CSC Environmental Impact Assessment & Resource Management 3

Question 1

When assessing cumulative impacts in an EIA, analysts must evaluate:

Accepted Answer

The combined effects of the project plus past, present, and reasonably foreseeable future actions

Answer

Cumulative impact analysis examines how the project's effects combine with those of other actions over time and space, even if individually minor.

Question 2

Which waste management hierarchy level is most preferable from a sustainability standpoint?

Accepted Answer

Source reduction/prevention

Answer

The waste hierarchy ranks source reduction (prevention) highest because avoiding waste generation is more resource-efficient than managing it after the fact.

Question 3

An Environmental Management System (EMS) based on ISO 14001 follows which continuous improvement cycle?

Accepted Answer

Plan–Do–Check–Act (PDCA)

Answer

ISO 14001 EMS is structured around the PDCA (Plan–Do–Check–Act) cycle to drive continual environmental performance improvement.

Question 4

In the context of biodiversity impact assessment, the mitigation hierarchy lists options in what order?

Accepted Answer

Avoid, minimize, restore/rehabilitate, offset

Answer

The mitigation hierarchy prioritizes avoiding impacts first, then minimizing, then restoring on-site, and finally offsetting unavoidable residual impacts elsewhere.

Question 5

The 'precautionary principle' in environmental policy states that:

Accepted Answer

Lack of full scientific certainty should not be used as a reason to postpone cost-effective preventive measures

Answer

The precautionary principle, articulated in the Rio Declaration (Principle 15), supports preventive action even under scientific uncertainty when threats are serious.

(CSC) Certified Sustainability Consultant Practice Test

(CSC) Certified Sustainability Consultant Practice Test

CSC Environmental Impact Assessment & Resource Management 3