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Quiz yourself on Sustaining EcosystemsGet your flashcardsBuild my revision planTrack my progress⚖️ The Three Case Studies — Side by Side
| Factor | Great Barrier Reef (Australia — HIC) | REDD+ in DRC (LIC) | Knepp Rewilding (UK — HIC) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scale | 2,300 km reef; 344,400 km² marine park | 1.5 million km² of forest; national scale | 3,500 acres; single farm |
| Main threat | Climate change (ocean warming) + agricultural run-off | Poverty-driven charcoal production + subsistence farming | Agricultural intensification had destroyed all biodiversity |
| Management approach | Zoning (33% no-take); water quality plan; coral restoration | International payments (carbon credits) to protect forest | Stop farming; introduce free-roaming herbivores; let nature recover |
| Economic model | AUD $6.4bn/year tourism; economic incentive to protect | Carbon credit payments; but often don't reach communities | Safari tourism + premium wildland meat; £2.5m/year |
| Ecological success | Partial — fish biomass up in no-take zones; but coral still declining | Partial — 15% protected area coverage; but illegal cutting continues | High — turtle doves, nightingales, white storks returned within 20 years |
| Main limitation | Cannot solve global climate change locally; outlook "very poor" | Payments don't reach local communities; no alternative livelihoods | Requires wealthy landowner; not scalable to all farms |
| Key exam point | Local management cannot fix a global problem | Conservation + poverty = failure without alternative livelihoods | Ecosystem recovery IS possible at speed — but conditions must be right |
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