Eaner Epor June 2016 GCE Geography 3 6GE03 01

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Examiners’ ReportJune 2016GCE Geography 3 6GE03 01

Edexcel and BTEC QualificationsEdexcel and BTEC qualifications come from Pearson, the UK’s largest awarding body. Weprovide a wide range of qualifications including academic, vocational, occupational andspecific programmes for employers. For further information visit our qualifications websitesat www.edexcel.com or www.btec.co.uk.Alternatively, you can get in touch with us using the details on our contact us page atwww.edexcel.com/contactus.Giving you insight to inform next stepsResultsPlus is Pearson’s free online service giving instant and detailed analysis of yourstudents’ exam results. See students’ scores for every exam question.Understand how your students’ performance compares with class and national averages.Identify potential topics, skills and types of question where students may need todevelop their learning further.For more information on ResultsPlus, or to log in, visit www.edexcel.com/resultsplus.Your exams officer will be able to set up your ResultsPlus account in minutes via Edexcel Online.Pearson: helping people progress, everywherePearson aspires to be the world’s leading learning company. Our aim is to help everyoneprogress in their lives through education. We believe in every kind of learning, for all kindsof people, wherever they are in the world. We’ve been involved in education for over 150years, and by working across 70 countries, in 100 languages, we have built an internationalreputation for our commitment to high standards and raising achievement throughinnovation in education. Find out more about how we can help you and your students at:www.pearson.com/uk.June 2016Publications Code 6GE03 01 1606 ERAll the material in this publication is copyright Pearson Education Ltd 20162GCE Geography 3 6GE03 01

IntroductionThis year’s Unit 3 examination was similar in style to previous years. Candidates chose allof the Section A questions in reasonable numbers, with the rough percentage popularityshown below:Question 1: Energy Security 33 %Question 2: Water Conflicts 25%Question 3: Biodiversity under Threat 15%Question 4: Bridging the Development Gap 15%Question 5: The Technological Fix? 12%Bridging the Development Gap and The Technological Fix? were a little more popular thanin previous years, with slightly fewer candidates opting for the Water Conflicts question.Overall, the vast majority of candidates perform well on this examination paper. As in thepast, timing issues were relatively uncommon. Most candidates produced full answers andthere were many excellent responses.GCE Geography 3 6GE03 013

SECTION ASpecific comments on Section AAs is always the case, there were some very high quality answers in Section A and theaverage quality of response was good. Many answers demonstrated a good command ofphysical, human and political geography and many candidates used contemporary eventsand changes to support their work, as well as well-known examples and case studies. Thereare some areas centres may wish to focus on when preparing for future assessments: In 10 mark data stimulus questions there is still a tendency to describe data rather thanprovide explanations; when explanations are provided there needs to be a range ofthese rather than a narrow focus on one aspect. There is still a tendency to rely too much on descriptive case study detail, rather thanselection and application especially in the Water Conflicts question where some casestudies are ill-chosen and weakly applied. Most questions in the 14-16 mark range require a supported judgement to be made;many candidates are happy to sit on the fence and ‘fudge’ a conclusion whereas thestrongest answers have the confidence to stand by their case. Level 3 and Level 4 marks in the 15 mark questions are only accessible if candidatescan show that they are assessing, examining or evaluating (depending on the commandword). Failure to do this, i.e. by only describing and explaining, limits marks to amaximum of 8 in most cases. The development of evaluation skills and evaluativewriting style is thus crucial to candidates aiming for a high grade.Question 1: Energy SecurityQuestion 1 (a)This question asked candidates to study a table of data showing attitudes to four non-fossilfuel energy sources. Most candidates showed a good understanding of the data. One of thekeys to a successful answer was to avoid getting bogged down in an attempt to explaineach cell of data (potentially 12 cells) but rather to ensure coverage of all four energysources and three attitudes by being selective. There was some evidence from strongeranswers of data analysis, such as explaining a particular percentage agreement, but thenmoving on to explain why the percentage disagreement was likely to be quite high. Weakeranswers tended to focus on the data for nuclear power and became side-tracked into longdescriptions of nuclear accidents without recognising some positive aspects of nuclearpower. Similarly, there is a tendency to over-state the impact of wind turbines on ‘birdsand bats’ and understate its intermittent nature. Not all advantages and disadvantagesof wind power are equally significant in terms of their impact on energy security. Biofuelswere generally better understood than in the past with many candidates recognising theirflexibility as a potential transport fuel but also acknowledging that they had ecologicaland food supply impacts. Occasionally, stronger candidates argued that lack of publicunderstanding of biofuels may have affected the results shown. Overall, this question wasanswered successfully by many candidates.4GCE Geography 3 6GE03 01

