WAEC SSCE - Geography - 2012 (Essay)

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(a) Four differences between urban and rural settlements

(b) Four favourable conditions for the growth of settlements

• Availability of water: A reliable supply of fresh water for domestic, agricultural and industrial use attracts and sustains settlement.
• Fertile soil: Good soils for farming encourage people to settle and produce food.
• Good transport and accessibility: Sites with good roads, railways or navigable rivers attract people and trade.
• Availability of employment/industries: The presence of industries, mines or commercial activities that provide jobs draws people to settle.
• Security and level land: Peaceful, secure areas with gentle, well-drained relief that is easy to build on encourage settlement growth.

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(a) Advantages and disadvantages of air transportation

Three advantages

• It is the fastest means of transport, so it saves time over long distances.
• It can cross difficult terrain such as mountains, deserts, forests and oceans that other means cannot easily cross.
• It is comfortable and suitable for carrying perishable, urgent and light valuable goods, and for emergencies.

Two disadvantages

• It is very expensive, both to build/maintain (airports and aircraft) and for passengers to use.
• It carries only limited quantities of goods and cannot conveniently carry bulky, heavy cargo; it is also affected by bad weather and accidents are often fatal.

(b) Five roles of road transportation in promoting economic development

• Movement of goods and people: Roads move raw materials, finished goods, farmers and workers from one place to another, linking areas of production to markets.
• Opening up of rural areas: Roads reach remote interior areas that other means cannot, opening them up for farming, mining and trade.
• Promotion of trade and commerce: Good roads encourage the exchange of goods between regions and support market activities.
• Employment: Road construction, maintenance, haulage and transport services provide many jobs.
• Growth of towns and industries: Roads attract industries and encourage the growth of settlements along their routes.
• Feeder to other transport: Roads link farms, homes and factories to railways, seaports and airports.

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(a) Map of West Africa

Key: shaded area = French-speaking country (Senegal); hatched area = English-speaking country (Ghana); ● = national capital.

(b) Objectives of ECOWAS

1. To promote economic co-operation and integration among member states.
2. To promote trade among member states and work towards a common market.
3. To encourage the free movement of people, goods, services and capital within West Africa.

(c) Problems hindering the achievement of ECOWAS objectives

1. Language differences: English-, French- and Portuguese-speaking countries often experience communication and administrative difficulties.
2. Different currencies: the use of separate national currencies makes payments and trade between member states difficult.
3. Poor transport and communication: inadequate roads, railways, ports and communication links restrict the movement of people and goods.

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(a) Five problems of development of the Cross River Basin

• Shortage of capital: The huge cost of building dams, roads and other facilities is difficult to raise.
• Dense forest and difficult terrain: The thick tropical rainforest and rugged, swampy land make clearing and construction slow and expensive.
• Heavy rainfall and flooding: Very high rainfall causes flooding and erosion, which damage farms, roads and structures.
• Poor transport and inaccessibility: Bad roads and few bridges make movement of people, materials and produce difficult.
• Pests and diseases: The humid environment breeds pests and disease vectors (such as tsetse fly and mosquitoes) that affect labour, crops and animals.
• Shortage of skilled manpower: Few trained personnel are available to plan and execute development projects.

(b) Five ways these problems can be solved

• Provision of funds: Government should provide adequate funds and attract loans and foreign investment to finance projects.
• Construction of roads and bridges: Good roads and bridges should be built to improve accessibility.
• Flood and erosion control: Dams, drainage channels and afforestation should be used to control flooding and erosion.
• Control of pests and diseases: Vector control, drainage of swamps and provision of health facilities should be undertaken.
• Training of manpower: Skilled workers should be trained and experts employed to plan and manage development.
• Clearing and land preparation: Use of modern machinery to clear the forest and prepare the land for farming and settlement.

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Lumbering in Zaire (Democratic Republic of Congo)

(I) Favourable factors

• Extensive tropical rainforest: The Congo Basin is covered by dense equatorial forest containing large quantities of valuable hardwoods such as mahogany, ebony and iroko.
• Hot, wet equatorial climate: High temperatures and heavy, well-distributed rainfall throughout the year encourage rapid and continuous tree growth.
• Presence of navigable rivers: The River Congo and its tributaries provide cheap water transport for floating logs to sawmills and ports.
• Availability of labour: A large local population supplies the labour needed for felling and hauling timber.

(II) Problems of exploitation

• Dense undergrowth and mixed forest: Valuable trees grow scattered among many useless species, making selective felling difficult and costly.
• Poor land transport: Few roads and railways, coupled with the swampy terrain, make it hard to move logs to processing centres.
• Heavy hardwoods: Many tropical hardwoods do not float easily, adding to transport difficulty.
• Pests, diseases and climate: The hot, humid climate breeds pests and diseases (such as those spread by the tsetse fly) that affect workers and hinder operations.
• Shortage of capital and skilled labour: Inadequate funds and few trained workers limit large-scale mechanised lumbering.

