PRACTICE TEST FOR EESD 522, 2011

PRACTICE TEST FOR EESD 522 2010

PRINT AND BRING IN CLASS ON MONDAY TO PRACTICE!


Instructions:

1. The total time is 4 hours.
2. The total mark allotted is 100 marks
3. Be precise and short; do not write what is not asked, even if it is right.
4. Good Luck, all of you can do well.


SECTION A

QUESTIONS 1-20 ARE 1 MARK EACH: [ 20 MARKS ]

1. A high discount rate assumes that resources will _____________ in value rapidly in the future.

2. Spiny Babbler is an example of __________________ bird species that is found only in one geographic area such as Nepal.

3. In 1980, the concept of sustainable development was introduced to the world by _________________________________.

4. Development is different from just Economic Growth because:

a. It includes Economic Growth and Equity
b. It excludes Economic Growth
c. Neither of the above
d. I do not know.

5. Kanchanjunga Conservation Area belongs to IUCN Protected Area Category number:

a. II
b. VI
c. IV
d. None of the above

6. Bioreserve Strategy involves

a. Using landscape ecology concepts of cores and buffers
b. Connecting reserves with corridors
c. Using Gap analysis to map out new reserves
d. All of the above

7. According to Bhuju et al 2007, how many species of animals are protected in the Central Zoo?

a. about 100 species
b. about 200 species
c. about 150 species
d. about 250 species

8. The contribution of Nepal to global greenhouse gases is about:

a. 2%
b. 0.2%
c. 0.02%
d. 0.002%

9. The current growth rate of global population is:

a. equal to Nepal’s current population growth rate
b. less than Nepal’s current population growth rate
c. more than Nepal’s current population growth rate
d. I have no idea, sorry.


10. Externalities a. Tropical Forestry Action Plan
11. Ecosystem Resilience opposite b. Landscape Ecology
12. Resolution c. Costs not internalized in economics
13. David Pearce d. Ecosystem Fragility
14. Norman Myers e. Minimum mappable unit
15. James Lovelock f. Environmental economist
16. Ice core air bubbles g. The Gaia Hypothesis
17. Pralad Yonzon i. Paleontological climate samples
18. Habitat Fragmentation can be studied by j. Nepali wildlife conservationist

True and False

19. 99% of all living creatures ever created are now extinct.
20. Adaptive Management explicitly accepts the characteristic of Uncertainty when it calls for “adapting” to new information as we learn from our mistakes in conservation.

SECTION B

QUESTIONS 21 TO 30 ARE 2 MARKS EACH, DO “ALL” [ 20 MARKS]

21. Why and how do you propose to conserve Cordyceps sinensis? (2)
22. About 15% of the Himalayan areas are considered to be Biodiversity Hotspots. Why are these areas considered “Hot”? (2)

23. Name the 4 organizations that supported the publication of the Nepal Biodiversity Resource Book by Ukesh Bhuju et al 2007? (2)

24. What did the Sherpas teach Arnae Naess about the principles of Deep Ecology? Give examples. (2)

25. Define and explain the usefulness of enhancing Ecological-Economic Efficiency as a means of effective Biodiversity Conservation with examples? (2)
26. How is the following picture central to Nepal’s effort to get money for community forestry from climate change carbon sequestration funds? (2)


27. If you were to assign numerical values in terms of probability to various terms of Likelihood, what would be the numbers for the following: (2)

Virtually Certain Probability greater than 99%
Very Likely ?
Likely Probability about 50%
Medium likelihood ?
Low confidence Probability less than 33%

28. How is “sustainable development” one of the key strategies for biodiversity conservation in Nepal? (2)

29. Explain briefly the distinctions among Habitat Degradation and Habitat loss with examples. (2)

30. With respect to the table below, explain why the percentages of plants or animals are DIFFERENT for different groups?
(2)


SECTION C

QUESTIONS 31 TO 44 ARE 3 MARKS EACH, DO ANY 10 [ 30 MARKS].

