NCERT MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION CLASS – 12 | POLITICAL SCIENCE PART-A CONTEMPORARY WORLD POLITICS NCERT MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION | CHAPTER- 8 | ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES | EDUGROWN |

In This Post we are  providing  CHAPTER 8 ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES NCERT MOST IMPORTANT QUESTIONS for Class 12 POLITICAL SCIENCE PART- A CONTEMPORARY WORLD POLITICS which will be beneficial for students. These solutions are updated according to 2021-22 syllabus. These MCQS  can be really helpful in the preparation of Board exams and will provide you with a brief knowledge of the chapter.

NCERT MOST IMPORTANT QUESTIONS ON ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES

Question 1.
What is meant by ‘Global Commons’? Give any two examples of Global commons. Why is it very essential to save them?
Answer:
Meaning of Global Commons: For this, see Textbook Question No. 5.
Essentiality to save Global Commons:

1. There is a constant reduction in the total amount of ozone in the Earth’s stratosphere posing a risk to ecosystems and human health.
2. Coastal pollution is increasing globally. The coastal waters are becoming polluted due to land-based activities.

Question 2.
What is the significance of the Kyoto Protocol? Is India a signatory to this protocol?
Answer:
Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement setting targets for industrialized countries to cut their greenhouse gas emissions. The protocol was agreed to in 1997 in Kyoto, Japan-based on principles set by United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. India, China, and other developing countries were exempted from the requirements of the Kyoto Protocol because, in developing countries, per capita emissions are very low. However, India signed Kyoto Protocol in August 2002.

Question 3.
Explain India’s position on the environmental issues facing the contemporary world.
Answer:
India signed and ratified the 1997 Kyoto Protocol in August 2002. 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 is of the view that the major responsibility of curbing emission depends upon the developed countries, which have accumulated emission for a long period of time. India’s international negotiating position depends on the principles of historical responsibility, as enshrined in UNFCCC. The Indian government is already participating in global efforts through a number of programs. The Electricity Act of 2003 encourages the use of renewable energy.

Question 4.
Explain ‘Agenda 21’ and ‘sustainable development’ as discussed at the Rio Summit.
Answer:

1. Agenda 21: The Rio Summit held in 1992 produced conventions regarding climate change, forestry, biodiversity and recommended a list of development called ‘Agenda 21’.
2. Sustainable Development: Sustainable development means economic growth with ecological responsibility.

Question 5.
Explain any four steps taken by the Government of India to curb the emission of greenhouse gases.
Answer:

1. India signed and ratified the 1997 Kyoto Protocol in August 2002.
2. The Energy Conservation Act, passed in 2001, outlines initiatives to improve energy efficiency.
3. The Electricity Act of 2003 encourages the use of renewable energy.
4. Importing natural gas and encouraging the adoption of clean coal technologies show that India has been making real efforts.

Question 6.
Analyze India’s stand on any three environmental issues.
Answer:
1. India is of the view that the major responsibility of curbing emission rates lies with the developed countries, which have accumulated emissions over a long period of time.

2. India’s international negotiating position relies heavily on principles of historical responsibility. This acknowledges that developed countries are responsible for the most historical and current greenhouse gas emissions.

3. India is wary of the recent discussions within UNFCCC about introducing binding commitments on rapidly industrializing countries, such as Brazil, China, and India, to reduce their green house gas emissions. India feels this contravenes the very spirit of UNFCCC.

Question 7.
Explain the meaning of ’Global Commons’. How are environmental concerns becoming important in global politics?
Answer:
Meaning of Global Commons: Global commons are those areas, objects, or resources of the world that are not part of the exclusive jurisdiction of any one state or individual. Examples of Global Commons are park or river, earth’s atmosphere, the ocean floor, air space, outer space, Antarctica. Global Commons and global environment are also called world heritage because they are passed on by the present generation to the next generation and so on.

