People and Nature: Resource Use and Protection
GeographySoils, Biosphere & EnvironmentAges 11–12
Use it with your class: students open it from a link or a QR code, with no account needed.
Next in Soils, Biosphere & Environment
A region with forest, a river and a city. Click Run to grow the population year by year: demand for timber, land, water and energy rises, so the forest shrinks, the air fills with more emissions, and the river slowly turns dirty — the scene updates instantly with the data. Choose a protection measure (reforestation, wastewater treatment and water saving, or clean energy) and compare two runs to see that human impact on nature can be reversed. Click the forest, river or city on the scene to read an explanation.
Lesson: Human impact on nature and environmental protection
What it shows
The model links population growth to pressure on the environment. Each year the population grows at the chosen rate, and demand for timber, land, water and energy rises with both the number of people and resource use per person. Forest cover falls, the air pollution index climbs and river water quality declines, while the scene redraws to match the figures. Protection measures target specific causes: reforestation restores forest, wastewater treatment protects the river and clean energy cuts emissions. Comparing runs shows that human impact depends on how many people there are and on how they use resources.
How to use
Set the Starting population of the region, the Annual population growth rate and Resource use per person, keep No measure selected and press Run, noting forest cover, air pollution and water quality after a set number of years. Press Reset, choose one protection measure (Reforest, Clean water or Clean energy) and run again with the same settings to compare. Click the forest, river or city in the scene for an explanation.
Parameters you can change
- Starting population of the region 1–100 million people
- Annual population growth rate 0–3 %/year
- Resource use per person Low (mostly self-sufficient), Medium, High (industrial, heavy consumption)
- Environmental protection measure No measure applied, Reforestation and a logging ban, Wastewater treatment and water saving, Clean energy use
- Simulation speed 0.5–10 years/s
Questions to explore
- How does a higher Annual population growth rate change forest cover and water quality after the same number of years?
- Which protection measure lowers the air pollution index the most, and why?
- Does a small population with high resource use harm nature more or less than a large population with low use?
