Cambridge IGCSE™

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ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 0680/22

Paper 2 Management in Context May/June 2023

1 hour 45 minutes

You must answer on the question paper.

No additional materials are needed.

INSTRUCTIONS
● Answer all questions.
● Use a black or dark blue pen. You may use an HB pencil for any diagrams or graphs.
● Write your name, centre number and candidate number in the boxes at the top of the page.
● Write your answer to each question in the space provided.
● Do not use an erasable pen or correction fluid.
● Do not write on any bar codes.
● You may use a calculator.
● You should show all your working and use appropriate units.

INFORMATION
● The total mark for this paper is 80.
● The number of marks for each question or part question is shown in brackets [ ].

This document has 20 pages. Any blank pages are indicated.

DC (RW/SG) 315328/3
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world map showing the location of Laos

Laos
Tropic of
Cancer

Equator

Tropic of
Capricorn

map of Laos

Key
capital city
international boundaries
river
N Re
d
Ri
ve
r

0 100
km

South
China Sea

M
e
Vientiane
ko
ng Riv e r

LAOS

Saddle Dam D

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Area of Laos: 237 955 km2

Population: 7 400 700 (in 2021)

Children per woman: 2.7

Life expectancy: 68.9 years

Currency: kip (9354 LAK = 1 USD)

Language: Lao, French, local languages

Climate of Laos: hot tropical with rainy season May to October

Terrain of Laos: mountains and steep-sided valleys

Main economic activities of Laos: agricultural production, tourism, mining, silk and cotton production

Natural resources: timber, hydroelectric power, tin, gold and gemstones

Laos is a less economically developed country (LEDC). Most parts of the economy are growing.
Unemployment is low.

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1 (a) The diagram shows the population pyramid for Laos in 2021.

100+ male female

95–99
90–94
85–89
80–84
75–79
70–74
65–69
60–64
55–59
age range 50–54
45–49
40–44
35–39
30–34
25–29
20–24
15–19
10–14
5–9
0–4
6 4 2 0 2 4 6
percentage of population

(i) Describe the shape of this population pyramid.

At first it is wide which means that there more of each gender at young ages
...........................................................................................................................................
and then it starts getting thinner and thinnder until it reached the top which
...........................................................................................................................................
its very thin and makes a pyramid form. Also there is something interesting
...........................................................................................................................................
that is that its always the same quantity in males and in females.
..................................................................................................................................... [2]

(ii) In 1979, the population of Laos was 3 258 200.

In 2021, the population of Laos was 7 400 700.

Calculate the average annual increase in population.

98360
............................................ per year [2]

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(iii) Suggest reasons why Laos has a rapidly increasing population.

I dont know exactly but since its main resource of economy is based on
...........................................................................................................................................
natural works such as agriculture, this may increased it value in the whole
...........................................................................................................................................
world which lead to better economical incomes for the country and the
...........................................................................................................................................
population increased
...........................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................... [3]

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(b) Population growth in Laos has increased the demand for electricity.

The government of Laos has invested in hydroelectric power and will soon be generating
electricity from 90 sites.

Laos has one coal-fired power station.

(i) Suggest the environmental advantages of using hydroelectric power rather than coal to
generate electricity.
Firstly it pollute less almost nothing which is a lot compared to coal electricity
...........................................................................................................................................
generation because this one pollutes inmense quantities. Secondly hydroelectric
...........................................................................................................................................
power its a renewable source of energy so that is a huge advantage.
...........................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................... [3]

(ii) Suggest reasons why Laos is suitable for using hydroelectric power to
generate electricity.
Well, it is a good place because it has rainy seasons and if we see the map
...........................................................................................................................................
we can notice that it is surrounded by a river or whatever is that but the imporant
...........................................................................................................................................
thing is that its a water body which its useful for hydroelectric power.
...........................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................... [3]

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(iii) Hydroelectric dams increase the supply of electricity.

Suggest other economic benefits of dams for local people.

It will provide flood control which its translated to less infrastructure reparations
...........................................................................................................................................
due to the rain season, also it will provide money by tourism since dams
...........................................................................................................................................
are incredible to see in real life.
...........................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................... [3]

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(c) Saddle Dam D was built between 2013 and 2018. It was one of the largest hydroelectric
dams in Laos.

