IB Environmental Systems and Societies SL - 2026 - Case Studies

These new IB ESS Case Studies have been designed for you to apply your knowledge and understanding of Environmental Systems & Societies in challenging Paper 1-style contexts. Each Case Study provides you with a range of materials about a country or region and a set of questions of varying levels of difficulty. A complete markscheme identifies the ESS concepts and terminology required to achieve the marks and a sample answer allows you to see how this could be compiled into a good response. The Case Studies are organised into themes taken from the Environmental Systems and Societies SL concepts: three themes focusing on nature and four on humans. All the Case Studies are written in a Paper 1-style; our team of experienced IB ESS teachers and examiners have created both full-length and shorter examples as well as three levels of difficulty to suit a range of revision needs.

How do I use this resource?

Nature

Structure and function of nature and its conservation

Humans

Human populations and their needs, with a look at how this affects our planet

Nature

Structure and function of nature and its conservation

Biodiversity & Conservation

medium

60 mins

Patagonia

A full-length case study about a national park, fishing, ecotourism and water pollution.

easy

60 mins

Nepal

A full-length case study about snow leopards, tourism and solid domestic waste.

RV Gold

medium

40 mins

Kenya

A half-length case study about the protection of coral reefs and the tragedy of the commons. Appropriate for students early in the course who have covered biodiversity.

RV Gold

hard

60 mins

South Africa

A full-length case study about biodiversity, human population, agriculture and mining.

RV Gold

Ecology

easy

60 mins

Bangladesh

A full-length case study about population interactions and conservation of mangroves, tigers and elephants.

RV Gold

hard

40 mins

Australia

A half-length case study about food webs, productivity and wildfires.

RV Gold

Soil, Water and Atmosphere

medium

60 mins

Amazon & Sahara

A full-sized case study about soil, valuation of resources, productivity, deforestation and the demographic transition model.

RV Gold

hard

60 mins

Peru

A full-length case study about the Humboldt Current, guano, and anchovy fisheries.

RV Gold

hard

60 mins

Iran

A full-length case study about salt, phytoremediation and brine shrimp.

RV Gold

easy

40 mins

Ganges River

A half-length case study centred around floods, deforestation, monitoring pollution and dams.

RV Gold

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More IB ESS SL - 2026 Resources

Questionbank

All the questions you could need! Sorted by topic and arranged by difficulty, with mark schemes and video solutions for every question.

Case Studies

Case studies are in-depth investigations of a single person, group, event, or community. Typically, they are used in social, educational, clinical, and business research to explore and analyze complex issues in real-life contexts.

New

Practice Exams

Choose your revision tool! Contains topic quizzes for focused study, Revision Village mock exams covering the whole syllabus, and the revision ladder to precisely target your learning.

Past Papers

Full worked solutions to all past paper questions, taught by experienced IB instructors.