How do people use and manage glaciated and periglacial landscapes, and how sustainable is that use?
Human activity in glaciated and periglacial landscapes; opportunities (tourism, water, energy) and conflicts; and the sustainable management of fragile cold environments.
An Eduqas A-Level Geography answer to the management of glaciated and periglacial landscapes in Component 1, covering human opportunities (tourism, hydropower, water supply, farming), pressures and conflicts, the fragility of cold environments, and sustainable management including national parks, with UK and alpine examples.
Reviewed by: AI editorial process; not yet individually human-reviewed
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What this dot point is asking
Eduqas wants you to explain the opportunities glaciated and periglacial landscapes provide, the pressures and conflicts that result, why these cold environments are fragile, and how they can be managed sustainably.
The answer
Opportunities for human activity
Glaciated landscapes provide several opportunities. Tourism is the largest: dramatic relief, scenery, lakes and snow support walking, climbing, mountain biking and skiing, generating income and employment in the Alps and the Lake District. Water and energy are major: deep glacial troughs and high upland precipitation make ideal sites for reservoirs (water supply) and hydropower dams (clean electricity), as in Norway and the Alps. Farming and forestry use the valley floors and lower slopes for hill sheep farming and commercial forestry, though the short growing season and steep, thin soils limit output. Each opportunity is shaped, and constrained, by the physical landscape the ice left behind.
Pressures and conflict
The central tension is between development and conservation. Ski lifts, car parks, reservoirs and roads bring income but scar fragile slopes and disturb ecosystems that recover only slowly. Concentrated visitor numbers at honeypot sites erode paths and vegetation. Reservoirs flood valley land and alter river regimes. Second-home ownership in scenic villages raises house prices beyond the reach of local people, hollowing out communities, an issue that links this physical topic directly to the human geography of changing places.
Sustainable management
Sustainable management seeks to reconcile use with protection across economic, social and environmental dimensions. National parks and protected-area designation give a planning framework; zoning separates intensive use (honeypots, ski areas) from sensitive zones; visitor management (signage, park-and-ride, footpath repair with stone pitching, seasonal restrictions) reduces damage; and community involvement keeps benefits local. These strategies work best where they are well funded and enforced, as in established national parks, but because cold ecosystems recover slowly, prevention and zoning are more effective than repairing damage after it is done.
Examples in context
Example 1. The Lake District National Park, England. The Lake District is a relict glaciated upland managed as a national park and UNESCO World Heritage Site. It draws around million visitors a year, generating income but causing footpath erosion on popular fells, traffic congestion on narrow valley roads, and a severe second-home problem that has pushed house prices beyond local incomes. Management uses footpath repair (stone pitching), park-and-ride and visitor management, zoning of intensive use, and planning controls on development. It is the standard Eduqas case for reconciling tourism with conservation in a fragile glaciated landscape.
Example 2. Hydropower and water in the Alps and Norway. Deep glacial troughs and high precipitation make the Alps and Norway ideal for reservoirs and hydropower: dammed troughs store water and generate clean electricity, supplying cities far away and supporting decarbonisation. But the schemes flood valley land, displace communities and alter river regimes and sediment flows downstream, and roads and pylons scar the landscape. The hydropower case shows the same development-versus-conservation tension as tourism and links the physical landscape directly to energy security, a useful synoptic bridge to Component 2.
Try this
Q1. State two opportunities that a glaciated landscape provides for human activity. [2 marks]
- Cue. Any two of: tourism (scenery, walking, climbing, skiing); water supply and hydropower from dammed troughs; hill farming and forestry on lower slopes.
Q2. Explain why glaciated landscapes are described as fragile. [3 marks]
- Cue. Thin soils, short growing seasons and slow-growing vegetation mean ecosystems are easily damaged by human pressure and recover only over decades, so even modest use can cause lasting harm.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of WJEC Eduqas exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
Eduqas 2019 (style)6 marksExplain the opportunities that glaciated landscapes provide for human activity.Show worked answer →
Identify the main opportunities and explain why the landscape provides each.
Tourism: dramatic relief, scenery and snow support walking, climbing and skiing, generating income and jobs (the Alps, the Lake District).
Water and energy: deep glacial troughs and high precipitation make ideal reservoir and hydropower sites, storing water and generating clean electricity.
Farming and forestry: valley floors and lower slopes support hill farming and forestry, though the growing season is short.
A strong answer pairs each opportunity with a located example and notes the constraint (steep, cold, fragile).
Markers reward explained opportunities linked to the physical landscape, not a bare list.
Eduqas 2022 (style)12 marksEvaluate the success of strategies used to manage conflict in fragile glaciated landscapes.Show worked answer →
A 12-mark evaluation needing a judgement about effectiveness.
Outline the conflicts: tourism versus conservation, development (ski lifts, reservoirs, roads) versus fragile ecosystems, and resident livelihoods versus visitor pressure.
Evaluate strategies: national parks and protected-area designation, zoning, visitor management, footpath maintenance and honeypot concentration. Argue these reduce damage and balance access with protection but are imperfect (erosion at honeypots, traffic, second homes raising house prices).
Weigh success across economic, social and environmental dimensions, concluding that management can reconcile competing demands where it is well-funded and enforced (a national park such as the Lake District), but that fragile cold ecosystems recover slowly, so prevention and zoning are more effective than repair.
Markers reward a balanced, exemplified judgement against criteria.
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Sources & how we know this
- Eduqas A-level Geography specification (from 2016) — Eduqas (2016)