UGC NET — Environmental Sciences (subject code 89) · India · National Testing Agency for the University Grants Commission
Original practice questions written to the published syllabus · not past papersThe full EIA process as a practitioner runs it: screening, scoping, baseline studies, impact prediction, significance, mitigation hierarchy, environmental management plans, public consultation, review and follow-up, plus SEA and social impact assessment. The Agribusiness subject natural-resource-environmental-economics and the Agricultural Engineering waste subject each carry a one-unit introduction to EIA; this is the full subject.
In the exams: GATE ES Section 9; ICAR AICE subject 71 Unit 3; UGC NET Unit 8; China EIA engineer licence; EIANZ Impact Assessment specialist; NABET EIA coordinator roles
ICAR AICE-JRF/SRF Environmental Sciences (Unit 3), UGC NET (Unit 8) and ASRB
Recall of EIA history (NEPA), Indian legal framework, public hearing, EMP, environmental audit, methods of impact identification, SEA and SIA definitions; occasional application to agricultural projects.
How our questions for UGC NET spread across the units of Environmental Impact Assessment & Strategic Environmental Assessment. Difficulty: 20 easy, 52 medium, 13 hard.
| Legal frameworks: NEPA, EU EIA Directive, India EIA Notification and others | 10 | |
| Impact identification: checklists, matrices, networks, overlays | 9 | |
| History, purpose and principles of EIA | 8 | |
| Strategic environmental assessment | 8 | |
| Cumulative impact assessment | 6 | |
| Social impact assessment | 6 | |
| Impact prediction and evaluation of significance | 5 | |
| Mitigation hierarchy: avoid, minimise, restore, offset | 5 | |
| Environmental management plans and monitoring | 5 | |
| Public consultation and hearings | 5 | |
| EIA review, decision-making and environmental clearance | 5 | |
| Screening and categorisation of projects | 4 | |
| Scoping and terms of reference | 3 | |
| Baseline data collection | 3 | |
| Lender standards: IFC Performance Standards and Equator Principles | 3 |
Choose an answer, then open the working. Each explanation says why the right answer is right and why the others are not.
Which law, signed on 1 January 1970, was the first to require environmental impact assessment?
A. The US National Environmental Policy Act
NEPA (1969, signed 1 January 1970) introduced the environmental impact statement for major federal actions. The UK planning act predates EIA, India's Act dates from 1986 and the EU Directive from 1985.
Further reading: Glasson and Therivel, Introduction to EIA
Which weakness is reported most consistently in reviews of EIA systems worldwide?
B. Weak follow-up: little monitoring of whether predictions and mitigation hold after approval
Reviews repeatedly find late application, weak alternatives, poor baselines and, above all, weak follow-up. Excess participation, too many alternatives and over-monitoring are not typical findings.
Further reading: Glasson and Therivel, Introduction to EIA
Under the EU EIA Directive, which annex lists projects for which EIA is always mandatory?
A. Annex I
Annex I projects always need EIA; Annex II projects are screened by member states using thresholds or case-by-case examination with the Annex III selection criteria; Annex IV sets the contents of the EIA report.
Further reading: Directive 2011/92/EU as amended by 2014/52/EU
Which design gives the strongest basis for later detecting a project's ecological impact?
A. Before–after–control–impact sampling, known as BACI
BACI samples impact and control sites both before and after the project, separating project effects from natural change. A single after-survey, a literature list or control-only data cannot attribute change to the project.
Further reading: Underwood; ecological impact assessment texts
Which identification method traces chains of primary, secondary and tertiary impacts from a project action?
B. Impact network
Networks such as the Sorensen network (1971) trace cause-effect chains, capturing indirect impacts. Checklists list items without chains; overlays show spatial patterns. An impact network is also called an impact tree.
Further reading: Sorensen 1971; GT
What distinguishes a scaling checklist from a simple checklist?
C. It adds a scale for rating the magnitude of each impact
Simple checklists list items; descriptive checklists add guidance; scaling checklists add magnitude ratings; questionnaire checklists pose structured questions. Chains are networks and maps are overlays.
Further reading: Canter, EIA
Monitoring stack emissions to check that they meet the limits in a permit is which type of monitoring?
D. Compliance monitoring
Compliance monitoring checks conformity with standards and conditions. Baseline monitoring precedes the project; effects (impact) monitoring measures changes in the receiving environment to test predictions.
Further reading: Glasson and Therivel, Introduction to EIA
Under the amended EU EIA Directive, what must the competent authority reach after examining the EIA report and consultation?
A. A reasoned conclusion on the significant effects of the project
Directive 2014/52/EU requires a reasoned conclusion, integrated into the decision, which must be published with its reasons and any monitoring. Automatic approval, guarantees and referendums are not required.
Further reading: Directive 2011/92/EU as amended by 2014/52/EU
Strategic environmental assessment (SEA) is applied to what?
C. Policies, plans and programmes
SEA assesses policies, plans and programmes (PPPs) early in decision-making; project EIA covers individual projects. Vehicles and households are not SEA subjects.
Further reading: Directive 2001/42/EC
Social impact assessment (SIA), as defined in IAIA's international principles, includes which processes?
B. Analysing, monitoring and managing intended and unintended social consequences of interventions
Vanclay's IAIA principles (2003) define SIA as analysing, monitoring and managing intended and unintended, positive and negative social consequences. Tax audits, physical monitoring alone and social media counts are not SIA.
Further reading: Vanclay 2003
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