Geography Notes

Stephanie Ling

Political Geography
Conflicts in China

India-China border conflicts across the Himalayas

Japan-China Island Dispute

India, China and Pakistan Border Disputes

Aksai Chin
- Indian province of Jammu and Kashmir
- Chinese province of Xinjiang, in the West
- Uninhabited, high-altitude wasteland crossed by the XinjiangTibet Highway
- Trade route between Xinjiang and Tibet
McMahon Line

Japan-China Island Disputes

Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands
- Uninhabited islands in the East China Sea
- Northeast of Taiwan
- Privately owned until September 2012 when Japan bought three
of the islands
- Caused major protests between China and Japan
China, Taiwan and Japan each claim the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands northeast
of Taiwan while China, Taiwan and several South-East Asian countries
claim various land forms in the South China Sea. Behind these claims is an
intensifying contest from hydrocarbon, mineral and fishery resources.
Conflicts have become more intense in recent years because China is
acquiring the seaborne capabilities to assert its own claims and challenge
those of others.

NGOs
the

around
world

Non-

government

organisations are

non-profit
organisations or groups
which
work on an international,
national or
local level, with different
purposes
and goals. They
provide nongovernment aid to
assist
developing or conflicting
countries
around the world, aiming for
peace,
reduced poverty, health,
education or the like. Each NGO has their own
unique purpose to assist and develop certain or many countries or communities.
Some areas of development NGOs focus on are:

Health
Lifestyle
Education
Safety
Well being
Food
Shelter
Services

NGOs are mainly funded from public donations, from individuals,

businesses or groups, however some are also funded from the
government, for example, World Vision, Red Cross and Oxfam.

Equality
Everyday needs
Water
First aid
Family planning
Quality of life
Poverty
Sanitation

NGOs in China
o Save the Children

began in 1919 as an emergency fund to assist children in Germany who

were starving because of an economic blockade still imposed by the allied
victors of WWI

Over the next few years, Save the Children sent relief aid and workers
across Europe, and partner organisations were set up in several other
countries, forming an International Save the Children Alliance that has
since grown to include members from 27 countries.

In the 1990s, from a base in Hong Kong, it carried out in Tibet:

In the Anhui Province: basic education and water and sanitation

projects to integrate children with learning difficulties into
mainstream kindergartens

In Anhui: a pilot project to restructure an orphanage into small

group homes with family style care.

In 1995, when the China programme office relocated to the mainland,

work has grown steadily in breadth and depth, making Save the Childrens
one of the largest international NGO programmes in China

It works closely with government partners by introducing its distinctive

approach through Child Rights Training for agencies and individuals that
work directly with children or on related research and policy.

Challenges and Successes

1996 Yunnan Province: HIV/AIDS work through a school-based peer
education program
2000 Ruili (Yunnan): An integration and care program on HIV/ AIDS
- These approaches have since been replicated elsewhere [esp.
Anhui and Xinjiang Provinces)
2001- Yunnan: A basic education program began
- This introduced child-centred teaching methods to schools in
poor, ethnic minority areas, while also developing incomegeneration activities to support local schools and working to
improve nutrition, hygiene and inclusive education
Now:
The orphan small group home model has been replicated in other
provinces
Save the Children is now working with Civil Affairs authorities to
develop national policies for Orphan Care
It encourages community based care for AIDS Orphans
Worked for more than 10 years with Civil Affairs throughout China to
develop good practice and policy for street children
During the three years:
23 resource rooms were established in a total of 24 ordinary
kindergartens and primary schools in 4 counties of Yunnan and
Sichuan Provinces
Over 670 principals and teachers participated in professional
training
Following the success of the first term, Save the Children officially
launched the second term in Beijing on January 7 2013.
The new project will be supported by IKEA Foundation. On the basis
of previous experience in Yunnan and Sichuan Province, this time
the project will further cover Xinjiang Autonomous Region as well.

o Oxfam

Oxfam was established in 1942 for Famine Relief in England during World
War Two. They have been working with communities for more than 50
years, and provide people with skills and resources to help them create
their own solutions to poverty.

Since 1987, Oxfam Hong Kong has been working on poverty alleviation
and emergency relief in China

More than 800 million Yuan has been allocated to help thousands and
thousands of people, mainly:
Poor farmers in remote mountainous areas
Ethnic minorities
Women and children
Migrant workers
HIV-AIDS patients.
Approximately one-third of Oxfam Hong Kong's total programme
expenditure goes to poverty alleviation in Mainland China. The majority of
programmes are located in Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi, Guangdong, Gansu,
Shaanxi, Sichuan and Beijing.

