UNIT OVERVIEW

Human activities are changing our planet in serious ways. Climate change, water shortages, loss of species, and growing piles of waste threaten our future. South Africa faces many of these problems: droughts in the Western Cape, polluted rivers, and invasive plants destroying natural areas.

This unit helps you understand what is happening to our environment, why it matters, and what can be done.

What you will learn:

• How human activities cause climate change
• Why South Africa is running short of water and how pollution affects water quality
• What threatens our food supply and how to protect it
• Why species are disappearing and how to conserve biodiversity
• How to manage waste and use resources sustainably
• How to investigate human impact on a local environment

What you should already know:

• Population ecology: carrying capacity, population growth, limiting factors
• Energy flow: food chains, food webs, trophic levels
• The carbon and water cycles
• Basic classification and biodiversity

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