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Green Economy > Investing in natural capital > Flashcards

Investing in natural capital Flashcards

1
Q

Define human capital.

A

The skills, knowledge, and experience possessed by an individual or population, viewed in terms of their value or cost to an organization or country.

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2
Q

Define natural capital.

A

The world’s / a country’s stocks of natural assets which include geology, soil, air, water and all living things.

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3
Q

Name 3 sectors that revolve around natural capital.

A
  1. Agriculture
  2. Forestry
  3. Fisheries
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4
Q

Name the 3 main challenges to the agricultural sector when transitioning to IGE.

A
  1. Growing global population puts pressure on ecosystems / farmers to increase output
  2. CC and extreme weather threaten food security
  3. Current methods are major GHG emitters
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5
Q

There is a decreasing global trend for the demand of organic food / drink.

True or false?

A

False: there is an increasing demand globally for organic produce

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6
Q

Why is there a growing demand for organic produce?

A

Due to a growing middle class, especially in emerging markets

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7
Q

Why is the growing demand for organic produce good for LDCs?

A

Farmers can enter the market and seize price premiums on exports of certified produce

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8
Q

What will climate-smart agriculture help us to do?

A

Mitigate the environmental externalities (e.g. GHG emissions) while providing income for farmers and nutritious food for consumers

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9
Q

What 4 things do we need to do to have climate-smart agriculture?

A
  1. Expand the evidence base so policymakers know the current / projected impacts of CC
  2. Improve policy through mutli-sectoral approach
  3. Support / empower local institutions (capacity building)
  4. Targeted finance
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10
Q

What are the 3 key policy instruments to help green the agricultural sector?

A
  1. Regulation
  2. Economic incentives
  3. Capacity building
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11
Q

Give 2 examples of regulation in the agricultural sector.

A

Securing land tenure

Developing standards for organic products

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12
Q

Give an example of regulation in the agricultural sector and its effect.

A

The East African Organic Products Standard

Has allowed organisations to support small-scale organic producers access new markets

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13
Q

Give 2 examples of economic incentive in the agricultural sector.

A

Elimination of harmful subsidies

Taxes on pesticides / herbicides

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14
Q

Give an example of economic incentive in the agricultural sector.

A

Vietnam, 2010

Passed its first law on environmental tax. Introduced taxes on gasoline, coal, plastic bags, pesticides and other products.

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15
Q

A capacity building initiative was established for farmers in sub-Saharan Africa.

What happened?

A

Farmers were trained on new storage methods.

Once trained, they could opt into buying an air-tight silo (heavily subsidised).

They were willing participants, not beneficiaries.

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16
Q

A capacity building initiative was established for farmers in sub-Saharan Africa.

Why was this introduced?

A

Farmers in sub-Saharan Africa lose up to 40% of their crop through damp, insects and moulds.

Aflatoxin mould is a leading cause of cancer.

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17
Q

A capacity building initiative was established for farmers in sub-Saharan Africa.

What were the 4 effects?

A
  1. Families were healthier (not eating infected grain)
  2. Gave a reliable source of income (could store food to sell throughout the year)
  3. Made them more money (could store until price went up and then sell)
  4. Extra income allowed them to diversify their product
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18
Q

How effective were the silos in preventing crop loss in sub-Saharan Africa?

A

Before the silos, farmers lost 40% of their crop.

This was reduced to 2% with the silos.

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19
Q

Food waste is an enormous problem. At which stages of its lifecycle is food wasted?

A

All of them:

Agriculture, processing, retail and households

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20
Q

At which stage of its lifecycle is most food wasted?

A

At households

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21
Q

What are the competing land uses that affect forestry?

A

Agriculture and urban expansion

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22
Q

There is little incentive to private companies / policymakers to protect forests.

Give 2 reasons why.

A
  1. Ecosystem services are not valued by markets
  2. The adverse effects of clearing are not factored in

Basically, all that is thought of are the profits, not what is lost.

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23
Q

Net forest coverage is growing due to reforestation efforts.

True or false?

A

False: forest coverage is shrinking despite reforestation efforts

24
Q

The multi-dimensional benefits of forests (environmental, social and economic) are becoming increasingly recognised by societies. What trend demonstrates this?

A

Areas under conservation schemes and reforestation efforts have been growing since 1990.

25
Q

Name 4 policy instruments to promote sustainable forest management.

A
  1. Payments for ecosystem services (PES)
  2. Certification schemes
  3. The use of REDD+ framework
  4. Green public procurement of wood products
26
Q

What do global fisheries suffer from?

What does this cause?

A

Over-capitalisation in non-protected areas

Causing a continuous depletion of resources

27
Q

Define overfishing.

A

When catch rates exceed the natural regeneration of fish stocks.

28
Q

Name the 4 key challenges faced by global fisheries.

A
  1. Overcapacity (excessive no. of vessels)
  2. Harmful subsidies
  3. Changing ocean temps due to CC
  4. Acidification
29
Q

Name the 4 policy instruments that can protect fish stocks.

A
  1. Removal of harmful subsidies
  2. Certification and labelling
  3. Industry / consumer awareness programmes
  4. Establishment of marine protected areas (MPAs)
30
Q

For fisheries, ‘the biggest problem is open-access activity on a common-pool resources’. Explain why. Give 5 points.

A

TRAGEDY OF THE COMMONS

  1. Open-access means there are no rules or restrictions.
  2. There are many people using the same resource.
  3. Everyone works in their own self-interest; they assume everyone else is taking as much as possible, so they take as much as possible.
  4. It’s ‘rivalrous and competitive’.
  5. If one of them took less to try and preserve the stock, someone else would just take extra.
31
Q

When did over-fishing become a problem and why?