Environmental concerns are becoming important in Global Politics:

The issues related to global environmental protection have become the priority concern of states since 1990 due to the following reasons:

1. The fertility of the agricultural land is significantly being reduced, due to overgrazing the grasslands have been depleted and the overharvesting has reduced the supply of fish. Due to excessive pollution, the water bodies have been adversely affected.
2. According to Human Development Report, 2006 of the United Nations Development Programme about 1.2 billion people in developing countries have no access to safe drinking water and about 2.6 billion people have no sanitation facilities.
3. Natural forests are being cut down as large-scale and have people being displaced thus leading to the loss of biodiversity.
4. There is a constant reduction in the total amount of ozone in the Earth’s stratosphere posing a risk to ecosystems and human health.
5. Coastal pollution is increasing globally. The coastal waters are becoming polluted due to land-based activities.

Question 8.
Define the ‘Indigenous People’ and highlight any two threats to their survival.
Answer:
Indigenous people are the descendants of the native dwellers who have been living in a particular territory before the people of different cultures or ethnic origins arrived from other parts to capture that particular territory. The United Nations defines an indigenous population as 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. Indigenous people are illiterate and poor. They do not know how to protect their rights. The land is only the source of their income. Thus, the loss of land also means the loss of an economic resource base.

Following are the two threats to the survival of indigenous people:

1. Poverty is an important threat to indigenous people.
2. They entirely depend on the resources and its continuous shortage of natural resources of indigenous people is another threat to their life.

Question 9.
Read the following passage and answer the following questions.

There is a growing significance of environmental as well as resource issues in world politics. If the various governments take steps to check environmental degradation, these issues will have political consequences. Most of them are such that no single government can address them fully. At the Rio summit, the first world countries were pursuing a different environmental agenda than the third world countries. The Indian government is already participating in global efforts through a number of programs. India’s International negotiating position relies heavily on the principles of UNFCCC.

(i) How the first World countries pursued a
different environmental agenda from the third world countries?
Answer:
The first world countries were mainly concerned with ozone depletion and Global warming. They wanted everyone (country) to be equally responsible for ecological conservation. While Third world countries felt that much of the environmental degradation is the product of first world countries.

(ii) The issue of global warming has deeply affected the world. Substantiate the statement with three examples.
Answer:
(A) Rise in global temperature
(B) catastrophic consequences for life on earth
(C) responsible for natural disasters.

Question 10.
Analyse any three threats to the global environment these days.
Answer:
Following are the reasons for environmental pollution.
1. Increase in Population. Rapid Population growth is the major factor responsible for environmental pollution Rapid growing population requires residential areas which lead to deforestation. A fast-growing population leads to overexploitation of natural resources. Their consumption of resources is more than production. Mineral resources such as petroleum coal and iron etc. also experience faster exhaustion. It has been rightly observed that much of environmental destruction in the form of deforestation and desertification can be traced to humankind’s struggle to feed a rapidly growing population.

2. Deforestation and Soil Erosion. Forest plays an important role to make human life prosperous. Forest creates balance in nature. It plays important role in the economic development of the country. Trees provide fuelwood, construction material, a healthy atmosphere, and fresh air to breathe in. But to meet with increasing demands of the population, to provide more residential areas, trees are filled. The shortage of fuelwood is leading to deforestation. The cutting off more and more trees lead to air pollution. Because trees are the only source to convert carbon dioxide into oxygen i.e. a necessity of life. Thus due to deforestation the carbon dioxide content of the air is increasing. Deforestation also affects rainfall patterns.

Moreover, deforestation leads to soil erosion. Deforestation affects wildlife. Cutting of forest causes loss of natural house of wild being. Thus deforestation adversely affects the ecosystem and causes environmental degradation.

3. Industrialisation. Rapid Industrialisation has caused environmental pollution. The indiscriminate and mushrooming growth of industries in and around the residential areas has complicated the scenario. The smoke from the Chimneys, the untreated effluents discharged in river and canals, and the mixing of chemical