Patterns in environmental quality and sustainability Flashcards

Question

example of managing waters: **Tunisia (good) and China (bad)**

Answer 1

**Tunisia** built dams with conduits to connect them and to transfer water between different areas. Stored water can be pumped across the mountain range to river basin. New water both increases supply and dilutes the salinity in the area where demand is highest. A thirds of urban wastewater is treated and reused for agriculture and wetlands, recharging aquifers artificially. In **China**, underground water table is falling by a meter a year, due water hungry industries such as rice and megacities like Beijing. Water tariffs aimed to reduce water usage. Industries recycle 15% of their waste water, compared to 85% in developed countries.

Answer 2

**Tropics (rainforest)** are the richest area for **biodiversity**, containing over 50% of the world’s species in just 7% of the world’s land. They account for 80% of world’s insects and 90% of primates. They not only have impacts on biodiversity, **climate buffering, rainfall generation and soil stabilisation,** but also health impacts, as well as **industrial** and **recreational** benefits. Rainforests contain a vast **store of water**, and cool earth by realising water in the atmosphere. In Brazil alone, the Amazone releases about 20 billion tonnes each day. *_Why is the destruction of the rainforest so detrimental?_* A releases 8-10 times more moisture into the atmosphere than a square metre of ocean water. Remove a tree and the water store disappears. Then, less water re-evaporates from the vegetation, and so the **recycling of water diminishes**. Thus mean annual rainfall is reduced, and the seasonality of rainfall increases. Furthermore, deforestation disrupts the closed system of **nutrient cycling** within tropical rainforests. In-organic elements are realised through burning and are quickly flushed out of the system by the high-intensity rains. CO2 is released by **burning** and leaving less trees to absorb it. Soil erosion increases. As a result of soil compaction, **infiltration** decreases, and overland **runoff** and surface **erosion** increases. **Desertification** occurs as everything but heavier sand is washed away by rain. As a result of the intense surface runoff and soil erosion, rivers have a higher flood peak and a shorter time lag. Warmer climate creates lower river levels, creating greater turbidity (murkiness).

Answer 3

Forests in southeast Asia cover some 136 million hectares. It is predicted that by 2050 this natural forest will have been **converted into agricultural land**, forest plantation and other non-forested uses. Rates of annual forest loss in southeast Asia from 2000-2005 range from 0.5% for Papua New Guinea to 2% for Indonesia. In 2007, Indonesia was reclassified as the third largest contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions after the US and China. **Major threats to southeast Asian forests** *Rapid population and economic growth is driving the degradation of these forests:* * industrial logging concessions, worth about US $10.4 billion per annum * illegal logging, especially in Indonesia, leading to an estimated US $4 billion in lost government revenues per annum * agriculture, predominantly palm oil and rubber, worth about US $17.8 billion per annum and using some 7.6 million hectares of land * burning and drainage of carbon-rich forested peatlands, particularly in Malaysia and Indonesia * mining and petroleum, particularly in Papua New Guinea where it contributes 25% of GDP annually. The effect of deforestation in southeast Asia is likely to have a major impact on rainfall generation. In addition to the carbon stored in its forests, at least 42 billion tonnes of soil carbon are stored in the forested tropical peatlands of southeast Asia. The region is also home to four of the world's 25 biodiversity hotspots. On account of the region's unique geological history, Indonesia and parts of Malaysia reach 60% endemism for plants and reptiles and 80% for amphibians; Papua New Guinea tops 80% endemism for mammals, reptiles and amphibians.

Answer 4

In **Congo**, one of many examples, representatives of major timber firms (e.g. Danzer, Trans-M, TB, NST, Olan, Sicobois) arrive in the towns to negotiate with the traditional landowners. The companies promise to **build schools and pharmacies**. These “social responsibility” agreements are encouraged by the World Bank, but these are just meaningless words and **make the owners sell their forest cheaply**. The companies creates road networks deep into the forest and begin exporting the wood all over the world, without the villages ever seeing any schools or pharmacies. They exploit the situation of those people who were just recently plagued by civil wars and dictatorships. The effects of logging (in Congo), are dramatic, as 20 million hectors have been given over to logging firms. **_80% of logging is illegal_**. If forest felled, up to 34 billion tonnes of carbon could be released, 8% of the earth’s carbon. The World Bank access that logging could destroy the forest in a short time, leading to immense **social problems**. These forests depend on donors like these, but they choose to leave the situation lawless.

Answer 5

_gives clear environmental objectives:_ 1. reducing environmental stresses to human health 2. promoting ecosystem vitality and sound natural resource management The most sustainable countries, as ranked by the ESI are **wealthy, sparsely populated nations with an abundance of natural resources** (e.g. Switzerland, Sweden). The only developing countries in the top 10 are Costa Rica and Columbia, both of which have relatively low population densities and an abundance of natural resources. Conversely, the only density population countries that have received above average ratings are Japan, Germany, the Netherlands and Italy, some of the richest countries on the list.

Answer 6

Poor people need environmental sustainability because they are highly *dependent* on the environment and its resources (fresh water, crops, fish, etc.), which provide roughly two-thirds at household income for the rural poor. The effects of climate change include increased rainfall variability (meaning more droughts and increased flooding), reduced food security, spread of disease, increased risk of accidents and damage to infrastructure. _The poor are most vulnerable to these changes and have limited capability to respond to them._

Answer 7

Overfishing has led to the collapse of many fisheries. A quarter of global marine fish stocks are currently overexploited or significantly depleted. About 60% of the ecosystem services resources evaluated by the UN’s Millennium Ecosystem Assessment are being degraded or used unsustainable. Between 10% and 30% of mammal, bird, and amphibian species face extinction. Global timber production has increased by 60% in the past four decades. This means that roughly 40% of forest area has been lost and deforestation continues at a rate of 13 million hectares per annum.

Answer 8

Those who are affect the most have the least political influence (the poor) and those who are most influential in policy development have little understanding of the costs and benefits associated with environmental policy. Economic growth and the environment are often still viewed as competing objectives, even though investing in environmental management can be cost-effective, and contributes to improved livelihoods. Suvivor bias - those who are wealthy think nothing is bad.

Answer 9

A recent World Bank study provides stark assessment of the risks and enormous costs if no remedial action is taken. For example, the annual losses to Nigeria of not acting on its growing environmental problems are estimated to be more than US$ 5,000 million annually.