GEOGRAPHY IGCSE: AID. It contains: aid and types of aid, sustainable development.

1. IGCSE GEOGRAPHY
27. DEVELOPMENT
AID. TYPES OF AID.
SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT.

3. Emergency or short-term aid - needed after sudden disasters
such as the 2000 Mozambique floods/ 2004 Asian tsunami.
Conditional or tied aid - when one country donates money or
resources to another (bilateral aid) but with conditions
attached. These conditions will often be in the MEDC's favour,
eg. Pergau Dam project in Malaysia, where Britain used aid to
secure trade deals with Malaysia.

4. Charitable aid - funded by donations from the public through
organisations such as OXFAM.
Long-term or development aid - involves providing local
communities with education and skills for sustainable
development, through organisations such as Practical Action.
Multilateral aid - given through international organisations
such as the World Bank rather than by one specific country.

5. Sometimes, aid can bring long-term problems as well as
advantages to the recipient country.
The table gives some of the arguments for and against the
provision of aid to LEDCs.

8. The case study of LEDC charity aid: Practical Action Shelter
Project
One fifth of the world's population are either homeless or
live in poor housing, mainly in LEDCs.
Homeless people in LEDCs often build makeshift shelters in
shanty towns. These are often built on land not fit for
development such as steep slopes or marshland which is
vulnerable to floods and landslides.
Practical Action is a charity which helps communities to
learn the skills they need to build better quality housing
using their own labour, local resources and traditional
techniques.

9. Practical Action has succeeded in changing government policy
on housing in Kenya. Now, local authorities recognise houses
that have been made from inexpensive materials as proper
dwellings.
Practical Action also aim to improve basic services and
infrastructure. As local people have been consulted from the
outset, they can apply their skills in continuing to improve
their surroundings. Their involvement has also given them a
sense of ownership and responsibility.
Practical Action also has shelter programmes in other
countries including Zimbabwe and Peru. Their work is an
example of sustainable development - a development which
minimises damage to the environment or local resources.