Description
Wetland Reflection
The purpose of this assignment is for you to take a deeper look a wetland loss for a particular country. You will choose a country in West Africa to complete this assignment. West Africa includes: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cabo Verde, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo.
As for all assignments, make sure the work is completely your own; absolutely no copy-pasting, even if you alter some of the words as that is still considered plagiarism.
Step One: Current Status
First, navigate to the Global Wetlands mapper at https://www2.cifor.org/global-wetlands/Links to an external site. . When you click the link, you should arrive at an interactive map. Specify your country in the dropdown box. When you select your country, the map should zoom there and provide you with some statistics on its wetland areas and their types. Use the map and statistics to answer the following questions.
1. What country did you select?
2. Briefly describe the spatial distribution of wetlands in your selected country. Hint: You may describe in terms of: if they’re abundant/sparse, concentrated vs. dispersed; coastal vs. inland; with references to cardinal directions or to particular cities or other administrative regions.
3. What is the area of wetlands in the country? What percentage of the country is covered by wetlands? Hint: The area is provided in hectares. To get the percentage, divide the Total Wetlandsby the Total Area of the country (ha).
4. What are the most common types of wetlands in the country? Hint: they are shown in the pie chart.
Part Two: History of Wetland Loss
Second, do an internet search to discover the history of wetland loss for your country. Find information to answer the following questions. Cite your sources (weblinks are acceptable).
5. What percentage of your country’s original wetlands have been lost?
6. What were the main causes of wetland loss in the country?
7. How does this percentage of wetland loss compare to that of the United States?
Please input your answers into the textbox provided. The rubric below breaks down how the answers will be graded.
Rubric
Some rubric
Some rubric
Criteria Ratings Pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning Outcome1
4 pts
Full marks
lists country; country is in designated region
2 pts
Half
country is listed but not in correct region
0 pts
No marks
missing/incorrect/plagiarized
4 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning Outcome2
6 pts
Full marks
provides three descriptors: (1) indicates whether wetlands are abundant, sparse, concentrated; (2) provides some information about where wetlands occur relative to cardinal directions (e.g. north) or whether they tend to be inland or coastal; and (3) provides some description relative to administrative boundaries (e.g. major cities, rivers).
4 pts
Strong
missing one of 3 descriptors
2 pts
Weak
missing 2 of 3
0 pts
No marks
missing/incorrect/plagiarized
6 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning Outcome3
4 pts
Full marks
Provides hectares of wetlands in the country; Calculates and reports the percentage of wetlands
2 pts
Half
Missing 1 of 2 answers
0 pts
No marks
missing/incorrect/plagiarized
4 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning Outcome4
6 pts
Full marks
accurately lists most common types of wetlands for the country
0 pts
No marks
missing/incorrect/plagiarized
6 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning Outcome5
6 pts
Full marks
Provides percentage of wetlands lost, AND provides the reference to the statistic (web links are acceptable)
3 pts
Half
Missing Reference
0 pts
No marks
missing/incorrect/plagiarized
6 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning Outcome6
6 pts
Full marks
Provides leading causes of wetland loss specific for that country; AND includes reference(s). weblinks are acceptable
3 pts
Half
Missing reference
0 pts
No marks
missing/incorrect/plagiarized
6 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning Outcome7
4 pts
Full marks
Provides US percentage loss; makes a comparison to selected country
3 pts
Half
Missing US percent
0 pts
No marks
missing/incorrect/plagiarized
4 pts
