Natural ecosystems and human activity — IGCSE Environmental Management (0680) questions by topic
Estimating a corridor's area from a map scale, defining habitat and niche, calculating the dollar cost of starling damage to a farm, and evaluating population data for the endangered northern white rhinoceros are the recurring demands in this topic, worth 5 to 28 marks across 21 real questions from 2023 to 2025 papers.
Suggest, explain, state, calculate and describe are the top command words, and calculate here means applying a given rate, such as cost per hectare, correctly to the scenario's own figures. Examiners report answers that stray from the specific balance the question asks about, so drafting a full evaluative response and checking it against instant marking is a fast way to confirm the reasoning stayed on the resource-versus-extinction trade-off actually posed.
What examiners look for
- A recurring criticism is a minority believing pesticides harm the crop itself rather than the target pest or wider ecosystem.
- Examiners note responses that credited starlings with eating insects, which was not creditworthy for this particular question.
- Reports flag balanced-evaluation answers as challenging, with many candidates writing about points not relevant to weighing resource needs against preventing extinctions.
- A common error was giving only partial working on more demanding calculations rather than showing each step.
- Strong answers completed the cost calculation correctly to reach $4200, showed correct use of data to reach the required percentage, and identified habitat loss, poaching pressure and single-gender captive populations as reasons for continued decline.
May–June 2025, Paper 13
The diagram shows Earth overshoot day from 1971 to 2023. Earth overshoot day is the day when scientists predict that people use up all the resources that the Earth's ecosystems…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2025, Paper 21
The photograph shows pilot whales in the sea around the Faroe Islands. The prey of pilot whales is jellyfish. Jellyfish feed on phytoplankton. Pilot whales are eaten by orca.…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2025, Paper 23
The photograph shows pilot whales in the sea around the Faroe Islands. The prey of pilot whales is jellyfish. Jellyfish feed on phytoplankton. Pilot whales are eaten by orca.…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2024, Paper 11
The diagram shows the process of photosynthesis, with sunlight reaching a leaf and four blank labels for the inputs and outputs (the gas taken in, the gas released, and the…
Answer this question and get it marked →The map shows a corridor between ecological reserves in both Nepal and India (key: international boundary, ecological reserve, ecological corridor, road; scale: each grid square =…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2024, Paper 12
Calculate the number of tree species in the world. (17 500 species are threatened, which is 30% of the world's tree species.)
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2024, Paper 13
The diagram shows the process of photosynthesis, with sunlight reaching a leaf and four blank labels for the inputs and outputs (the gas taken in, the gas released, and the…
Answer this question and get it marked →The map shows a corridor between ecological reserves in both Nepal and India (key: international boundary, ecological reserve, ecological corridor, road; scale: each grid square =…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2023, Paper 11
A farm in the USA has 840 hectares of land. Calculate the cost of the damage caused by European starlings to this farm. Give your answer in $ per year. (Damage is $5 per hectare…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2023, Paper 12
The northern white rhinoceros is an endangered species. The table shows population data: year wild population captive population total population --- --- --- --- 1939 2500 8 2508…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2023, Paper 13
A farm in the USA has 840 hectares of land. Calculate the cost of the damage caused by European starlings to this farm. Give your answer in $ per year. (Damage is $5 per hectare…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2023, Paper 21
The forests in Denmark are managed to promote biodiversity, aiming to maintain the forest ecosystem. State what is meant by the term ecosystem.
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2023, Paper 23
The forests in Denmark are managed to promote biodiversity, aiming to maintain the forest ecosystem. State what is meant by the term ecosystem.
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2023, Paper 11
The photograph shows an area of land where trees have been removed. Suggest three reasons for removing trees from an area of land.
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2023, Paper 12
The photograph shows part of a forest where the trees have been cut down. Describe the activity that has happened in this part of the forest.
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2023, Paper 13
The map shows the distribution of vegetation in Africa (key: vegetation; little or no vegetation), with the Tropic of Cancer, Equator and Tropic of Capricorn marked. Describe the…
Answer this question and get it marked →The photograph shows an Arabian Oryx, a species of antelope found in Jordan. In 1978, the government of Jordan introduced a strategy to conserve the Arabian Oryx. The graph shows…
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2023, Paper 21
Suggest one reason why some people are concerned that the construction of houses in the UK may cause some Bechstein bats to die from starvation.
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2023, Paper 22
A rat-removal programme began on South Georgia in 2010. Suggest reasons why rats needed to be removed from South Georgia.
Answer this question and get it marked →Tourism to Antarctica is increasing. In 2016, there were 43 915 Antarctic tourists. In 2017, this increased to 51 707. Calculate the percentage increase in tourist numbers.
Answer this question and get it marked →