SDG | WEEK 5

Graded Quiz

link : Beyond the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Addressing Sustainability and Development

1. Sustainability and Development is an interdisciplinary field of study and practice that seeks to build bridges between the natural, social and applied sciences and the humanities to address the challenges of the world’s most pressing problems. Rather than sustainable serving as a qualifier for development, Sustainability and Development places sustainability on an equal footing with development.

a. True

b. False

2. When sustainability and development are placed on an equal footing:

a. We need to think more explicitly about trade-offs, co-benefits, and synergies between sustainability and development.

b. We do not attend sufficiently to reducing poverty and inequality.

c. We need to attend to contributions from both social and ecological sciences to solve problems of sustainability and development.

d. We can avoid having to think about problems of biodiversity loss and climate change.

e. We do not attend sufficiently to reducing poverty and inequality AND we need to attend to contributions from both social and ecological sciences to solve problems of sustainability and development.

f. We need to think more explicitly about trade-offs, co-benefits, and synergies between sustainability and development AND we need to attend to contributions from both social and ecological sciences to solve problems of sustainability and development.

g. We do not attend sufficiently to reducing poverty and inequality AND we can avoid having to think about problems of biodiversity loss and climate change.

3. Ensuring the well-being of those living today without compromising the well-being of those in the future is a baseline definition of sustainability.

a. True

b. False

4. Sustainability Science is a fundamental framework to think about Sustainability and Development as a field of study. As a framework it is insufficient without interdisciplinarity (i.e. one discipline alone cannot sufficiently account for our most pressing problems) and a robust and interactive relationship between knowledge and practice. Which among the following are foundational foci for Sustainability Science:

a. A focus on trade-offs.

b. A focus on co-benefits.

c. A focus on transitions.

d. A focus on implementation.

e. A focus on synthesis.

f. All of the above

5. A trade-off can be described as a situation when it is not possible to improve outcomes in one area without worsening outcomes in another area. Which of the following is NOT an example of a tradeoff:

a. Current consumption v. future consumption.

b. Taxing one group to support another group.

c. Displacing the poor to protect biodiversity.

d. Greater market share for higher profits.

6. A co-benefit occurs when efforts to improve one area go hand-in-hand with another area. An example of this would be social assistance programs that reduce poverty and inequality while strengthening the climate resilience of recipient communities and households.

a. True

b. False

7. We learn from our discussion of historical transitions (i.e. demography, energy, forestry, agricultural and nutritional) that societal transitions require:

a. Technological change

b. Political and institutional change

c. Behavioral change

d. All of the above

e. None of the above

8. Implementation science seeks to link research and practice to enable the use of research in decision-making and practice.

a. True

b. False

9. Outcomes that are positive in more than one dimension include which of the following:

a. Social assistance programs (e.g. reduces both poverty and inequality + strengthens climate resilience of recipient households and communities)

b. Indigenous land conservation (e.g. supports wellbeing of landowners + mitigates climate change thereby increasing carbon sequestration)

c. Community and private solar energy (e.g. increases household incomes + reduced pollution)

d. Protected wildlife areas (e.g. reduces deforestation thereby increasing carbon sequestration) + protects biodiversity)

e. Ecotourism development (e.g. increases local employment + improves local incomes + conserves biodiversity)

f. All of the above

10. Which of the following are necessary to achieve sustainability and development:

a. Involvement of stakeholders in decision-making processes.

b. A focus on power differences, justice, and equity.

c. Attention to sustainability and development as co-equals goals.

d. Evidence-based research.

e. Long-term, forward thinking actions.

f. All of the above