1.3 SustainabilityIB Environmental Systems and Societies SL: Subtopic test

1. 1
   A coastal country reports that its gross domestic product (GDP) has grown by about 5 % a year for ten years. Over the same period, about one third of its mangrove forest has been cleared to build shrimp farms. Coastal fishing communities report that catches of fish and crabs are falling, that younger people are leaving to find work in cities, and that storm surges now reach villages that were once sheltered.

   (a)

   Which statement best explains why GDP may be a poor indicator of sustainable development in this country?

   [1 mark]

   • AIt includes the cost of environmental damage, so it exaggerates the cost of growth
   • BIt neglects the value of natural systems, so resource depletion can go unrecorded
   • CIt measures the biodiversity of a country rather than its income
   • DIt falls whenever the human population of a country increases

   (b)

   The villagers lose a dependable food supply and their community is breaking up. Which pillar of sustainability is most directly affected?

   [1 mark]

   • AEnvironmental
   • BEconomic
   • CSocial
   • DPolitical

   (c)

   Explain how clearing the mangroves is an example of unsustainable use of natural resources that could lead to ecosystem collapse.

   [2 marks]

   Total for question 1: 4 marks

2. 2
   Marenia is an island nation that imports much of its food and fuel. A survey of its residents found an average ecological footprint of 3.4 global hectares (gha) per person. The island's biocapacity is 1.9 gha per person. The average carbon footprint is 7.5 tonnes per person per year, and the average water footprint is 1 200 cubic metres per person per year. (The figures are illustrative.)

   (a)

   Which term describes the capacity of a biologically productive area to generate an ongoing supply of renewable resources and to absorb the wastes produced from using them?

   [1 mark]

   • ACarrying capacity
   • BEcological footprint
   • CBiocapacity
   • DWater footprint

   (b)

   In which units is the carbon footprint of the residents expressed?

   [1 mark]

   • ATonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent
   • BCubic metres per year
   • CGlobal hectares
   • DKilowatt-hours

   (c)

   Calculate the difference between the average ecological footprint and the biocapacity per person, and state what the result indicates about the sustainability of Marenia.

   [2 marks]

   Total for question 2: 4 marks

3. 3
   Volunteers with a river trust in the English county of Shropshire sample 20 sites on a river each month. After a short training day they measure nitrate concentration with a test kit and count mayfly larvae in a standard three-minute kick sample. Over five years the mean nitrate concentration at the sites rose from 4 mg per litre to 9 mg per litre, and the mean number of mayfly larvae per sample fell from 38 to 14. The trust passes its records to the environmental regulator each year.

   (a)

   Calculate the percentage change in the mean number of mayfly larvae per sample over the five years, and explain what this change suggests about the sustainability of land and water use in the catchment.

   [3 marks]

   (b)

   Discuss the role of citizen science in monitoring whether resources in the catchment are being used sustainably.

   [4 marks]

   Total for question 3: 7 marks

4. 4
   In 2020 the city of Amsterdam in the Netherlands adopted the doughnut economics model to help guide its recovery plans after the COVID-19 pandemic, alongside a circular economy strategy that aims to halve the city's use of new raw materials by 2030. Supporters say the city has a clearer way to link housing, jobs and food to environmental limits. Critics say the city still depends on goods and food produced elsewhere, which makes its own footprint hard to cut.

   (a)

   Explain how the doughnut economics model and the circular economy model each support progress towards sustainability.

   [6 marks]

   (b)

   Evaluate the usefulness of the planetary boundaries model and the doughnut economics model for a city planning for sustainability.

   [6 marks]

   Total for question 4: 12 marks

End of questions