B-1 Ch-8 Environment - Test Papers

 CBSE Test Paper 01

Class 12 - Political Science (B-1 Ch-8 Environment and Natural Resources)

  1. What do you mean by ‘global North’ and ‘global South’?

  2. Why should the ‘environmental concerns’ be part of contemporary global politics?

  3. At the Rio Summit which difference became clear between the First World and the Third World countries?

  4. What was Brundtland Report?

  5. What is UNEP? What does the UNEP stand for?

  6. Cooperation over the global commons is not easy. Explain.

  7. Identify the most important outcome of the Rio summit.

  8. Explain India’s stand on environmental issues.

  9. Explain the steps taken by Governments of India to curb the emission of greenhouse gases.

  10. What do you mean by environmental movements? Explain.

  11. Study the picture given below and answer the questions that follow:

    Questions

    1. What does the cartoon represent?
    2. Which Countries are being shown here?
    3. What message does this picture convey?

  12. Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow:
    This summit was attended by 170 states, thousands of NGOs and many multinational corporations. Five years earlier, the 1987 Brundt land Report, Our Common Future, had warned that traditional patterns of economic growth were not sustainable in the long term, especially in view of the demands of the South for further industrial development. What was obvious at this Summit was that the rich and developed countries of the First World, called the ‘global North’, were pursuing a different environmental agenda than the poor and developing countries of the Third World, called the ‘global South’. Whereas the Northern states were concerned with ozone depletion and global warming, the Southern states were anxious to address the relationship between economic development and environmental management.

    Questions:

    1. Which summit has been referred to in the passage given above?
    2. Name two countries each from the First World and the Third World.
    3. Why were the traditional patterns of economic growth not considered to be sustainable in the long term?

  13. Define the ‘indigenous people’ and highlight threats to their survival.

CBSE Test Paper 01
Class 12 - Political Science (B-1 Ch-8 Environment and Natural Resources)
Answer

  1. ‘Global North’ refers to the first world countries or developed countries and the Third World countries or developing countries are ‘global South’.