In 1992: Oxfam Hong Kong opened its first field office in Kumming,
Mainland China. This was followed by offices opening in:
Beijing
Guiyang
Lanzhou
Chengdu.

Sudan

largest African nation 3 regions

approximately 39 million people
134 languages tribes
400 000 died in 2008
32% population urban, 68% rural, 7% nomads
Islam predominant religion
Official language is Arabic
Nile River cotton, sesame, sugar production
Tourism non-existent
Independence from British-Egyptian rule in 1956
Peace deal, 2005, ended 21-year conflict between Muslim North and
Christian South 1.5 million people killed
2003 2 million people forced to flee their homes in Darfur, western
Sudan

Darfur Region

6 million people

Live in small villages with only a few hundred fmailes

Ecosystems desert in north, savannah in south, Jebel Marra volcanic
plateau in middle
High levels of rainfalls and fertile soils

Inhabitants of Darfur
Farmers and nomadic pastoralists
Dark-skinned and Muslim
Farmers sorghum, millet, groundnuts, tomatoes
Black African Fur, Masalit, Zaghawa communities
Nomadic pastoralists raise camels in north, cattle south
Livestock is Darfurs main export pastoralists have more influence in
region
Conflicts in Darfur between settled farmers and nomadic pastoralists
migrating in search of water and pastures have occurred for centuries
solutions reached by negotiation

Conflict in Darfur

Began early 2003

Worlds worst humanitarian crisis
Rebel groups attacked by government
Rebel groups Sudan Liberation Army (SLA), Justice and Equality
Movement (JEM)
Scorched earth campaign a policy of devastating all land and buildings in
the course of advancing or retreating troops so as to leave nothing
salvageable to the enemy bombers, helicopter gunships, paramilitaries,
regular armed forces
Government encourages raids led by local pro-Arab militias Janjaweed
UN accused Sudanese government and pro-Arab militias of war crimes
against Darfurs black African population
War crimes torture, inhumane treatment making civilian population the
object of military attacks
Internally displaced person (IDP) someone who has fled their home due
to a fear of persecution of race, religion, nationality, membership in a
particular social group, political opinion, armed conflict, but has not
crossed an internationally recognised border
Impacts of Darfur Conflict
Burning of more than 300 villages
Looting of livestock and food stocks
Displacement of 290 000 people
Displacement of 420 000 internally displaced people
Missing/separated children among IDPs
Malnutrition 18.4% in Kutum town global figure 1.3%
Poor health and sanitation

Destruction of schools, health infrastructure (13 health centres, 48

schools), 36 schools closed, 25 000 IDPs students out of schools

Fleeing Villages

Search for safety in Chad

Tine border of Sudan and Chad scattered along 600km of border

Causes of Conflict

Limited investment in basic services remoteness, lack of infrastructure,

governments lack of encouragement to investors to improve development
Marginalisation poor infrastructure, discouraged capital in region which
affects trade and services leading to neglect of residents
Lack of personal security high levels of armed robbery reduces
movement of people and goods in the area
Conflict over resources fertile lands belong to local tribes been raided by
mobile nomadic Arab tribes to secure grazing grounds for animals
droughts have impoverished grazing land and surface water available
Abolition of traditional local councils abolished by the Khartoum
government leaving no mechanisms for solving conflicts
Human rights General Omar Hassan al Bashir Islamist government
sharia law torture, repression of religious freedoms, political opposition
anyone suspected of criticising government is arrested without charge and
held for months
Disasters desertification, natural hazards no early warning programs,
people not always ready for them
Government policy government armed and assisted nomadic Arabs in
the localised clashes that took place in the late-1980s and 1990s
Lack of development can be traced to underdevelopment of the area

Consequences of conflict in Darfur

After many deaths and no action, the UN finally comes to a conclusion

which should have been made years ago
Genocide the deliberate destruction of a racial, political or cultural group
Refugee Camps
Mornei camp 80 000 displaced people
Refugee someone who has fled their country due to fear of persecution,
race, religion, nationality, membership in social group, political opinion or
armed conflict

o Why are observers so alarmed about the confl ict in

Darfur, apart from the obvious humanitarian crisis?