Heavy rains in 2018 caused the dam to burst.

This was reported in a newspaper.

Laos dam collapse – many missing after villages flooded

Saddle Dam D has burst due to heavy rain.

A large volume of water (5 000 000 000 m3) was released into the
local countryside. Roads and bridges were washed away.

At least 40 people are dead and more than 100 people are missing. Over
6500 people are now homeless.

Some local people say they did not receive a warning before the dam burst.
They think the construction company used low quality building materials.

(i) Suggest three reasons why many people were affected when the dam burst.
Floodings
1 ........................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................
Displacement
2 ........................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................
I dont know
3 ........................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................
[3]

(ii) Suggest reasons why the number of deaths caused by this disaster increased in the
long term.
It may be because as the houses were destroyed at long term they couldnt
...........................................................................................................................................
repair everything so this all led to the increase of the death caused by the
...........................................................................................................................................
disaster. Another option is that due to the floodings the sewage water mixed
...........................................................................................................................................
with the flooding ones and this led to diseases.
...........................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................... [4]

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(iii) The dam was rebuilt and now generates 410 megawatts (MW). 90% of this electricity is
exported to other countries.

Calculate the quantity of electricity in MW that is exported.

41
................................................... MW [1]

(d) Large quantities of minerals are used to construct dams.

(i) State four factors that affect the cost of extraction of minerals.
Surface
1 ........................................................................................................................................
Type of mine
2 ........................................................................................................................................
Depends on the machinery used
3 ........................................................................................................................................

4 ........................................................................................................................................
[4]

(ii) Describe the process of restoring an open-pit surface mine to a forest after mineral
extraction has finished.
It is firstly covered again with soil that can be used to grow trees, plants, grass
...........................................................................................................................................
,etc. After that, plants and trees are planted on that soil to grow a green space
...........................................................................................................................................
finally it is all irrigated to plants and trees can grow correctly.
...........................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................... [4]

[Total: 32]

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2 Fish are an important part of the diet of people in Laos.

(a) The table shows the annual fish consumption per person for some countries.

annual fish consumption per person

country
/ kg
Brazil 9
Iceland 91
India 7
Laos 25
South Africa 6
USA 22

(i) Plot a bar chart of the data in the table.

[4]

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(ii) Suggest reasons why the annual fish consumption per person varies in
different countries.
It can vary depending on the country because there are some countries that
...........................................................................................................................................
dont relly fully on the fishery, this means that their alimentation is based mostly
...........................................................................................................................................
in other types of food. Another reason can be the availabilty of fish in some
...........................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................
countries, there are some countries in which there is more and ones in which

there is less.
...........................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................... [3]

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(b) The government of Laos wants to encourage the construction of fish farms to help meet
future demand for fish.

Scientists investigate the suitability of some species for fish farming in Laos.

The results are shown in the table.

maximum length maximum mass annual maximum yield

fish species
/m / kg / tonnes per hectare
African catfish 1.5 60 6.8
bighead carp 0.6 40 0.8
common carp 1.2 40 0.9
shark catfish 1.3 25 2.3
snakehead 1.0 8 1.4

(i) Calculate the range in maximum mass shown in the table.

52
...................................................... kg [1]

(ii) Rank the fish according to their maximum length, starting with the largest.

African catfish
largest 1 ................................................
Shark catfish
2 ................................................
Common carp
3 ................................................
Snakehead
4 ................................................
bighead carp
smallest 5 ................................................
[2]

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(iii) The African catfish is not normally found in the wild in Laos.

Suggest the limitations of using the African catfish for fish farming in Laos.
Living organisms tend to adapt to their natural habitats and conditions, an african
...........................................................................................................................................
catfish may not adapt to the Laos conditions because it is already adapted to
...........................................................................................................................................
the conditions in Africa and its prepared to survive in that conditions, not in
...........................................................................................................................................
another ones.
...........................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................... [4]

(iv) Explain why fish farming is more sustainable than catching wild fish.
Fish farming it is focused on catching only one type of fish, so this would avoid
...........................................................................................................................................
bycatch which is the main problem of overfishing that is another reason of why
...........................................................................................................................................
fish farming can be more sustainable than wild fishing.
...........................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................... [2]

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(c) A fish farmer is thinking about changing the species of fish being farmed.

