Deck 6: Planning and Management Perspectives

Question 1

The most correct statement about environmental planning and management is that ________.

A) humans attempt to manage the interaction between humans and the environment
B) humans manage natural resources
C) humans manage the environment
D) All of the above

Answer 1

A

Question 2

The two principles that should be followed to improve resource and environmental management are ________.

A) best practices and stakeholder participation
B) science-based decision-making and agency coordination
C) science-based decision-making and best practices
D) agency coordination and transparency

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Context is important when attempting to solve an environmental problem because ________ vary over space and time.

A) economic and social conditions
B) biophysical conditions
C) political and legal conditions
D) All of the above

Answer 3

D

Question 4

One element of context in planning and management that is important to consider is ________.

A) market forces
B) Indigenous people
C) local communities
D) Both b and c

Question 5

Public agencies often prefer a standardized approach to environmental management because ________.

A) it allows them to avoid criticism over preferential treatment
B) it ensures equal quality in environmental management
C) all environmental problems can be solved in the same way
D) it ensures equal effectiveness of resource management

Question 6

Management of natural resources and the environment often does not involve ________.

A) many jurisdictions and organizations
B) faith in government capacity to deliver services
C) numerous conflicting interests
D) overlapping or conflicting mandates and responsibilities

Question 7

Governance of resources and the environment occurs in situations defined by ________.

A) conflict
B) high complexity and uncertainty
C) rapid change
D) All of the above

Question 8

Many governments are less concerned about the environment and more concerned about ________.

A) debt and deficit reduction
B) education standards
C) human poverty
D) health care

Question 9

Government concerns about debt and deficit reduction often lead to ________ of environmental services.

A) removal, dismissal, and commercialization
B) commercialization, privatization and downloading
C) neglect, uploading, and mishandling
D) downgrading, commercialization, and subsidizing

Question 10

When developing and implementing environmental policy, many governments demonstrate more interest in _______.

A) strategies to preserve and protect the environment
B) improving emergency planning
C) systematic and thorough consultation processes
D) the private sector and market forces to deliver products and services

Question 11

Since the late 1990s, many governments ________.

A) have been emphasizing strategies to preserve and protect the environment
B) have been steadily backing away from concern for or commitment to environmental issues
C) have been emphasizing strategies for economic growth
D) Both b and c

Question 12

The difference between "governance" and "management" is ________.

A) the vision we follow versus the realizations we make
B) the realization of a vision versus the creation of a vision
C) providing a direction and vision versus the realization of this vision
D) the direction we follow versus the vision we follow

Question 13

The principle of subsidiarity means ________.

A) privatizing government services
B) commercializing government services
C) providing government-run services at the least cost
D) allocating responsibilities to levels of government closest to where the services are used or received

Question 14

Downloading or privatizing environmental management responsibilities is often justified by invoking ________.

A) subsidiarity
B) efficiency
C) skills
D) Both a and b

Question 15

Downloading responsibilities for environmental protection to lower-level governments would be a good choice if those ________.

A) governments were willing and able to protect the environment
B) governments were willing but unable to protect the environment
C) governments were unwilling and unable to protect the environment
D) governments were unwilling but able to protect the environment

Question 16

Planning and management can be most dramatically affected by _______.

A) various ideological perspectives and different views of the environment and resources
B) emergency planning
C) land use planning to restrict development
D) agencies that are too focused on one specific sector (e.g., water)

Question 17

Regarding environment policy development and implementation, many governments do NOT ________.

A) use systematic and thorough consultation processes
B) accept the value of globalization
C) use a business model
D) rely on the private sector and market forces

Question 18

Many governments have backed away from commitment to environmental issues in favour of ________.

A) economic growth
B) employment insurance
C) small business loans
D) international aid

Question 19

Neo-liberalism promotes policies ________.

A) that highlight the seriousness of environmental problems
B) designed to solve particular environmental problems in specific places
C) that encourage and facilitate individual freedom
D) that treat the symptoms rather than the causes of individual freedom

Question 20

The defining features of neo-liberalism do NOT include ________.

