How secure is the global supply of water, energy and minerals, and how can these resources be managed sustainably?
Resource development and the concept of resource security; the global supply, demand and management of water, energy and a mineral resource; resource futures; and the role of players and sustainability.
A focused answer to AQA A-Level Geography 3.2.5, covering resource development and security, the global supply, demand and management of water, energy and ore minerals, resource futures, and the players involved in sustainable management.
Reviewed by: AI editorial process; not yet individually human-reviewed
Have a quick question? Jump to the Q&A page
Jump to a section
What this dot point is asking
AQA section 3.2.5 wants you to understand resource development and the concept of resource security, analyse the global supply, demand and management of water, energy and a mineral resource, evaluate resource futures, and assess the role of players and sustainability. The synoptic idea is that security is not just about quantity but about reliable, affordable and environmentally acceptable access, shaped by physical geography, technology and geopolitics.
Resource development and security
Resources are classified as renewable (replenished naturally, such as solar and wind), non-renewable (finite stocks such as oil and coal) and recyclable (such as metals). The concept of a resource peak (the point of maximum extraction, as in peak oil) and the expanding resource frontier (new reserves unlocked by technology, such as hydraulic fracturing, tar sands or deep-sea mining) frame debates about how long supplies will last and at what cost.
Water security
Water supply varies with climate, rivers and aquifers, so it is unevenly distributed; demand rises with population, agriculture (irrigation is the largest user) and industry. Water insecurity results from physical scarcity, over-abstraction, pollution and rising demand. Management includes large engineering schemes (dams and reservoirs, inter-basin water transfers, desalination), groundwater management, and increasingly conservation and demand management (efficient irrigation, leakage reduction, pricing). Shared transboundary river basins (the Nile, the Indus) raise the risk of water conflict and the need for cooperative agreements.
Energy security
A mineral resource and resource futures
A mineral (ore) resource such as copper, lithium or iron ore illustrates how demand (driven by industrialisation, urbanisation and new technology, for example lithium for batteries), supply (often geographically concentrated in a few countries), recycling and substitution interact, and how extraction carries significant environmental and social costs (habitat loss, pollution, labour issues). Reserves shift as prices and technology change.
Resource futures are often modelled as scenarios: business as usual (continued high consumption and rising stress), sustainable development (efficiency, recycling, renewables, circular economy) and more radical low-consumption futures. A wide range of players (governments, TNCs, consumers, NGOs, international bodies) shapes outcomes, and sustainable management seeks to meet present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs.
Try this
Q1. Define resource security. [2 marks]
- Cue. Reliable, affordable and sustainable access to the resources a population needs, at acceptable environmental cost.
Q2. State one strategy for improving water security. [1 mark]
- Cue. Dams and reservoirs, water transfers, desalination, or demand management and conservation.
Q3. Explain why energy is described as highly geopolitical. [4 marks]
- Cue. Reserves are unevenly distributed, many countries depend on imports through vulnerable routes, and control of oil, gas and critical minerals can be used as political leverage between states.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of AQA exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
AQA 20196 marksExplain the causes of water insecurity in some parts of the world.Show worked answer →
A 6 mark "explain" question rewarding separated, linked causes (AO1). Water insecurity occurs where supply cannot reliably meet demand.
Physical causes include low and variable rainfall, high evaporation in arid climates, drought, and the uneven natural distribution of water, so some regions have a structural deficit. Climate change is altering rainfall patterns and reducing glacier-fed flows that many rivers depend on.
Human causes include rising demand from population growth, agriculture (especially irrigation, the largest user) and industry, over-abstraction of groundwater faster than recharge, pollution of supplies, and competition between users and across borders in shared river basins. Inadequate infrastructure and leakage also reduce effective supply. Markers reward a clear physical-versus-human structure with examples.
AQA 20229 marksAssess the extent to which the transition to renewable energy can improve a country's energy security.Show worked answer →
A 9 mark "assess" question (AO1 plus AO2) needing a judgement. Argue the case for renewables improving security: they use domestic resources (wind, solar, hydro), reducing dependence on imported fossil fuels and vulnerable supply routes, and they are low-carbon, supporting sustainability and long-term security against climate impacts.
Then weigh the limits: renewables are intermittent (the wind does not always blow), so they need storage or backup; the transition has high upfront costs; some technologies depend on imported critical minerals (lithium, rare earths), creating new dependencies; and grid stability and land use raise issues.
Conclude that the transition can substantially improve energy security by cutting import dependence, but only if intermittency, storage and mineral supply are managed, so it improves one dimension of security while creating new challenges. Markers reward a calibrated judgement that recognises both gains and new vulnerabilities.
Related dot points
- Globalisation and global systems; international trade, capital flows and migration; the role of transnational corporations; unequal power relations; and the global governance of the oceans and Antarctica as global commons.
A focused answer to AQA A-Level Geography 3.2.1, covering globalisation and global systems, international trade, capital flows and migration, transnational corporations, unequal power relations, and the global governance of the oceans and Antarctica.
- The concepts of place, space and meaning; insider and outsider perspectives; endogenous and exogenous factors; how relationships and connections shape places; and the representation and rebranding of places.
A focused answer to AQA A-Level Geography 3.2.2, covering the concepts of place, space and meaning, insider and outsider perspectives, endogenous and exogenous factors, how connections shape places over time, and the representation and rebranding of places.
- Urbanisation and its processes; urban forms and social and economic issues; the urban climate and ecological footprint; urban drainage and waste; and strategies for managing sustainable urban environments.
A focused answer to AQA A-Level Geography 3.2.3, covering urbanisation and its processes, urban forms and social and economic issues, the urban climate and ecological footprint, urban drainage and waste, and strategies for sustainable urban living.
- Environment and population relationships; food, health and disease; the demographic transition and population change; the natural-resource and carrying-capacity debate; and the principles of population ecology applied to people.
A focused answer to AQA A-Level Geography 3.2.4, covering environment and population relationships, food and health, the demographic transition, population change, and the debate over carrying capacity and natural resources.
- Systems concepts; the global water and carbon cycles, their stores, fluxes and feedbacks; the drainage basin and carbon budgets; and human impact on both cycles.
A focused answer to AQA A-Level Geography 3.1.1, covering systems concepts, the global water and carbon cycles, drainage-basin and carbon budgets, dynamic equilibrium and feedback, and how human activity disrupts both cycles.
Sources & how we know this
- AQA A-level Geography (7037) specification — AQA (2016)