Theme 3: Key Idea 3.3 Water resources and management — Eduqas GCSE Geography B
Teaching note based on the EDUQAS specification.
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Theme 3: Key Idea 3.3 Water resources and management explained
Within one country, a local imbalance between water supply and demand can be reduced by managing demand and by increasing supply.
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Demand-side methods include metering, water-efficient irrigation, leakage repair and public conservation campaigns. Supply-side methods include reservoirs, groundwater abstraction, desalination and transferring water from a surplus area. At the international scale, rivers and aquifers cross national boundaries, so upstream abstraction, pollution and dam building can reduce supply downstream and create political tension. Future water management therefore needs agreements, shared data and fair allocation between countries. Learn to name a local method and explain how it balances supply and demand, then explain an international issue such as a shared river basin.
Your focus
- Explain ways an imbalance of supply and demand can be met at a local scale within one country
- Describe international issues facing future water management across national boundaries
- Evaluate how cooperation can address shared water sources between countries
Theme 3: Key Idea 3.3 Water resources and management exam tips
Marking Points
- Identifies a local demand-side method, such as metering or leakage repair, and explains how it reduces demand
- Identifies a local supply-side method, such as a reservoir or desalination, and explains how it increases supply
- Explains how one local scheme balances supply and demand within a country
- Identifies an international issue, such as a river crossing a national boundary
- Explains how upstream use or pollution can affect supply in a downstream country
- Describes a response to a transboundary issue, such as a shared agreement or allocation treaty
Examiner Tips
- 💡Separate demand-side from supply-side methods so your answer shows both ways of meeting an imbalance
- 💡Use a named or described local example and state the scale clearly
- 💡For international issues, name the shared feature such as a river basin or aquifer and explain the tension it creates
- 💡Link any management response to the issue it addresses rather than listing solutions at random
Common Mistakes
- Describes only global water scarcity; correct this by focusing on a method used at a local scale within one country
- Lists a method without explaining how it balances supply and demand; correct this by adding the mechanism
- Treats international issues as identical to local ones; correct this by explaining how a boundary between countries creates conflict over a shared source
- Assumes all countries share water fairly; correct this by explaining that upstream and downstream positions create unequal access