This is a Level 3 answer to Question 1 (a).GCE Geography 3 6GE03 015

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Examiner CommentsThis answer scored full marks. It covers allfour energy sources and the three differentviews. It is well supported by examples (suchas biofuel plantations in Indonesia) so theexplanations provided have additional depth.The answer is very focussed on the differencesbetween the results for the four energysources.Examiner TipWhen working on a figure like Figure 1, youneed to try and comment on most of it, butdon’t waste time slavishly commenting onevery cell of data in the table.Question 1 (b)This question focussed on developing fossil fuels in technically difficult and environmentallysensitive areas. A small number of answers focussed more generally on fossil fuels andused examples of conventional oil, coal and gas rather than unconventional sources andtechnically challenging environments.A general weakness was to lump together ‘technically difficult and environmentallysensitive’. Stronger answers often began by defining these two terms and then applyingdifferent examples to each. Deep sea oil was often used as an example of a technicallydifficult source, as were the Canadian tar sands. The Arctic was widely used as a sensitiveenvironment. Better answers recognised that oil exploitation already takes place at PrudhoeBay as well as being proposed in the ANWR area. A standard answer was to describethe impacts, in environmental and economic terms, of oil exploitation in the Arctic andAthabasca. Often this led to an overly descriptive answer that focussed more on thenegative environmental impacts than the economic impacts. Many candidates neededto be much more selective in their approach and identify the relevant costs and benefitsrather than list every cost and benefit. Often the economic issues with exploitation i.e.that it is viable at a relatively high oil price were over-looked or misunderstood. Answersthat considered deep water oil such as the West of Shetland as well as the North Americanexamples often had a greater range of evidence to draw on and therefore offered a moreconvincing conclusion.8GCE Geography 3 6GE03 01

This is a Level 4 answer to Question 1 (b).GCE Geography 3 6GE03 019

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Examiner CommentsThis is a good quality answer. It is evaluativeand considers a range of different costs andbenefits and the examples used are relevantand include some specific details. It sees morethan one side of the argument, although itneeds to focus more on economic costs andbenefits to achieve full marks.Examiner TipPhrases like ‘technically difficult andenvironmentally sensitive’ need to bebroken down into their component parts,not treated as one phrase. Although somefossil unconventional fuel sources are bothtechnically difficult and environmentallysensitive, not all are.GCE Geography 3 6GE03 0111

Question 2: Water ConflictsQuestion 2 (a)This was popular but proved challenging for some candidates. Figure 2 showed watercosts in seven cities which vary a great deal. The highest cost was in Copenhagen. Whileno knowledge of Denmark was assumed by either the question or mark scheme it wasdisappointing to see occasional reference to Denmark as suffering from ‘physical waterscarcity’ based on it being ‘far from the equator’. Stronger answers were able to offermore realistic reasons such as high costs as a result of privatisation, ability to pay, anddeliberately high costs being used as a way to reduce demand. There was usually someunderstanding that water costs from street vendors would be high as a result of middlementaking a ‘cut’ and it was legitimate to argue that in Lagos and Nairobi physical factors i.e.climate could play a role. Subsidies and the need to make sure vast urban populations hadsome supply were often cited as the cause of water costs in Mumbai and Shanghai.While many candidates did cover both cause and consequence this was often almost byaccident. Many answers had more causes and came by some consequences such as diseaseand poor human wellbeing almost in passing. Causes were sometimes stated in verysimple terms and explanations could have been developed further. Relatively rare wereanswers that argued that very low costs such as in Las Vegas could lead to wasteful andunsustainable consumption or that high costs could actually reduce demand and conservescarce water resources in areas with growing populations. There were many good answersbut there were also many which would have benefitted from a better understanding of‘cause’ and ‘consequence’.12GCE Geography 3 6GE03 01

