DP IB Environmental Systems & Societies (ESS): HL Revision Notes 2024

Syllabus Edition

First teaching 2024

First exams 2026

1. Foundation

Factors Influencing Perspectives

Values & Environmental Perspectives

Worldviews & Environmental Perspectives

The Environmental Movement

The Systems Approach

Types of Systems

Stable Equilibrium & Feedback Mechanisms

Tipping Points & Resilience

Models

Introduction to Sustainability

Sustainable Development

Environmental Justice

Sustainability Indicators

Citizen Science

Sustainability Frameworks & Models

Alternative Economic Models

2. Ecology

Introduction to Ecological Systems

Classification & Taxonomic Tools

Human Populations

Factors Affecting Populations

Population Growth

Studying Populations

Ecosystem Functioning & Sustainability

Classification (HL)

Fundamental & Realised Niches (HL)

Life Cycles (HL)

Energy Flow in Ecosystems

Photosynthesis

Respiration

Trophic Levels & Food Chains

Food Webs

Energy Losses in Food Chains

Productivity & Biomass

Ecological Pyramids

Human Impacts on Energy & Matter Flows

Autotrophs & Heterotrophs (HL)

Primary & Secondary Productivity (HL)

Sustainable Yield (HL)

Ecological Efficiency (HL)

Biogeochemical Cycles

Carbon Cycle

Human Impacts on the Carbon Cycle

Reducing Human Impacts on the Carbon Cycle

Carbon Stores (HL)

Nitrogen Cycle (HL)

Human Impacts on the Nitrogen Cycle (HL)

Weather & Climate

Biomes

Atmospheric Circulation & Ocean Currents

Climate Types (HL)

El Niño Southern Oscillation (HL)

Tropical Cyclones & Climate Change (HL)

Zonation

Succession

Resilience & Stability of Ecosystems

Factors Influencing Succession (HL)

Productivity During Succession (HL)

Reproductive Strategies (HL)

Climax Communities (HL)

3. Biodiversity & Conservation

Biodiversity & Resilience

Evolutionary Processes

Assessing Biodiversity

Biodiversity Management

Genetic Diversity (HL)

Reproductive Isolation (HL)

Biodiversity Hotspots (HL)

Human Impacts on Evolutionary Processes (HL)

The Geological Timescale (HL)

Mass Extinctions (HL)

The Anthropocene (HL)

Threats to Biodiversity

Assessing Conservation Status

Conservation Case Studies

Tragedy of the Commons

Threats to Biodiversity Hotspots (HL)

Key Biodiversity Areas (HL)

Traditional Indigenous Approaches to Land Management (HL)

Conservation & Environmental Justice (HL)

Loss of Biosphere Integrity (HL)

Preserving Biodiversity

Conservation Strategies

Habitat Management & Designing Protected Areas

Rewilding

Biodiversity Planetary Boundary

Conservation Perspectives

Conservation Organisations (HL)

Rewilding & Habitat Restoration (HL)

Assessing Conservation Success (HL)

Ecotourism (HL)

4. Water

Hydrological Cycle

Human Impacts on the Hydrological Cycle

Physical & Chemical Properties of Water (HL)

Carbon Sequestration & Ocean Acidification (HL)

Water Stratification (HL)

Upwellings & Ocean Circulation (HL)

Factors Affecting Water Availability

Strategies for Increasing Water Supply

Addressing Water Scarcity

Freshwater Use (HL)

Water Stress (HL)

Addressing Water Stress (HL)

Water Equity Issues (HL)

Aquatic Food Webs

Human Consumption & Increasing Demand

Unsustainable Harvesting Practices & Overexploitation

Mitigation Strategies

Aquaculture

Climate Change & Ocean Acidification

Productivity & Nutrient Dynamics in Oceans (HL)

Fish Stock Assessment & Sustainable Harvesting (HL)

Recovery of Overexploited Fish Species (HL)