  2. No single government can address the environmental concerns in isolation. Hence, the environmental concerns should be part of contemporary global politics.
  3. The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, in June 1992. At the Rio Summit (1992) it became clear that the First World countries were concerned with ozone depletion and global warming, Third World countries were anxious to address the relationship between economic development and environmental management.
  4. Brundt land Commission is to unite countries to pursue sustainable development together. The 1987 Brundtland Report, Our Common Future, had warned that traditional patterns of economic growth were not sustainable in the long term, especially in view of the demands of the South for further industrial development.
  5. UNEP stands for the United Nations Environment Programme. It is an agency of the United Nations, coordinates the organization's environmental activities and assists developing countries in implementing environmentally sound policies and practices and to hold international conferences to promote coordination to an effective response to environmental problems.
  6. Cooperation over the global commons is not easy due to the following reasons:
    1. There is difficulty in achieving consensus on common environmental agendas on the basis of vague scientific evidence and time frames.
    2. The history of outer space as a global common show that this area is thoroughly influenced by North-South inequalities.
  7. The outcomes of the Rio summit were:
    1. There was an agreement on combining economic growth with ecological responsibility.
    2. The summit started the environmental issues and discussions at the global level.
    3. The Rio Summit produced conventions dealing with climate change, biodiversity, forestry and recommended a list of development practices called ‘Agenda 21’.
  8. The following points highlight India's stand on environmental issues :
    1. India signed and ratified the 1997 Kyoto Protocol in August 2002.
    2. At the G-8 meeting in June 2005, India pointed out that the per capita emission rates of the developing countries are a tiny fraction of those in the developed world. India believes in the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and therefore is of the view that the major responsibility of curbing emission rest with the developed countries, which have accumulated emissions over a long period of time.
    3. A review of the implementation of the agreements at the Earth Summit in Rio was undertaken by India in 1997.
    4. India's international negotiation position relies heavily on principles of historical responsibility, as enshrined in UNFCCC.
    5. India wants that SAARC countries should adopt a common position of major global environmental issues, so that region voice carries greater weight.
    6. Some of the steps taken by the Indian Government for emission control are National Auto-fuel Policy, the Energy Conservation Act, 2001 and Electricity Act of 2003 which encourages the use of renewable energy.
    7. The initiatives of importing natural gas and the adoption of clean coal technologies show that India has been making real efforts.
    8. Indian Government is keen to launch the National Mission on Biodiesel using about 11 million hectares of land to produce biodiesel by 2011-2012.
  9. The Indian government is participating in global efforts through a number of programmes. The steps taken by Government of India to curb the emission of greenhouse gases are :
    1. India signed and ratified the 1997 Kyoto Protocol in the year 2002.
    2. India’s National Auto-fuel policy mandates cleaner fuels for vehicles.
    3. The Energy Conservation Act, 2001 outlines initiatives to improve energy efficiency.
    4. Electricity Act, 2003 encourages the use of renewable energy.
    5. Recent trends in importing natural gas and encouraging the adoption of clean coal technologies show that India is making real efforts.
    6. India is also keen to launch a national mission on Biodiesel using about 11 million hectares of land to produce biodiesel by 2011-12.
  10. Environmental movements are the movements of a group which are environmentally conscious to challenge environmental degradation to work at both the national and international levels or local levels:
    1. These movements are most vibrant, diverse, and powerful social movements across the globe today. It is within social movements that new forms of political action are born or reinvented. These environmental movements raise new ideas and long term visions of what we should not do in our individual and collective lines.
    2. The Forest movements of the South, in Mexico, Chile, Brazil, Malaysia, Indonesia, continental Africa and India are faced with enormous pressures.
    Categories of Environmental Movements:
    • Forest Movements.
    • Movement against mining corporation.
    • Movement against the mineral industry (water pollution).
    • Anti Dam, Pro river Movements against the construction of mega dams riot to disturb channels of rivers.
    1. The methods adopted by industrialised countries to fulfill their essentials from weaker sections is represented by the cartoon.
    2. In the given cartoon, the stronger country like the USA and the weaker nation like Iraq is shown.
    3. The picture conveys the following message: Resources are the real strength of a nation and neo-colonialism play politics to obtain it.
    1. Earth Summit.
      1. First World countries: America, South Union.
      2. Third World countries: Asian, African.
    3. Because our common future had warned that traditional patterns of economic growth were not sustainable in the long term, especially in view of the demands of the south for further industrial development.
  13. Definition of indigenous people: There are many definitions given for the indigenous people. But the United Nations provides an exact definition of indigenous people.
    ''Population comprising the descendants of people who inhabited the present territory of a country at the time when persons of a different culture or ethnic origin arrived there from other parts of the world and overcame them."

    In the background of world politics, there are some mutual interests of almost 30 crore indigenous people expanded throughout the globe. Among the 30 crore people, 20 lakh indigenous people belong to the Cordillera region of the Philippines, 10 lakh Mapuche people of Chile, 6 lakh indigenous people belong to Chittagong Hill in Bangladesh, around 35 lakh are North American natives, 50000 Kuna living in East of Panama Canal whereas 10 lakh small people live in Soviet North. Just like other social movements these people talk about their struggles, their problems and their rights.

    Threats/problems of the indigenous people are:
    1. The indigenous people in the global politics desire for the entry of indigenous people to the global community as equals. Regions of Central and South America, Africa, India and South Asia are the regions where most of the indigenous peoples are found and they are known as tribals in these regions. The presen- day island states belonging to Oceania region which includes Australia, New Zealand, were occupied by the Polynesian, Melanesian and Micronesian people for thousands of years.
    2. They have requested the governments to retain the existence of indigenous people as enduring communities with an identity of their own. These people use the expression 'since times immemorial' to refer to the occupancy of the lands from which they originated.
    3. Issues related to the rights of indigenous people have been neglected as people of varied cultures from various parts of the world overcome them. Also, these people have a threat to their survival due to the loss of land which is the main source of their livelihood.
    4. Despite institutional measures, they have not got many benefits of development. In fact, they have paid a huge cost for development because they are forced to be displaced from their motherland owing to developmental projects.