Food and human wellbeing

• This resource is of significant value in supporting the Geography curriculum for year 9 particularly for the content descriptions in Biomes and food security referring to the human alteration of biomes to produce food, and the environmental effects; the challenges to food production, including land and water degradation, shortage of fresh water, competing land uses, and climate change; and the capacity of the worlds environments to sustainably feed the projected future population to achieve food security. In comparing two Indonesian islands, one with tropical rainforest and the other with Savannah grasslands, it explores how climate, soils and natural vegetation impact agriculture and food security.
• It is also of significant value in supporting the Geography curriculum for year 10, particularly for the content description in Environmental change and management referring to the human-induced environmental changes that challenge sustainability; and the content descriptions in Geographies of human wellbeing referring to reasons for and consequences of spatial variations in human wellbeing on a regional scale within a country of the Asia region; and the role of international and national government and non-government organisations; initiatives in improving human wellbeing in Australia and other countries. By contrasting Bali, a wealthy island, with Sumba, one of the poorest and more remote islands of Indonesia, the resource highlights the inequalities in wellbeing that can occur between regions within a country. It describes environmental management practices to improve peoples food security in Sumba and the role of World Vision in providing support.
• The resource supports the Sustainability cross-curriculum priority, particularly the organising ideas about sustainable patterns of living relying on the interdependence of healthy social, economic and ecological systems; actions for a more sustainable future reflecting values of care, respect and responsibility requiring us to explore and understand environments; and sustainable futures resulting from actions designed to preserve and/or restore the quality and uniqueness of environments. It is also relevant to the Asia and Australias engagement with Asia cross-curriculum priority, particularly the organising idea that interrelationships between humans and the diverse environments in Asia shape the region and have global implications.

9; 10