This is a Level 2 answer to Question 2 (a).GCE Geography 3 6GE03 0113

Examiner CommentsThis is a typical answer to Question 2(a).Whilst it attempts to explain the causes of thedifferences in water cost, it has less to sayabout consequences. The causes covered suchas conservation attempts, privatisation andeconomic water scarcity need to be explaineda little more carefully and consequences needto be addressed.14GCE Geography 3 6GE03 01Examiner TipLook out for questions which have morethan one key word such as ‘causes andconsequences’ or ‘economic and social’ or‘local and global’. Your answer needs to coverboth in a balanced way.

Question 2 (b)This question focussed on future water demand. A problem encountered in the past hasbeen a weak understanding of the difference between demand and supply and this wasencountered again. The sense of the question was that demand is rising, and how canthis be met? The answer can involve increasing supply but it can also involve makingexisting supply go further through water conservation. In addition the question asked howfar sustainable strategies could help meet demand. Far too many answers took the ‘it’ssustainable’ approach and simply claimed all of their described examples were sustainablewithout providing any definition of sustainability or criteria by which to judge this.A long-term issue with this question has been the unselective use of case studies and thisappeared again. It is very hard to argue that the restoration of the Aral Sea will help meetfuture water demand. Many candidates, as in the past, turned the question into one aboutwater conflicts and rolled out their familiar case studies. Resolution of conflict over watersupplies is one possible solution but not the only solution and to argue that it is, leads toa narrow perspective on a complex issue. All of the impacts of the Three Gorges Dam werenot relevant to an answer to this question.Nevertheless there were many good answers. These tended to: Define and make reference to sustainability in terms of water supply. Contrast water conservation measures with schemes to increase supply. Recognise that possible approaches in one place would not work everywhere.There was often a good understanding that desalination was not on the face of it asustainable option, but it was argued by some that it was the only option and that for someplaces at least it could be seen as economically and socially sustainable. Many recognisedthe importance of water conservation but also argued that the scale of future demandmeans that alone this will not be enough to provide water for everyone. The least successfulanswers tended to focus on two or three megaprojects such as the Aral Sea, Three GorgesDam and South-North Transfer and simply described their impacts. The best answers weremore wide-ranging in scope and much more selective in terms of the evidence they used.This is a Level 4 answer to Question 2 (b).GCE Geography 3 6GE03 0115

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Examiner CommentsThis answer begins by defining sustainability. This is important as this sets up criteria bywhich to judge different ways of meeting future water demand. A range of different andcontrasting ways of meeting demand are discussed with some specific detail and the wholeanswer is evaluative. There is a clear judgement in the conclusion at the end that addressesthe ‘to what extent’ element of the question. The whole answer is well structured.Examiner TipThe 15 mark Water Conflicts question does not always have‘conflict’ as its main subject. This means that case studiesillustrating conflict over supply are not always relevant.GCE Geography 3 6GE03 0119