A) support for social causes
B) free trade
C) free markets
D) strong private property rights

Question 21

A realistic, credible, and attractive future for a region, community, or group is called ________.

A) societal consensus
B) forecasting
C) a vision
D) the bottom line

Question 22

When developing a "vision," what should one NOT ask?

A) What can happen?
B) What can't happen?
C) What is likely to happen?
D) What should happen?

Question 23

Setting a goal and then determining the steps required to fulfill that goal is an example of ________.

A) backcasting
B) globalization
C) forecasting
D) Both a and c

Question 24

A set of moral principles or values that guide actions and decisions is called ________.

A) a vision
B) an ethic
C) backcasting
D) ecocentric

Question 25

One of the challenges with ethics in cross-cultural situations is that ________.

A) only certain cultures have ethical and value systems
B) ethics and values are the same across many cultures, but they are implemented differently
C) ethics and values may be implicit and difficult to recognize for outsiders
D) All of the above

Question 26

The belief that there is a natural order governing relationships between living things, which humans disrupt through ignorance, is an expression of ________.

A) ecocentric values
B) humancentric values
C) the biosphere approach
D) technocentric values

Question 27

People with ecocentric values tend to ________.

A) live communally
B) oppose the use of technology
C) put animal health above human health
D) None of the above

Question 28

The belief that humans can understand, control, and manipulate nature for their own purposes, and that nature exists to meet human needs, is an expression of ________.

A) the biosphere approach
B) ecocentric values
C) humancentric values
D) technocentric values

Question 29

Technocentrics ________.

A) believe that technology will fix all environmental problems
B) admire the power and capacity of technology
C) are less concerned about moral aspects or consequences
D) All of the above

Question 30

According to the anthropocentric perspective ________.

A) non-human species have an inherent value
B) humans have a dominant role relative to nature
C) humans are part of nature, not separate from it
D) Both a and c

Question 31

It is NOT true that ________.

A) context is important in shaping values and outlooks
B) values held by a group or society can generally be allocated to a certain category or approach to thinking about the environment
C) boundaries between different value systems are often blurred or indistinct
D) understanding values is important to understand why certain ideas are supported or opposed

Question 32

The elements considered in the ecosystem approach are ________.

A) animals
B) non-living elements
C) plants
D) All of the above

Question 33

The ecosystem approach ________.

A) is often based on political boundaries, making it less controversial
B) examines the different parts of the ecosystem individually
C) understands that humans are part of nature, not separate from it
D) All of the above

Question 34

According to the Royal Commission on the Future of the Toronto Waterfront, ________ are NOT considered to be part of the ecosystem approach.

A) a strict definition of environments
B) interrelationships amongst elements
C) urban and rural activities
D) watersheds as basic units

Question 35

A holistic approach to environmental management is NOT represented by ________.

A) concentrating on the ability of aquatic systems to reduce damages from flooding
B) having numerous government agencies each responsible for a specific part of the environment
C) allowing clearcut logging around the boundaries of a national park
D) None of the above represents a holistic approach

Question 36

Land-use decisions can have impacts on ________.

A) wildlife
B) water systems
C) atmospheric systems
D) All of the above

Question 37

Certain thresholds normally exist in natural systems. When these are exceeded, ________.

A) ecosystem homeostasis is maintained
B) environmental deterioration can occur
C) logging can occur
D) native species usually prosper

Question 38

Airborne and waterborne pollutants ________.

A) are mobile
B) impact upstream communities
C) respect international boundaries
D) tend to remain near their source

Question 39

The most effective units of environmental management are ________.

A) based on political boundaries
B) based on administrative boundaries
C) global
D) based on environmental functions

Question 40

An ecosystem approach highlights that ecosystems ________.

A) are in balance with human needs
B) do not have long-term changes
C) are dynamic
D) are static

Question 41

The fundamental problem that exists in resource management is ________.

A) too much legislation
B) that ecosystem-based management is not properly recognized
C) financial constraint
D) too few protected areas

Question 42

The ecosystem approach addresses the problem of ________.