31. What are the reasons for the Tropics having the most biodiversity and the greatest danger to biodiversity in the Tropics. (3)

32. List, without describing, at least 3 important criticisms against the application of CBA, Cost-Benefit Analysis, for Biodiversity Conservation. (3)

33. Discuss the 3 ethical norms or postulates of Conservation Biology. (3)

34. What is the Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY)? Explain why this MSY is half the Carrying Capacity in an ideal theoretical solution? (3)

35. Discuss the differences between Conservation and Preservation approaches of Pinchot and Muir in today’s definition of biodiversity conservation. (3)

36. With respect to the following table published in Wildlife Times Jan 2009, answer the following questions: (3)

a. What is the current population of tiger in Nepal, according to the latest census being conducted in 2009?
b. Why is there no improvement in tiger population in Chitwan national park? Is this poor management? Comment.
c. Why is there “increase” in tiger population in the last row?




37. With respect to the news item below, please answer the following questions: (3)
a. Do you agree with the research that climate change is having an effect on elephant behaviour?
b. If yes, explain why? If no, explain why?
c. Try to find the weakness in the scientific logic of the article, based on your knowledge of climate change effect on biodiversity.





38. With regards to the conference below and following chart, explain what you understand by “Enhanced Ecosystem Services to Global Change ... with Mountain Biodiversity” giving specific examples from Nepal Himalayas, if possible. (3)





39. What is so “funny” about the following picture? Describe the biodiversity theory implicit in this picture. (3)








40. How will you protect lizards OUTSIDE the protected sites in above table? Give examples of gharials, mugger crocodiles, cobras, lizards etc. (3)

41. Discuss the problem of mountain agrobiodiversity below. Explain the threats and possible solutions. (3)
“Nepal, a quintessential mountain environment, has more than 2,000 indigenous varieties of rice alone, including many of the famous aromatic basmati type.
"Of these 75 traditional varieties inventoried in the Pokhara Valley, 17 have been lost, that the peasants can recall," says Subedi. "There are another 47 whose areas of cultivation have shrunk so much that they are in the process of being lost."
42. Conservation Ethics is said to be enunciated in the following quotation:
“A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise.”
Who said this, in what book, and what does it mean? (3)
43. Explain how the following theoretical concepts of Landscape Ecology approach have been applied to the Terai Arc Landscape Project (TAL) for tiger conservation. (3)







44. Explain the edge effect with the following curve and discuss why fragmentation is an important a threat as habitat loss. (3)



SECTION D

QUESTIONS 45 TO 48 ARE 10 MARKS EACH, DO ANY 3 [30 MARKS].

45. With respect to the following figure from the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, answer the following questions: (10)

a. What is the web page address of the MEA?

b. How does the extinction rate of mammals in Distant Past and Recent Past compare?

c. If a species, on average, lives up to 26 million years, and 99% of all species ever created are now extinct, why should we humans care about current extinction rates?


46. With respect to the following extract of the types of biodiversity conservation practiced in Nepal, please give ONE example in short but specific details: (10)

6.1 NEPAL BIODIVERSITY STRATEGY (NBS) 2002 – HMG, Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation supported by GEF & UNDP-Nepal)

EXISTING MECHANISM FOR CONSERVING BIODIVERSITY

Six categories of biodiversity conservation

1. Protected areas
2. Forests
3. Rangelands
4. Agrobiodiversity
5. Wetlands
6. Mountain biodiversity


47. With respect to the following biodiversity conservation strategies, compare any TWO strategies used in Nepal: (10)

STRATEGIES TO CONSERVE BIODIVERSITY

1. Cross-Sectoral Strategies (17)
• Landscape planning approach
• Integrating local participation
• Institutional strengthening
• In-situ conservation
• Strengthening the national biodiversity unit
• Increasing support for biodiversity research and conservation
• Endorsing indigenous knowledge and innovations
• Cross-sectoral co-ordination and implementation of policies
• Enhancing national capacity
• Ex-situ conservation/biotechnology
• Securing intellectual property and farmer’s property rights
• Biodiversity prospecting
• Environmental Impact Assessment
• Women in biodiversity conservation
• Developing eco-tourism
• Increasing conservation awareness
• Biodiversity registration



48 With respect to the following map, answer the following questions: (10)
a. What are areas “protected” from?
b. About what percentage of Nepal’s areas are in Protected areas in Bhuju, 2007, book?
c. There are many types of protected areas listed in the legend? What are the differences among the various categories?