Question 3: Biodiversity under ThreatQuestion 3 (a)This was answered by a good number of candidates. In general Figure 3 was understoodreasonably well with a number of responses recognising that it was effectively a versionof the environmental Kuznets curve. An issue was that some answers failed to explain themajority of the curve. On closer inspection the curve has three parts to it: countries withhigh forest cover and low rates of deforestation e.g. the DRC; countries with higher incomesbut less forest cover and rapid deforestation; countries which are afforesting. Many answersfailed to address all three of these basic contrasts. There was most certainty about the NICcountries in the middle of Figure 3. Most answers could suggest reasons for the low forestcover and high rates of deforestation based on industrialising and urbanising NICs puttingpressure of forests in terms of resource and land demand. Some good examples were usedto support these arguments such as the development of palm oil plantations in Indonesiaand agricultural land demand in Brazil. The position of the DRC was less well understood.Candidates needed to recognise its very low income and high forest cover to recognise thatlack of development of forests would explain the relatively low deforestation rate. Someanswers argued that deforestation was happening rapidly in the DRC, driven by attempts todevelop, despite the data not supporting this view. Ecotourism was often suggested as anexplanation for Costa Rica’s position plus the idea that at higher incomes concern for theenvironment grows. Some very good answers differentiated between the NICs, for instancearguing that in Brazil concern for forests is growing as are areas of conservation – incontrast to Indonesia. Many answers offered fairly weak explanations for India withonly a few arguing the quality of afforested areas could be low in terms of biodiversity,or linking to possible Indian concerns to be perceived as ‘greener’ due to its increasinginternational profile.Question 3 (b)Questions that focus on ‘players’ have appeared in the past within Unit 3. The key issuewith this type of question is the extent to which candidates are prepared to provide specificexamples or fall-back on generality such as ‘local people’ and governments’. There was alsosome confusion over place versus player. This is a recurring theme. In the past questionsthat have asked about ‘conservation strategies’ have often been answered simply bydescribing conservation in named places. This year, many answers described conservationin places such as Daintree but players and their role were mentioned only in passing if atall. The players that received the most specific coverage in terms of their role were oftencelebrities such as David Attenborough and international NGOs such as WWF. In thesecases their role was often explained and sometimes evaluated. CITES and Ramsar, plusWorld Heritage Sites were often considered although in many cases the ‘player’ i.e. the UN/ UNESCO for instance was not really identified so the focus was on the strategy. There wassometimes a drift into areas that were not well-focussed on biodiversity conservation suchas the Kyoto Protocol. In many cases the ‘government’ and ‘local council’ were not namedso answers tended to be rather generic. Some answers did focus on a range of namedplayers and often contrasted local, hands-on conservation by NGOs with broader nationalor global players and their actions. These answers sometimes argued that both sets ofplayers are important as they complement each other. Other commonly seen evaluationsincluded the idea that local people were crucial as failure to get them ‘on-board’ often meantconservation efforts were unsuccessful.20GCE Geography 3 6GE03 01

This is a Level 4 answer to Question 3 (b).GCE Geography 3 6GE03 0121

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Examiner CommentsThis is a well supported answer that considersa range of different players which aregrounded within examples. It is evaluative,arguing that some players are more effectivein conservation than others. There are someareas that are less relevant, such as referenceto the MDG, but overall it is clearly written,supported and the final conclusion makes aclear judgement.Examiner TipWhen answering the 15 mark essay questions,a range of small examples usually produces amore thorough and evaluative answer than onewhich relies on one or two major case studies.GCE Geography 3 6GE03 0123

Question 4: Bridging the Development GapQuestion 4 (a)This question presented candidates with a figure containing development indicator data for3 countries across 4 different indicators. In many ways this proved a problematic questionfor some. The focus was on the value of the indicators as measures of level of development.Many answers focussed on what level of development the data indicated. This is not thesame thing. These answers usually compared the development level of the three countriesin a very descriptive way with no or very little focus on ‘value’. In order to unlock themeaning of the question candidates did need to have some conceptual understanding thatdevelopment is not purely economic in nature. Those that had this usually answered thequestion as intended. They often initially focussed on GDP as an economic measure andcommented on its narrow, but universally understood, nature. Strong answers suggestedalternatives such as PPP GDP or GNI. Some recognised that this valuable ‘headline’ indicatorhas nothing to say about income distribution therefore reducing its value.It is worth noting that there is often a misunderstanding about the nature of percentagedata. This was frequently seen with reference to education spending with some candidatesarguing that Rwanda’s data was unrepresentative because the Philippines would spendmore on education because it is wealthier than Rwanda. This misunderstands the va

June 2016 GCE Geography 3 6GE03 01. 2 GCE Geography 3 6GE03 01 Edexcel and BTEC Qualifications Edexcel and BTEC qualifications come from Pearson, the UK’s largest awarding body. We provide a wide range of qualifications including academic, vocational, occupational and specific programmes for employers. For further information visit our qualifications websites at www.edexcel.com or www.btec .

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