(III) Contributions to the economy

• Foreign exchange: The export of timber and wood products earns foreign currency.
• Employment: Felling, sawmilling and transport of timber provide jobs for many people.
• Raw materials: It supplies timber for construction and raw materials for furniture and paper industries.
• Development of infrastructure: Lumbering encourages the building of roads and the growth of towns in forest areas.
• Government revenue: Royalties and taxes on timber add to government income.

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(a) Sketch map of Nigeria

Key locations shown: Niger Delta, Kainji Lake, Lokoja (confluence town), and Jos Plateau.

(b) Physical factors limiting river transportation in Nigeria

1. Waterfalls, rapids and cataracts: These interrupt river channels and prevent the smooth movement of vessels.
2. Seasonal fluctuation in river volume: Water levels are low in the dry season, making channels shallow, while some rivers flow swiftly and flood during the rainy season.
3. Silting and sand bars: Deposition of silt and sand reduces the depth of river channels and obstructs boats.

Other acceptable factors include floating water weeds, debris, narrow channels and gorges, deltaic river mouths, and short river courses.

(c) Solutions to the limiting factors

1. Dredging: River beds should be dredged regularly to remove silt and sand bars and maintain a deep navigable channel.
2. Construction of dams, locks and canals: Dams regulate water flow, while locks or canals enable vessels to bypass rapids, cataracts and waterfalls.
3. Clearing obstructions: Water weeds and floating debris should be removed continuously from navigable channels.

Other measures include channelization, the use of small or light vessels on shallow rivers, and construction of road or rail routes around major rapids and waterfalls.

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(a) Outline map of Africa

(b) Importance of African rivers

1. Hydro-electric power generation: Rivers provide water for dams and hydro-electric power stations. Examples include the Aswan High Dam on the Nile, Kainji Dam on the Niger and Akosombo Dam on the Volta.
2. Irrigation: River water is used to irrigate farms, especially in dry regions. For example, the River Nile supports irrigation farming in Egypt and Sudan.
3. Domestic and industrial water supply: Rivers supply water for drinking, washing, cooking, watering livestock and for industrial processes.
4. Transport and communication: Navigable rivers provide relatively cheap routes for moving people and goods, particularly where roads and railways are poorly developed.
5. Fishing and employment: Rivers provide fish, crayfish, crabs and other aquatic products for food. They also provide employment for fishermen, fish processors, canoe builders and traders.
6. Fertile floodplains: During flooding, rivers deposit fertile alluvium on their floodplains. This encourages intensive cultivation of crops.

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(a) Outline map of Nigeria showing Abuja and three savanna vegetation belts

Key: Abuja is marked by a solid dot (●). The savanna belts are Guinea savanna, Sudan savanna and Sahel savanna.

(b) Contributions of forest vegetation to the Nigerian economy

1. It provides timber, poles and other wood for building, furniture-making and boat-building.
2. It supplies firewood and charcoal used as domestic fuel.
3. It provides raw materials for industries, for example palm oil for soap-making, rubber, wood pulp and raffia.
4. It provides employment and income for lumbermen, sawmill workers, forest guards and traders in forest products.
5. It earns government revenue through licences, royalties and taxes on forest products.
6. It earns foreign exchange through the export of timber, rubber, palm produce and other forest products.
7. It provides food and medicinal products such as fruits, nuts, honey, snails and herbs.
8. Forest reserves and wildlife support tourism and recreation.

(c) Problems hindering exploitation of forest vegetation in Nigeria

1. Poor accessibility: Dense forest, swampy land, poor terrain and inadequate motorable roads make it difficult and expensive to reach and evacuate logs.
2. Mixed tree species: Valuable trees occur scattered among less useful species; consequently, surveying and selective logging are costly.
3. Inadequate capital and machinery: Modern equipment for felling, hauling, processing and transport is expensive and often insufficient.
4. Depletion of forests: Deforestation, bush burning and shifting cultivation have reduced the stock of economic trees in many areas.

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(a) Three factors responsible for the dominance of light industries in developing countries

• Shortage of capital: Light industries need relatively little capital to establish and run compared with heavy industries, so they suit the low investment capacity of developing countries.
• Low level of technology and skills: Light industries use simpler machinery and less skilled labour, which matches the limited technical know-how available.
• Small local market and low purchasing power: The market mostly demands consumer goods such as food, textiles and beverages, which light industries produce, rather than expensive heavy goods.
• Availability of agricultural raw materials: Many light (agro-based) industries process locally available farm produce such as cotton, cocoa and oil palm.

(b) Four advantages of the concentration of industries in an area

• It allows industries to share common infrastructure such as roads, electricity and water, thereby reducing cost.
• It provides a large pool of skilled and unskilled labour from which firms can draw.
• Industries can supply raw materials and semi-finished goods to one another (linkages), saving transport cost.
• It creates a large local market and supporting services such as banks, repair workshops and insurance.
• It encourages exchange of ideas and technology among firms, improving efficiency.

(c) Three disadvantages of the concentration of industries

• It causes overcrowding, traffic congestion and pressure on housing and social amenities.
• It leads to serious pollution of air, water and land in the concentrated area.
• It creates regional imbalance, since other areas remain undeveloped and depopulated as people migrate to the industrial zone.