked example
A fictional deposit contains 100 units, of which 30 are currently recoverable under stated assumptions. Price or technology changes may alter the reserve estimate without changing the original deposit.
Common mistake: A reserve-to-production ratio is not a guaranteed exhaustion date.
Trace a conflict across places
Water transfers and dams connect upstream and downstream users. Energy and mineral chains link extraction, processing and consumption across borders.
Power, rights and institutions influence who decides and who bears costs. Evaluate competing welfare, ecological and economic outcomes, not just total production.
Worked example
A fictional dam supplies 40 units of irrigation water but reduces seasonal downstream delivery by 25 units. A comparison needs timing, return flows and environmental requirements.
Common mistake: More supplied water in one area does not establish a net regional benefit.
Evaluate alternative futures
Demand reduction, diversification, recycling and technological change affect different constraints. Scenarios make assumptions about population, consumption, climate, costs and institutions explicit.
An adaptive strategy can preserve choices while meeting present needs. Some options involve irreversible land or ecological changes, so compare their timing and distribution.
Worked example
Fictional demand rises 20% while efficiency reduces demand per service by 25%. Combined index is 1.2 × 0.75 = 0.9: demand falls 10% if service definitions and other assumptions hold.
Common mistake: Efficiency gains can be offset by increased consumption or changed behaviour.
Try a different resource
GIS site selection
This training rule requires at least 2 hectares, outside protected land and the indicated flood zone. Among eligible sites, choose the lowest stated walk time. It is an explicit exercise rule, not a real planning approval.
Scroll the diagram sideways to see the full resource.
| Site | Protected land | Flood zone | Area (hectares) | Walk to bus stop (min) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | No | No | 3 | 11 |
| B | No | Yes | 2 | 19 |
| C | Yes | No | 5 | 15 |
| D | No | No | 5 | 7 |
Resource description
North is up. Blue band: excluded flood zone. Green block: protected land. Sites: A: protected no, flood zone no, area 3 hectares, walk 11 minutes; B: protected no, flood zone yes, area 2 hectares, walk 19 minutes; C: protected yes, flood zone no, area 5 hectares, walk 15 minutes; D: protected no, flood zone no, area 5 hectares, walk 7 minutes. Minimum area 2 hectares.
Write an explanation
Check your answer
- Separate physical occurrence from reliable access.
- Explain technology through particular mechanisms.
- Evaluate governance, demand and distribution.
- Compare conditional futures and remaining risks.
Practise and review a written answer
Case studies
Singapore’s diversified water supply · The shrinking Aral Sea · Mining and development in Peru · Adapting tidal flood protection in the Thames Estuary
These pages provide selected evidence. Check the whole case requirement with your teacher.
Read further
- www.aqa.org.uk — source or course reference
- www.aqa.org.uk — source or course reference
- qualifications.pearson.com — source or course reference
- www.eduqas.co.uk — source or course reference
Water security and competing uses · Power, energy and reliable supply · Global value chains
Course links
AQA A-level Geography · Pearson Edexcel A-level Geography · Eduqas A-level Geography
Next topics
Water cycles: budgets, residence time and feedback · Energy resources: demand, generation and decisions
Selected teaching sequence with fictional worked data. The linked case records supply bounded evidence; they do not satisfy every course case requirement.