Conflict could destabilise the whole country

Darfur could lead to a split in the government
Khartoum politicians have ethnic links to the rebels

o UN refers Darfur to International Criminal Court

UN gave International Criminal Court (ICC) authority to investigate and

prosecute those most responsible for massive human rights violations
committed in the western Sudanese region

Response to Darfur conflict

the forgotten disaster

Rwanda evidence of ethnic cleansing
Sudanese government forces and militia conducted indiscriminate attacks
including killing of civilians, enforced disappearances, destruction of
villages, rape and sexual violence, pillaging and forced displacement but
do not refer to it as genocide

o Tim Costellos visit to Sudan

Exposed, no shade, 45 degrees, raining with no protection

Women who had been raped and terrorised
Villages burned, cattle stolen, crops burnt
Evil of a malevolent, predatory government that is quite prepared to see a
million people potentially die Rwanda in slow motion million died in
8weeks
Terror and vulnerability
Australian government - $20 million
Because its not American, Australian or British involved it doesnt get any
attention
Very little mentioned by either major party about poverty issues and
nothing about third world poverty
1.2 billion people living on less than $1 a day
Our level of aid in percentage has been falling
1996 0.36% of Gross National Income (GNI)
2004 0.26% - 3.7 billion we havent given to the poor

Women Conflict around the World

o Somalia

95% of girls suffer genital mutation

9% give birth in a health facility
Suffers high levels of maternal mortality
Limited access to health care or education
No hospitals or health care easily accessible if a woman becomes pregnant
women are raped on a daily basis
Every girl is subjected to drought, famine and fighting and can die at any
time

o Afghanistan

Targeted violence against female public

87% illiterate
High infant mortality rates and limited access to doctors
1 in 11 women die in childbirth
High levels of infanticide and sex trafficking
Near total lack of economic rights
Women who attempt to speak out and challenge ingrained gender
stereotypes are often intimidated or killed

o India

High level of infanticide and foeticide

High level of sex trafficking
Increase in income inequality in the past 10-20 years
400 million people live on less than $1 a day
42% of children are under weight
59% of children have stunted growth
44.5% of girls married before 18 years old
60% under 18 are uneducated

o Niger/Africa

Women have to travel more than 200km to reach a hospital

Thousands of children are suffering malnutrition
Food crisis threatens about 18 million people across 7 countries
Soaring grain prices and chronic poverty

o Congo

1152 women raped every day

57% pregnant women anaemic
More than 400,000 raped each year (as young as 3)
Militia groups and soldiers target all ages

o Pakistan

Some of the highest rates of dowry murder 1000 women and girls die in
honour killings each year

Barangaroo
Darling Harbour

Previous Function docklands, rail hubs

Present Function hotels, entertainment, apartments, restaurants,

exhibition space

People tourists/business people

 King Street Wharf and Barangaroo

Macquarie bank
Star Casino
Water
Darling harbour
Pyrmont
Westpac
Hotels

The South Western End of CBD

Multiculturalism different cuisines restaurants, korea town, china town,

influence

High retail, food, convenience stores for apartments

Pitt Street

High end fashion/young fashion

Traditional, heritage value buildings sandstone

Mall Area

Fashion, high end retail to young fashion

Character of old buildings kept heritage value buildings, gentrification
keeping faade and refurbishing inside
Banks solidifying and centralising
Banks turning into high end fashion (Louis Vuitton)

Martin Place

Retail
Hotels
Macquarie bank
Sandstone
RBA
Channel 7
Lindt Restaurant
Hospital
Library

Customs House

Taxes collected tariffs no longer needed

Early 90s disused space
Now used for exhibitions/meeting places
Caf Sydney restaurant
Ground floor library
New technology opening up building new light/space
Changing architecture
Model of CBD

Region

North
- Port Sudan
- Capital: Khartoum

South

Darfur
Fur tribe
Zagahawa tribe
Masalit tribe
Nomadic
Arabic/Muslims

Ethnici
ty
Superio
rity
Arabic
Religion
:
Muslim

Black
Religion
:
Christia
n
Black
Religion
:
Muslim

Oil (internationally recognised)

Port Sudan receive payments

- Canada, China (70%), Russia, Japan,
India, Malaysia
- Infrastructure
Roads
Hospitals
Schools
- Weapons from China
Bombs at night
Helicopter gunships with high
powered machine guns
devils on horseback
- Killing
- Raping
- Burning
Oil Wells/Reserves
Rebellion 22 years (1983-2005)

won 49% revenue allocated to

them
infrastructure
Rebellion 2003-present