Analyse the reasons for and the consequences of the economic development of polar and subpolar regions.

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Claudia Ruygrok

Analyse the reasons for and the consequences of the economic development of polar and subpolar regions (30 marks)

        High latitude areas of the polar and subpolar regions have growing economic developments as they are rich in such natural resources as fishing and mining, developments like these have caused controversy due to their consequences. The polar areas are the regions around the north and south poles. The subpolar regions are the areas just outside the poles but above 60 degrees North and South.

Mining has been an economic development. The reasons for this are that areas like the Arctic and Antarctic are rich in deposits of minerals like iron-ore, nickel, copper and uranium. In the twentieth century there was planned investment by large companies and governments the reason for this was mineral wealth. Even though these regions are so remote and have harsh operating systems they are still commercially viable due to the huge amount of money to be made. An example of controversy over mining is in Voisey’s Bay, North-central Labrador, Canada. Here in October 1994 a massive sulphide ore deposit was discovered, it was one of the richest deposits in the world. There was pressure to mine as there were potential reserves of 150 tonnes and could be extracted using low-cost methods as the deposit was near the surface. Other reasons were that the mining could offer the people of Northern Labrador lasting economic and social benefits through employment and business opportunities. It could potentially generate 40,000 person years of employment, and $3.3 billion investment in Labrador alone. However with this economic development came impacts on human health, community well-being and traditional lifestyles. The consequences were that the native peoples lives were affected, they have survived and lived sustainably because they adapted their economies to the environment whereas the new outsiders imposed their style and needs upon the environment. There was low-level flight training, road expansion and industrial forestry. The Innu peoples said the increased helicopter and aeroplane traffic caused an impact on wildlife habitats and hunting areas, for example on caribou herds and migratory birds. Exploration camps were set up in areas of intensive native land use or cultural significant land.

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However oil is the mineral with the greatest pulling power and oil production is well established in the Arctic region. For example when oil and gas were first discovered in 1968 in Prudhoe Bay in northern Alaska again there was controversy. The main reason for the wanted development was that USA oil demand was great and increasing. They consume one third of all oil and oil products. It would supply west coast states such as California where it was much needed in the car orientated society, and it would reduce dependence upon the supplies from the politically unstable Middle East. ...

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