COMPETITIVE EXAM MCQs SERIES of ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE for UGC-NET/JRF, SLET, ARS, GATE, and other entrance tests – Environmental Conventions and Agreements.
Syllabus Outline
- Global treaties and policies for environmental protection.
- Climate agreements (e.g. UNFCCC, Kyoto Protocol, and Paris Agreement).
- Biodiversity conservation treaties l(e.g. Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, Nagoya Protocol, and CITES and endangered species trade).
- Ozone layer and pollution control agreements (e.g. Montreal Protocol, Stockholm Convention on POPs, Basel Convention on hazardous waste, and Minamata Convention on mercury pollution.
- Ramsar Convention, Bonn Convention, UNCLOS, and International Whaling Commission.
- Challenges in environmental governance.
- Scientific and analytical understanding of global environmental commitments.
This quiz contains the concept-based most frequently asked 25 MCQs of “Environmental Conventions and Agreements“. Each question has a single correct/most appropriate answer.
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1. Which of the following is a legally binding international agreement aimed at protecting the ozone layer?
a) Stockholm Convention
b) Basel Convention
c) Montreal Protocol
d) Nagoya Protocol
2. The Ramsar Convention is concerned with the conservation and wise use of:
a) Marine ecosystems
b) Forests
c) Wetlands
d) Deserts
3. Which of the following conventions deals with the transboundary movement of hazardous wastes and their disposal?
a) Stockholm Convention
b) Vienna Convention
c) Basel Convention
d) Rotterdam Convention
4. Which international agreement aims to reduce and eliminate the release of persistent organic pollutants (POPs)?
a) Basel Convention
b) Rotterdam Convention
c) Stockholm Convention
d) Nagoya Protocol
5. Which convention aims to regulate international trade in endangered species of wild fauna and flora?
a) Ramsar Convention
b) CITES
c) Vienna Convention
d) Kyoto Protocol
6. The Aarhus Convention primarily deals with:
a) Access to environmental information and public participation in environmental decision-making
b) Transboundary water management
c) Biodiversity conservation
d) Marine pollution prevention
7. The Vienna Convention is related to the protection of:
a) Ozone layer
b) Biodiversity
c) Wetlands
d) Forests
8. Which agreement specifically targets the reduction of greenhouse gases by industrialized nations?
a) Kyoto Protocol
b) Montreal Protocol
c) Ramsar Convention
d) Nagoya Protocol
9. The Rotterdam Convention is focused on:
a) Regulating the global trade of hazardous chemicals and pesticides
b) Regulating and promoting clean energy
c) Regulating the conservation of endangered species
d) Regulating the global trade of wild animals
10. The Rio Earth Summit of 1992 led to the creation of which significant environmental agreement?
a) Kyoto Protocol
b) Paris Agreement
c) Convention on Biological Diversity
d) Minamata Convention
11. Which international agreement focuses on the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from genetic resources?
a) Stockholm Convention
b) Nagoya Protocol
c) Kyoto Protocol
d) Montreal Protocol
12. The Paris Agreement allows countries to submit what type of plans for climate action?
a) Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)
b) National Biodiversity Strategies
c) National Economic Plans
d) National Security Strategies
13. Which of the following is a key principle of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development?
a) Polluter Pays Principle
b) Principle of Permanent Sovereignty
c) Principle of State Immunity
d) Principle of National Security
14. The Kigali Amendment is associated with which environmental protocol?
a) Kyoto Protocol
b) Montreal Protocol
c) Stockholm Convention
d) Basel Convention
15. Which international treaty is concerned with the protection of marine life from ocean dumping?
a) Basel Convention
b) London Convention
c) Ramsar Convention
d) Aarhus Convention
16. The Espoo Convention is related to:
a) Environmental impact assessment in a transboundary context
b) Marine pollution prevention
c) Climate change mitigation
d) Protection of migratory species
17. The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was signed during which global environmental summit?
a) Stockholm Conference 1972
b) Earth Summit 1992
c) Kyoto Protocol 1997
d) Paris Agreement 2015
18. The Cartagena Protocol is primarily concerned with which of the following?
a) Prevention of Marine Pollution
b) Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes
c) Biosafety in Handling Genetically Modified Organisms
d) Sustainable Forest Management
19. Which of the following agreements is legally binding under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)?
a) Paris Agreement
b) Agenda 21
c) Rio Declaration
d) Ramsar Convention
20. The Basel Convention primarily deals with the control of transboundary movements of which type of waste?
a) Electronic Waste
b) Radioactive Waste
c) Hazardous Waste
d) Plastic Waste
21. The Bonn Convention focuses on the conservation of which category of species?
a) Migratory Species
b) Marine Species
c) Endangered Plants
d) Amphibians
22. In the context of the Paris Agreement, which of the following statements best describes the concept of ‘carbon budget’?
a) The total amount of carbon dioxide emissions permissible under national policies
b) The maximum cumulative CO₂ emissions allowed globally to limit warming to a specific target
c) The allocated carbon emissions for developed nations under Kyoto Protocol mechanisms
d) The financial budget required for implementing carbon capture and storage technologies
23. Which of the following accurately reflects the scientific rationale behind the legally binding nature of the Montreal Protocol compared to other climate-related agreements?
a) Ozone-depleting substances have shorter atmospheric lifetimes than greenhouse gases, leading to quicker observable impacts
b) The effects of climate change are more uncertain compared to ozone depletion, making strict regulation harder to implement
c) The Montreal Protocol only affects industrialized nations, unlike climate agreements that involve all countries
d) The science of greenhouse gas mitigation is still evolving, whereas ozone depletion mechanisms are well-established
24. The Minamata Convention on Mercury is scientifically significant due to its emphasis on which of the following neurotoxic effects of mercury bioaccumulation in aquatic food chains?
a) Disruption of endocrine signalling pathways in lower trophic organisms
b) Methylmercury-induced neurodevelopmental disorders through biomagnification
c) Increased oxygen demand in marine ecosystems due to mercury-induced algal blooms
d) Disruption of microbial nitrogen fixation due to mercury toxicity
25. Considering recent advancements in synthetic biology, which potential conflict arises under the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety regarding genetically engineered organisms?
a) Engineered microorganisms may alter nitrogen cycling in soil ecosystems, violating the protocol’s safety standards
b) The use of gene-drive technologies may lead to transboundary ecological disruptions beyond national jurisdictions
c) Genetically modified crops fall outside the scope of the Cartagena Protocol due to their agricultural significance
d) The protocol restricts research in synthetic biology due to unknown impacts on oceanic phytoplankton populations
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References
- Sands, P., & Peel, J. (2018). Principles of International Environmental Law, Cambridge University Press, 4th Edition.
- Leelakrishnan, P. (2019). Environmental Law: International and National Perspectives, LexisNexis, 5th Edition.
- Hunter, D., Salzman, J., & Zaelke, D. (2015). International Environmental Law and Policy, Foundation Press, 5th Edition.
