1.4 - Sustainability

Question 1

Define sustainability

Answer 1

The use and management if resources that allows full natural replacement of resources exploited and full recovery of the ecosystem effected their extraction and use

Question 2

List ways in which a nation might measure sustainability

Answer 2

Measuring the re growth/ renewal of natural capital

E.g. if the rate of forest removal is less than the annual growth then the forest removal is sustainable

Question 3

State one advantage and disadvantage of measuring sustainability on a local scale

Answer 3

Advantage - include local methods/cultures that are ecosystem specific

Disadvantages - does not include interrelationships between systems

Question 4

State one advantage and disadvantage of measuring sustainability on a global scale

Answer 4

Advantage - many problems have worldwide impact

Disadvantage - individual and small scale community action can be more effective or problem is local in nature (plant source pollutants)

Question 5

Define natural capital

Answer 5

Resources that can produce a sustainable natural income or goods and services

Natural capital can be rewnewable or non renewable

Question 6

List natural capital items that are provided by the ecosystem

Answer 6

Oil and gas, tourism, iron ore, fisheries

Question 7

Define natural income

Answer 7

The yield from natural capital, can products or services

Question 8

Using examples, distinguish between natural income of goods and natural income of services

Answer 8

Using the ocean as an example goods provides are the fisheries products and services and are the recreational activities (guided snorkelling for example)

Question 9

Explain how unsustainable land use might affect natural income for the current and future generations

Answer 9

Benefits of unsustainable land use is high food you’ll but drawbacks are reduction in soil fertility and pollution.
Land use can provide food, medicine, c02 absorbtion (local and global)
Egocentric view would value the needs of the present generation without compromising the future generation; they would advocate the reduction in the use of non renewable resources and invest more in renewable. They would encorage education targetted towards self sustainability - use of grey water, gow their own food, reduce ecological footprint. technocentics argue that the present needs have to be met and that technological innovations can lead to the production of more resourses which then guarantee present as well as futre needs

Question 10

Summarise the purpose of the mellennium ecosystem assessment

Answer 10

Funded by the the UN and started in 2001, its a research program that focuses on how ecosystems have changed over time and predict what will happen in the future

Question 11

What percentage of ecosystems are currently being degraded

Answer 11

60$

Question 12

What is the percentage of fish overexploitation

Answer 12

25%

Question 13

What is the percentage of surface freshwater use

Answer 13

40-50%

Question 14

What percentage of mangroves have been destroyed

Answer 14

35%

Question 15

Which three biomes had the most converted area by 1950

Answer 15

Mediterranean forest, temperate Forrest, temperate broadleaf and mixed forest

Question 16

Which three biomes had the most area converted between 1950 and 1990

Answer 16

Tropical and subtropical dry broad leaf forests, flooded grasslands and sábanas, tropical and subtropical grasslands

Question 17

What is the main cause for biome conversion

Answer 17

Agriculture

Question 18

What is the current situation ofn global animal extinction rates

Answer 18

Rate is roughly 50-500 time greater than 01-1 extrication per 100 sopecies for 100 years

Question 19

How will extinction rates change in the future

Answer 19

The rate will be more than 10 times higher

Question 20

State the natural income of goods a forest can provide

Answer 20

Timber, fuel, food and medicine

Question 21

State the natural income of services a forest can provide

Answer 21

Carbon sequestration, watershed protection, aesthetic recreation

Question 22

In what ways might a forest ecosystem services become degraded

Answer 22

When forest are cut services can be degraded with pollution or eliminated

Question 23

Using forests as an example, explain how the use of natural capital for :”marketed benefits” may be less economically sustainable than use for “non marketed benefits”

Answer 23

The commonly marketed benefit come from timber, fuel wood and grazing. These can be less economically sustainable for the long term because they cause direct degration and loss of resources

Question 24

Outline the purpose of a enviromental impact assessment

Answer 24

Establishes the impact of a project on the enviroment. Predicts possible impacts on habitats, species and ecosystems and helps to determine if the project should go ahead or to mitigate impact

Question 25

Outline the 5 stages of creating an enviromental impact assessment

Answer 25

1. Screening - once all project designs have ben considered determine if the development will impact the enviroment significantly
2. Scoping - define issues that need to be addressed. Focus on impacts that will have a significant impact on the enviroment
3. Baseline study - study current state of the enviroment against which change due to the development can be measured
4. Impact prediction - interpritation of the importance or significance of the impacts. Conclusions used to decide fate of project
5. Mitigation - taking measures to reduce or remove enviromental impacts
6. Monitoring/assesment - used to determine; accuracy of predictions, degree of deviation from predictions, reasons for deviations, effect of mitigation

Question 26

Outline reasons for creating a non technical summary of EIA

Answer 26

Make the report more accessible to non scientists including the media and vernal public. Allows involved parties to be informed

Question 27

Summarise four cirtisims of EIAs

Answer 27

• baseline study’s are often inaccurate or incomplete
• not all impacts may be identified
• there is no standard to the acceptance of the EIAS some countries use it within their legal framework, some use it to inform policy desisitions and other ignore it
• accurate monitoring dependent on baseline study may also be innacurate

Question 28

Define ecological footprint

Answer 28

The area of land and water required to sustainably provide the resources at the rate which they are being consumed by a given population

Question 29

Outline 6 factors related to the ecological footprint of a country

Answer 29

• cropland - the amount of land required to provide food for human consumption (including food, animal feed, and other products taken from crops)
• grazing land - the amount of land needed for meat production. The greater the meet consumption the greater the EF
• carbon sequestration - the more land with health vegetation the higher the carbon uptake for photosynthesis so reduced EF
• forests - increased carbon sequestration so the reduced EF
• build up land - reduces the 2 preceding points more luckily built up land emits fossil fuel emissions so increased EF
• fisheries - the greater the fisheries the higher the EF weather fishing or fish farms

Question 30

Explain the link between EF and sustainability

Answer 30

The EF measures the land and water needed to provide resources for the population if this exceeds the land and water that is available that is not sustainable. The higher the EF the greater the un sustainability

Question 31

What is another way to think about EF

Answer 31

The number of earths. For example how many earths would we need if everybody lived your lifestyle

Question 32

Compare the enviromental footprint of Oman and Finland

Answer 32

Oman :
Bio capacity - 1.5 gha
EF - 6.9 gha
Difference - 5.4 gha

Finland:
Bio capacity - 12.7 gha
EF - 6.1 gha
Difference - 6.6 gha