A

In the last 100 years due to the population boom.

32
Q

What could be a solution to overfishing and why has it not worked?

A

Local, small-scale fishermen forming cooperatives where they agree not to take too much.

Because of large-scale, commercial fishing.

33
Q

There has been a race to make fishing cheaper and more productive. How have commercial fisheries managed this?

A

They made factory ships. This is where the processing plant is put on the ship so fish are immediately processed / frozen after catching.

This allows them to go out farther and stay out for weeks, maximising their catch.

34
Q

Other than factory ships, name some other tech that has made fishing more productive.

A

GPS and sonar (for fish location)

35
Q

How does commercial fishing affect local fishermen?

A

Commercial vessels deplete fish stocks. These bigger vessels can then move onto other areas easily, whilst small fishers cannot.

The same is true in bad weather; commercial fishers can adapt (due to vessel size) and smaller fishers cannot.

Basically the smol bois are continuously outcompeted.

36
Q

Give 4 ways we can prevent harmful subsidies for commercial fishers.

A
  1. Countries required to provide info / report on their subsidies.
  2. The global community introduces tools to deter them
  3. The global community prohibits them altogether
  4. Differential treatment is applied to developing countries
37
Q

What happens to small scale fishers when there are harmful subsidies for commercial vessels?

A

Small-scale fishers are crowded out of the market by industry-scale vessels (who catch more fish and have a cheaper product due to the subsidy)

38
Q

Give an example of a widely recognised certification for sustainable fishing.

A

The Marine Stewardship Council

39
Q

What is an MPA?

A

A marine protected area

40
Q

Define an MPA.

A

An aquatic area where human activity is restricted in some way.

41
Q

All MPAs have a total restriction on human activity.

True or false?

A

False: restriction is different in each MPA, e.g. it could be seasonal or only certain activities banned

42
Q

There was a study that looked at 124 MPAs. What did it discover about fish within the MPA?

Give 4 points.

A
  1. Fish biomass increased by 4-5 times
  2. Fish were older and therefore larger
  3. Fish density increased
  4. Species diversity increased
43
Q

There was a study that looked at 124 MPAs. What did it discover about the area surrounding MPAs?

A

Fish biomass increased in the surrounding area.

however, there was not an increase in average size or density

44
Q

How can an MPA help to protect coral?

A

Fish feed on the algae that compete with corals. More fish inside an MPA therefore increases coral cover / makes the reef more resilient to stress.

45
Q

Older / larger fish are more resilient to stress. How is this demonstrated?

A

They lay more / healthier eggs than smaller fish.

46
Q

List 2 benefits of a no-fishing zone.

A
  1. The MPA acts as a safe haven where fish can grow and breed. These fish then spill over into the surrounding area, resulting in a better catch for fishermen.
  2. An MPA can act as a safety net when an area is not well managed (and prevent stocks from collapsing)
47
Q

Give one benefit and one cost of a no-fishing zone to fishermen.

When does the benefit outweigh the cost?

A

Benefit: MPA contains healthy fish population that may spill over into surrounding area, leading to better catch

Cost: this benefit may be offset by the fact that fishermen have lost area in which to fish

This benefit outweighs the cost when a fish stock has been decimated and needs absolute relief from fishing.

48
Q

In terms of fish reproduction, why is overfishing a problem?

Give 2 points.

A

If too many fish are taken out, there are less fish reproducing to replenish the population. Therefore, the stock will become depleted.

Older / larger fish are better at reproducing. If fish are taken too frequently, fish cannot grow to maturity, and juvenile fish cannot reproduce enough to sustain the fishing activity.

49
Q

How do the benefits of an MPA depend on the dispersal ability of fish?

A

Some species can quickly / widely disperse and colonise new areas (called ‘seed drift’). This helps regenerate the wider area.

Benthic species disperse slowly / close to the MPA, creating better fishing only at the edges.

50
Q

The greater the dispersal ability of fish, the smaller the MPA.

True or false?

A

False: the greater the dispersal ability, the larger the MPA needs to be to protect the fish throughout their life cycle.

51
Q

What kind of sites need to be included in an MPA?

A
  1. Egg-laying / nursing site
  2. Feeding sites
  3. Breeding sites

These may all be different areas: MPA must encompass them all

52
Q

It is possible to have a networks of MPAs that fish can travel to for different aspects of their life cycle.

True or false?

A

True

53
Q

Give 3 costs of MPAs to small-scale fishermen.

A
  1. A no-take zone close to shore can crowd out local fishermen from the market (as only bigger vessels can go further in search of fish)
  2. It will increase the search costs (time and fuel) spent looking for fish
  3. Restrictions on gear required will be expensive for fisherman to adopt
54
Q

What are 3 costs of MPAs for the government?

A
  1. Monitoring of progress
  2. Analysis of data
  3. Enforcement of protection / regulations
55
Q

Restrictions can be placed on the type of gear used for fishing.

Name two types of equipment that lead to overfishing.

A

Bottom-trawlers

Nets with small holes

56
Q

Give an example of local management of fish stocks.

A

In the late 1990s, one community in Fiji started managing their fishing activities.

This has now grown to a networks of over 1000 communities in the Western Pacific.

Benefits include increased fish / invertebrate number and fish size.

57
Q

Who needs to be held to account for over-fishing?

A

Commercial fishers

plus the governments that subsidise them / allow them to take the piss

Green Economy (10 decks)

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