Examius
🇮🇳 GATE Environmental Engineering · flashcards
GATE Environmental Engineering Environmental Management and Sustainable Development Flashcards
51 question-and-answer cards covering Environmental Management and Sustainable Development as it is examined in GATE Environmental Engineering. 24 of them are printed below, taken from across the deck — no signup, no paywall on the preview.
24 sample cards from the Environmental Management and Sustainable Development deck
Sampled from the end of the deck, so these are different cards from the ones shown on the syllabus page.
Which major sets of rules were notified under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986?
Rules such as the EIA Notification, Hazardous Waste (Management) Rules, Bio-Medical Waste Rules, Municipal Solid Waste Rules, Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Notification, and Noise Pollution Rules.
What is the National Green Tribunal Act, and in what year was it enacted?
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) Act, 2010 — it established a specialized tribunal for effective and expeditious disposal of cases relating to environmental protection and conservation of natural resources.
Within what time frame is the NGT mandated to dispose of cases?
The NGT endeavours to dispose of applications or appeals finally within 6 months of their filing.
On which principles is the NGT required to base its decisions?
On the principles of sustainable development, the precautionary principle, and the polluter pays principle.
India became the third country in the world to set up a specialized environmental tribunal. Which two countries preceded it?
Australia and New Zealand — India was the third nation to establish a dedicated environmental court/tribunal via the NGT Act, 2010.
What is the National Environment Policy (NEP), 2006?
India's overarching policy statement that seeks to mainstream environmental concerns into all development activities, building on existing policies, and based on the principle that conservation and livelihood security are best served by sustainable use of resources.
What is the central theme/dominant principle of the National Environment Policy, 2006?
That the best way to conserve environmental resources is to ensure that the people dependent on them obtain better livelihoods from conservation than from its degradation — linking environmental protection with human well-being and sustainable development.
What is the 'Common but Differentiated Responsibilities' (CBDR) principle in international environmental law?
The principle that all states share responsibility for protecting the global environment, but developed countries bear a greater responsibility owing to their historical contribution to environmental problems and their greater capacity to act.
Name the international treaty that successfully phased out ozone-depleting substances.
The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (1987), under the Vienna Convention (1985).
Match the treaty to its focus: Kyoto Protocol, Paris Agreement, Basel Convention, Stockholm Convention.
Kyoto Protocol (1997) — binding greenhouse gas reduction targets; Paris Agreement (2015) — limit global warming to well below 2°C; Basel Convention (1989) — transboundary movement of hazardous wastes; Stockholm Convention (2001) — Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs).
What is the goal of the Paris Agreement (2015) regarding global temperature?
To hold the increase in global average temperature to well below $2\,^{\circ}\mathrm{C}$ above pre-industrial levels, and to pursue efforts to limit it to $1.5\,^{\circ}\mathrm{C}$.
Distinguish between energy 'resources' and 'reserves'.
Resources are the total estimated amount of an energy substance present in nature (whether or not currently recoverable); reserves are the portion of resources that can be economically and technically extracted under present conditions.
List the major categories of non-renewable energy sources.
Fossil fuels — coal, petroleum (crude oil), and natural gas — and nuclear fuels such as uranium and thorium. They exist in finite amounts and deplete with use.
List the major categories of renewable energy sources.
Solar, wind, hydropower, biomass/bioenergy, geothermal, tidal, wave, and ocean thermal energy. They are naturally replenished on a human timescale.
What distinguishes renewable from non-renewable energy sources?
Renewable sources are naturally replenished on a human timescale and are essentially inexhaustible; non-renewable sources exist in fixed finite quantities, form over geological timescales, and are depleted by use.
What is the Energy-Environment nexus?
The interdependent relationship in which energy production and consumption cause environmental impacts (e.g., air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, land/water degradation), while environmental constraints and policies shape energy choices and technologies.
Which energy-related emissions are the principal anthropogenic contributors to global warming?
Carbon dioxide ($\ce{CO2}$) from fossil fuel combustion, along with methane ($\ce{CH4}$) and nitrous oxide ($\ce{N2O}$).
Give the classic Brundtland Commission definition of sustainable development.
"Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs" — from the 1987 report 'Our Common Future' (Brundtland Report).
What are the three pillars (dimensions) of sustainable development?
Economic (economic growth/viability), Social (social equity/inclusion), and Environmental (ecological protection) — often summarized as profit, people, and planet.
How many Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are there, and when were they adopted?
There are 17 SDGs (with 169 targets), adopted by the United Nations in 2015 as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development; they came into effect in 2016.
Which UN summit and document preceded the SDGs, and what were their predecessors called?
The SDGs succeeded the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which ran from 2000 to 2015; the SDGs were adopted at the 2015 UN Sustainable Development Summit.
Name three SDGs directly related to environmental management.
SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), SDG 13 (Climate Action), SDG 14 (Life Below Water), and SDG 15 (Life on Land) — any three are correct.
What is the 'tragedy of the commons' as a hurdle to sustainability?
A situation where individuals, acting in their own self-interest, overexploit and deplete a shared (common) resource — such as fisheries, the atmosphere, or grazing land — to the collective long-term detriment of all.
List the major hurdles to achieving sustainable development.
Population growth, poverty, over-consumption and unsustainable lifestyles, dependence on fossil fuels, the tragedy of the commons, lack of political will and weak governance, economic constraints, technological limitations, and inequitable distribution of resources.
What this deck covers
The Environmental Management and Sustainable Development deck follows the GATE Environmental Engineering Environmental Management and Sustainable Development syllabus — 5 chapters and 19 topics — so questions land on material that is genuinely examinable rather than trivia around it. That works out to roughly 10.2 cards per chapter.
Answers are written to be recallable, not just readable — averaging about 189 characters, which is long enough to carry the reasoning and short enough to say out loud.
A deck like this earns its keep on the second and third pass. Read the syllabus first so you know the shape of the subject, then use the cards to find the specific facts that have not stuck.
Environmental Management and Sustainable Development flashcards FAQ
How many Environmental Management and Sustainable Development flashcards are in this GATE Environmental Engineering deck?
51 cards. This page previews 24 of them, sampled evenly across the deck so you can judge the difficulty before installing anything.
Are these GATE Environmental Engineering flashcards free?
Yes. The preview here is free to read with no signup, and the full 51-card deck is free inside the Examius app.
What do the Environmental Management and Sustainable Development cards cover?
They follow the GATE Environmental Engineering Environmental Management and Sustainable Development syllabus — 5 chapters and 19 topics — so the questions track what is actually examinable.
How should I use these flashcards?
Read the syllabus first so you know the shape of the subject, then drill the deck. Examius schedules each card with spaced repetition, so cards you keep missing come back sooner and ones you know drift further apart.