How can forest biomes be conserved and managed sustainably?
Global actions to protect tropical rainforests (CITES, REDD), the challenge of sustainable forest management and alternative livelihoods, and the challenges and conflicts of protecting the taiga wilderness.
A focused answer to Edexcel GCSE Geography B Topic 8 (Forests under threat) on conservation and sustainable management, covering global actions to protect tropical rainforests (CITES, REDD), the challenge of sustainable management and alternative livelihoods, and the conflicts over protecting the taiga wilderness.
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
This is Edexcel GCSE Geography B (1GB0) Paper 3, Section B (Topic 8, Forests under threat). Edexcel expects you to explain the advantages and disadvantages of global actions (such as CITES and REDD) designed to protect tropical rainforest species and areas, and why deforestation is rising in some places but falling in others; the challenge of achieving sustainable forest management and why alternative livelihoods (ecotourism, sustainable farming) might better protect the rainforest; and the challenges and conflicts of protecting the taiga wilderness (wilderness areas, national parks and sustainable forestry).
Global actions to protect the rainforest
Because forests cross borders and serve the whole planet, international action is one way to protect them.
Deforestation rates vary: they have fallen in some areas because of stronger protection, monitoring and falling demand, but risen in others where agriculture, logging and weak enforcement continue, so the picture is mixed.
Sustainable management and alternative livelihoods
The challenge is to let people use the forest without destroying it, so its goods and services survive for the future.
The advantage of alternative livelihoods is that they make the forest worth more standing than cleared and reach the people who live there, but they are small-scale and work best combined with protected areas, global agreements and law enforcement.
Protecting the taiga wilderness
The taiga raises different challenges, because much of it is remote wilderness.
Protecting the taiga means creating and maintaining protected wilderness areas, national parks and sustainable forestry, but this is difficult over such a vast, remote area and brings conflict. Some groups (conservationists, Indigenous peoples, scientists) want to protect the taiga for its biodiversity, carbon store and traditional way of life; others (logging, mining and energy companies, and some governments) want to exploit its timber, minerals, oil, gas and HEP for economic gain. These conflicting views make decisions about protection versus exploitation contested.
Try this
Q1. Define sustainable forest management. [1 mark]
- Cue. Using and managing the forest to meet present needs without preventing future generations from meeting their own needs, for example through selective logging and replanting.
Q2. Explain one reason there are conflicting views about protecting the taiga. [3 marks]
- Cue. Conservationists and Indigenous peoples want to protect the taiga for its biodiversity, carbon store and way of life, while logging, mining and energy companies want to exploit its timber, minerals and fossil fuels for economic gain.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of Pearson Edexcel exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
Edexcel B 20194 marksExplain one global action used to protect the tropical rainforest. (Paper 3, Section B)Show worked answer →
A 4-mark "Explain" question on Paper 3 (Forests under threat), assessing AO1 and AO2. Markers reward a developed point on how the action protects the forest.
Award credit for: REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation) pays developing countries to keep their forests standing rather than clearing them, by valuing the carbon the forest stores; this gives a financial incentive to protect the forest and reduces deforestation. Alternatively, CITES is an international agreement that bans or controls trade in endangered species (and some hardwoods), reducing the demand that drives logging and hunting. The strongest answers name the action and explain the mechanism by which it reduces the threat to the forest.
Edexcel B 20228 marksAssess the extent to which alternative livelihoods are the best way to protect the remaining tropical rainforest. (Paper 3, Section B)Show worked answer →
An 8-mark extended-writing question assessing AO1, AO2 and AO3 (judgement), with a levelled mark scheme. "Assess the extent" needs a balanced, supported judgement.
Strong answers explain alternative livelihoods (ecotourism, sustainable farming, agroforestry, harvesting nuts and rubber) that let local people earn an income from the forest without destroying it, and their advantages (they reduce the pressure to clear land, involve and benefit local people, and are sustainable). Then weigh other approaches: global actions (CITES, REDD), protected areas and national parks, sustainable logging (selective felling, replanting) and education. Evaluate: alternative livelihoods work best where local communities depend on the forest and can be supported, but they are small-scale and need to be combined with global agreements, law enforcement and protected areas to be effective. Reach a judgement: alternative livelihoods are a powerful part of the solution but not sufficient alone. Markers reward a range of strategies, evaluation and a clear conclusion.
Related dot points
- The structure, functioning and adaptations of the tropical rainforest and the taiga: how biotic and abiotic components are interdependent, how plants and animals are adapted, and the contrasting rates of nutrient cycling, productivity and biodiversity.
A focused answer to Edexcel GCSE Geography B Topic 8 (Forests under threat) on the tropical rainforest and taiga, covering their structure and functioning, how biotic and abiotic components are interdependent, plant and animal adaptations, and the contrasting rates of nutrient cycling, productivity and biodiversity.
- The direct and indirect threats to the tropical rainforest (deforestation and climate change) and to the taiga (logging, mineral and fossil-fuel exploitation, acid rain, fire, pests and disease) and their impacts on biodiversity.
A focused answer to Edexcel GCSE Geography B Topic 8 (Forests under threat) on the direct and indirect threats to the tropical rainforest (deforestation and climate change) and the taiga (logging, mineral and fossil-fuel exploitation, acid rain, fire, pests and disease), and their impacts on biodiversity.
- The global distribution and characteristics of major biomes and how they are controlled by climate; how local factors alter biome distribution; and how the biotic and abiotic components of biomes interact.
A focused answer to Edexcel GCSE Geography B Topic 7 (People and the biosphere) on global biomes, covering the distribution and characteristics of major biomes, how climate controls them, how local factors alter their distribution, and how the biotic and abiotic components of biomes interact.
- The role of energy efficiency and conservation in reducing demand; the costs and benefits of alternatives to fossil fuels and future technologies; and how different groups' attitudes to energy futures are changing.
A focused answer to Edexcel GCSE Geography B Topic 9 (Consuming energy resources) on reducing reliance on fossil fuels, covering energy efficiency and conservation, the costs and benefits of alternatives and future technologies, and how the attitudes of consumers, governments, TNCs and environmental groups to energy futures are changing.
Sources & how we know this
- Pearson Edexcel GCSE (9-1) Geography B (1GB0) specification — Pearson Edexcel (2016)