The fish farmer uses a questionnaire to find out the local demand for a new species of fish.

(i) Describe one way the fish farmer can select a representative sample of local people to
answer the questionnaire.
Maybe selecting the most important people of the area to research and to
...........................................................................................................................................
become the voice of the town.
...........................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................... [2]

(ii) The results of the questionnaire are shown.

percentage
question yes no
Do you eat fish at least once a week? 50 50
Do you eat more fish now than 5 years ago? 35 65
Would you eat a new species of fish? 17 83

Explain why the fish farmer decides not to change the species of fish being farmed.
Well, he identified that fish alimentation is in decay so changing the specie
...........................................................................................................................................
will require capital which wont be restored because people wont try new species
...........................................................................................................................................
of fish.
...........................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................... [3]

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(iii) State three abiotic factors that affect the growth of farmed fish.
Temperature
1 ........................................................................................................................................
Oxygen
2 ........................................................................................................................................
Light
3 ........................................................................................................................................
[3]

(iv) Some fish eat water plants and other fish eat mainly insects.

Explain why the farming of plant-eating fish is more energy efficient than the farming of
insect-eating fish.
I dont know but I think it is because eating the insect takes more energy
...........................................................................................................................................
than eating a plant.
...........................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................... [2]

[Total: 26]

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3 The photograph shows a farmer preparing some fields for rice production.

(a) (i) State the name of the strategy used to reduce soil erosion which is shown in the
photograph.
Terracing
..................................................................................................................................... [1]

(ii) State four other strategies that can be used to reduce soil erosion.
Windbreaks
1 ........................................................................................................................................
Contour ploughing
2 ........................................................................................................................................
Adding organic matter
3 ........................................................................................................................................
Crop rotation
4 ........................................................................................................................................
[4]

(b) State how the activities shown in the photograph affect surface run-off and evaporation.

Give a reason for each answer.

There is not too much surface run off because it is not slope
surface run-off ...........................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................................
It affects because its a large area which has to be irrigated and maybe
evaporation ...............................................................................................................................
some of the water is lost on evaporation
...................................................................................................................................................
[2]

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(c) The diagram shows part of the water cycle.

Key
process

ocean

State the names of processes A and B.

Transpiration
A ...................................................................

Precipitation
B ...................................................................
[2]

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(d) A student in Laos investigates the growth of newly planted trees to find the best
growing conditions.

The student:
• plants 100 young trees of similar size
• puts the trees into four groups, A–D, each of 25 trees
• gives each group of 25 trees a different treatment
• selects a sample of 5 trees from each group
• measures the heights of the trees in the sample after 3 years.

The results are shown in the table.

increase in height after 3 years / m

group A group B group C group D
sample
tree guards added
no extra weeds removed fertiliser added
to stop grazing
treatment regularly when planting
by animals
tree 1 1.4 1.8 1.7 1.2
tree 2 1.0 1.9 1.9 1.3
tree 3 1.7 2.4 1.4 1.5
tree 4 1.3 2.1 1.6 1.1
tree 5 1.4 2.6 2.2 1.4

average 1.4 2.2 1.76 1.3

.................

(i) Complete the table to show the average for group C. [1]

(ii) State why the student includes group A in the investigation.

To see the changes
..................................................................................................................................... [1]

(iii) Write a suitable conclusion for this investigation.

Well the most efficient way of growing trees its by removing weeds regularly
...........................................................................................................................................
as its the one with highest average, it is followed by the group c which is adding
...........................................................................................................................................
fertilisers but this may vary on the soil, fertiliser and plant.
...........................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................... [3]

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(iv) Suggest three ways the student can confirm the results of the investigation.
By knowing the first measurements
1 ........................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................
By trying on different types of soils
2 ........................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................
By using different types of fertilisers
3 ........................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................
[3]

(e) Explain how afforestation helps with the management of atmospheric pollution.
I dont know exactly why but I believe that its because if there is more trees
...................................................................................................................................................
there is more oxygen and if there is more quality oxygen means that that place it is
...................................................................................................................................................
not polluted and that it is suitable for a human to live.
...................................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................................

............................................................................................................................................. [5]

[Total: 22]

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