Regulation & Ethics of Marine Harvesting (HL)

Sources of Water Pollution

Plastic Pollution

Monitoring & Assessing Water Quality

Eutrophication

Water Pollution Management Strategies

Water Quality in Aquatic Ecosystems (HL)

Sewage Treatment (HL)

Indicators of Water Quality (HL)

Drinking Water Standards (HL)

Reducing Water Pollution (HL)

5. Land

Components & Structure of Soil Systems

Functions & Properties of Soils

Soil Profiles & Horizons (HL)

Factors Influencing Soil Formation (HL)

Soil Composition and Properties (HL)

Soil Carbon Release (HL)

Land Use & Agricultural Systems

Traditional & Modern Agricultural Practices

Soil Conservation

Sustainability of Food Production Systems

Food Security

Factors Affecting Agricultural Choices (HL)

Alternative Farming Approaches (HL)

Regenerative Farming Systems (HL)

Technological Innovations in Agriculture (HL)

Sustainability of Different Diets (HL)

Sustainability of Harvesting Wild Species (HL)

Sustainability of Lower Productivity Food Systems (HL)

Food Distribution, Quality & Malnutrition (HL)

6. Atmosphere & Climate Change

Atmospheric Composition & Function

The Greenhouse Effect

Atmospheric Dynamics & Processes (HL)

Atmosphere & Altitude (HL)

Milankovitch Cycles (HL)

Hothouse Earth (HL)

Atmospheric Composition & Evolution of Life (HL)

Atmospheric Processes Affecting Climate

Causes of Climate Change

Impacts of Climate Change on Ecosystems

Impacts of Climate Change on Societies

Climate Monitoring & Data Collection (HL)

Global Climate Models (HL)

Critical Climate Thresholds & Tipping Points (HL)

Climate Change Responsibility & Vulnerability (HL)

Global Action & Decarbonisation

Climate Change Mitigation

Climate Change Adaptation

Responses to Climate Change (HL)

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Scenarios (HL)

Climate Technology & Geoengineering (HL)

Climate Management & Intervention Challenges (HL)

Climate Stakeholders & Perspectives (HL)

UV Radiation

Stratospheric Ozone

The Montreal Protocol

Ozone Depletion (HL)

Polar Stratospheric Ozone Depletion (HL)

Chlorofluorocarbons & Hydrofluorocarbons (HL)

7. Natural Resources

Natural Capital & Natural Income

The Value of Natural Capital

Resource Sustainability

Resource Security & Choices

Use of Natural Capital (HL)

Environmental Impact Assessments (HL)

Unsustainable Use of Renewable Resources (HL)

Energy Sources & Sustainability

Energy Consumption & Choices

Energy Storage & Conservation

Introduction to Waste

Environmental & Social Impacts of Waste

Waste Disposal

Waste Management

8. Human Populations & Urban Systems

Human Population Dynamics

Managing Human Population Growth

Population Composition & Modelling

Causes of Urban Air Pollution

Air Pollution Management Strategies

Acid Rain

9. Environmental Law

Definition & Purpose of Environmental Law

Environmental Justice & Challenges

Environmental Constitutionalism

Levels of Environmental Law

International Law & Cooperation

Judicial Examination of Environmental Law

Strengthening Environmental Protection

Integrating Legal & Economic Strategies

10. Environmental Economics

Definition & Purpose of Environmental Economics

Market Failures & Solutions

Greenwashing & Tragedy of the Commons

Environmental Accounting & Valuation

Economic Growth

Environmental Impacts of Economic Growth

Ecological Economics

Alternative Economic Models

11. Environmental Ethics

Definition & Purpose of Environmental Ethics

Ethical Frameworks

Instrumental & Intrinsic Value

Virtue Ethics

Consequentialist Ethics

Rights-Based Ethics

Environmental & Social Justice Movements

Exam boards

DP IB Environmental Systems & Societies (ESS): SL