A) technological change
B) local decisions carefully being considered as having implications elsewhere
C) not viewing people and their activities as part of nature
D) All of the above

Question 43

In resource and environmental management, ________ is necessary.

A) a short-term view
B) a long-term view
C) a middle-term view
D) All of the above

Question 44

A long-term view for environmental management represents the time span of ________.

A) 50-75 years
B) 15 years or more
C) 5-10 years
D) 100 years or more

Question 45

Canadian society often takes the short-term approach to environmental management because ________.

A) there is a short time between elections
B) we give low priority to less tangible outcomes
C) we tend to want the "quick fix"
D) All of the above

Question 46

Double-loop learning ________.

A) is out of the box thinking
B) questions a prescribed behaviour
C) is the same as single-loop learning
D) Both a and b

Question 47

The "fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, colour, national origin, or income" with respect to "environmental laws, regulations and policies" is called ________.

A) environmental equity
B) environmental justice
C) environmental fairness
D) environmental equality

Question 48

A 1982 protest in ___________ triggered the concept of environmental justice.

A) United States
B) Russia
C) China
D) Brazil

Question 49

LULU stands for ________.

A) limited-use landscape utility
B) leaking underground landfill units
C) low-utility land uses
D) locally unwanted land uses

Question 50

Studies of locations of hazardous waste landfills in the United States found that three quarters of all such sites are located near ________.

A) agricultural areas
B) wealthy communities
C) minority communities
D) major cities

Question 51

Resource and environmental management will improve if both science-based decision-making and best planning and management approaches are applied.

Question 52

One standard model should be followed in most environmental planning and management situations.

Question 53

Custom-designed solutions are most effective to suit specific environmental management conditions or needs.

Question 54

In Canada, jurisdiction over environmental management is well-defined with little overlap between agencies.

Question 55

Since the 1992 Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit, many governments have significantly reduced funding of environmental infrastructures and services.

Question 56

When managing environmental services, many national and state governments do not download responsibilities to lower levels of government, commercialize such services, or privatize these services.

Question 57

Governments that cite subsidiarity as their motivation for downloading environmental responsibilities are often driven by financial cost-cutting considerations.

Question 58

In the 1980s, neo-liberalism in Canada prompted changes that promoted stronger and more effective environmental legislation and management, and built up key environmental agencies.

Question 59

Much of what is lacking in resource and environmental management globally can be attributed to the influence of shifting ideologies, not to new scientific discoveries.

Question 60

Before deciding how to manage natural resources, managers should first determine what desirable future conditions are sought.

Question 61

If a shared vision for a desirable future is to be achieved, it is important to involve as few stakeholders as possible.

Question 62

To ensure that a shared vision is endorsed, it must challenge basic ethics and values.

Question 63

There is no overlap between ecocentric and technocentric values.

Question 64

The ecosystem approach was first developed in the 1980s.

Question 65

Most people in Canada take an anthropocentric view of nature.

Question 66

Exceeding environmental thresholds often leads to environmental degradation.

Question 67

Many Indigenous peoples understood their connectedness to the rest of the ecosystem.

Question 68

Social learning emphasizes that both individuals and organizations should learn from engagement in resource and environmental management decision-making.

Question 69

Single-loop learning takes corrective action to ensure an outcome consistent with what is desired.

Question 70

Environmental justice is generally confined to local matters.

Question 71

Why has the standardized approach to problem solving been so commonly used by public agencies?

Question 72

Besides the natural complexity, change, and uncertainty involved, what four other contextual factors are important for understanding changes in environmental management?

Question 73

Explain how governments downloading responsibilities for environmental protection is usually justified by referring to the principle of subsidiarity.

Question 74

How do forecasting and backcasting differ?

Question 75

Differentiate between ecocentric and technocentric values.

Question 76

List Slocombe's six core characteristics of the ecosystem approach.

Question 77

What are some of the opportunities provided through an ecosystem approach?

Question 78

Why is a longer-term perspective necessary in resource and environmental management?

Question 79

What is social learning? Explain the differences between single-loop and double-loop learning.

Question 80

What is environmental justice?