DP Environmental Systems and Societies Questionbank

With reference to Figure 3(c), explain three ways in which Hurricane Maria has affected ecosystem services provided by Dominica’s forests.

To what extent would different environmental value systems be successful in reducing a society’s ecological footprint?

Describe how foods high on the environmental impact pyramid, shown in Figure 1(b), are likely to affect the ecological footprint of global food production.

When harvesting is limited to the sustainable yield, associated processes involved in a food production system may still make the production unsustainable.

In this context, to what extent can aquatic food production systems be truly sustainable?

Outline one ecological service provided by the Siberian taiga.

With reference to Figure 7(b), calculate the percentage of timber exports to China between the years 2012–2014.

With reference to Figures 5(b) and 5(c), outline one reason why the yaranga is more sustainable than the modern city house.

To what extent might it be better to consider environmental issues at a global, rather than a local level, when planning for sustainable development in Siberia?

To what extent is London a sustainable city? 

Outline three ways that London’s green spaces are considered natural capital.

Evaluate the sustainability of two water management strategies to improve access to freshwater resources in a society.

To what extent is the use of solid domestic waste (SDW) as an energy source beneficial to a society?

Discuss whether biodiversity loss or climate change is a greater threat to human societies.

With reference to named examples, discuss the significance of diversity in the sustainability of food production systems.

With reference to the information in the resource booklet, to what extent has Costa Rica’s aim to become carbon neutral led to a more environmentally-sustainable nation?

With reference to Figure 10(b), explain how sustainability in Costa Rica changed between 1961 and 2016.

To what extent could development away from traditional lifestyles lead to greater sustainability in Madagascar?

To what extent are the concepts of net productivity and natural income useful in managing the sustainable harvesting of named resources from natural ecosystems?

Quantitative models are frequently constructed to show the flow of energy and cycling of matter in natural systems.

To what extent can these models be useful in assessing the sustainability of named food production systems?

Outline two ecosystem services in a named biome.

Discuss the consequences of changing global per capita meat consumption on the conservation of ecosystems and biodiversity.

To what extent does Algonquin Provincial Park provide a model of sustainable management of a protected area?

With reference to Figure 11(a), suggest what conclusions can be drawn regarding the sustainability of the Brazilian population over the period shown.

Increasing concern for energy security is likely to lead to more sustainable energy choices.

Discuss the validity of this statement, with reference to named countries.

Discuss strategies that can be used to improve the sustainability of food production systems.

Discuss the implications of environmental value systems in the protection of tropical biomes.

Describe the trend in the ecological footprint over the period shown in Figure 7.

To what extent might Iceland be viewed as a role model for sustainability by other countries?

With reference to Figures 4(a), 4(b) and 4(c), outline two reasons why a change from tavy agriculture to agroforestry may be more sustainable.

Describe two possible methods that could be used to collect data for a baseline study for an environmental impact assessment.

Discuss the potential for designing a protected forest area that allows for the harvesting of natural resources while at the same time conserving its biodiversity.

With reference to data throughout the resource booklet, to what extent would the establishment of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) benefit marine ecosystems and human societies within the Coral Triangle?

Explain why the ecological footprint of two populations consuming the same quantity of food and energy may be different.

Evaluate the impact of economic development on the ecological footprint of a human population.

To meet the minimum criteria for sustainability, a country needs to raise its human welfare above the threshold of high human development and have an ecological footprint below the Earth’s biocapacity.

Evaluate two strategies a country can implement to achieve the minimum criteria for sustainability.

Explain how environmental indicators are used to assess sustainability.

With reference to information in the resource booklet, evaluate the sustainability of Canada’s management of the Large Ocean Management Area of the St Lawrence River estuary and Gulf of St Lawrence.

Outline how the concept of sustainability can be applied to managing natural capital.

To what extent does sustainability play a role in making decisions about energy and climate change policies at national and international levels?