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 human side of sustainability: how socio-technical transitions happen, governance at multiple levels, behaviour change, gender and equity, stakeholder engagement, and leading change in organisations and communities.
In the exams: SEP (GBCI) stakeholder engagement and strategy domains; UGC NET Unit 10; senior and leadership roles
UGC NET Environmental Sciences (Unit 10) and CUET-PG
Environmental movements (Chipko, Silent Valley, Narmada), environmental justice, commons and Ostrom's principles, participation and gender, science–policy bodies (IPCC, IPBES) and environmental ethics and governance.
How our questions for UGC NET spread across the units of Sustainability Transitions, Governance & Social Dimensions. Difficulty: 11 easy, 22 medium, 5 hard.
| Polycentric and multi-level governance; commons governance | 7 | |
| Science-policy interfaces: IPCC, IPBES and national bodies | 6 | |
| Multi-level perspective on socio-technical transitions | 5 | |
| Behaviour change and social norms | 5 | |
| Gender and social inclusion in environmental programmes | 5 | |
| Environmental conflict and negotiation | 4 | |
| Stakeholder mapping and engagement | 3 | |
| Communicating environmental science | 3 |
Choose an answer, then open the working. Each explanation says why the right answer is right and why the others are not.
In the multi-level perspective, what is a niche?
C. A protected space where radical innovations emerge and are nurtured
Niches, such as pilot projects or subsidised early markets, shelter radical innovations. The regime is the dominant configuration; the landscape is the wider context.
Further reading: See the manual sources: the original works named in the explanation (Geels, Ostrom, Arnstein, Ajzen, Rogers, Fisher and Ury, IPBES, Kotter)
Which approach, developed in the Netherlands by Rotmans, Loorbach and colleagues, uses transition arenas, visions and experiments to steer long-term change?
C. Transition management
Transition management is a reflexive, participatory governance approach using arenas of frontrunners, visions and experiments. The others are assessment tools.
Further reading: See the manual sources: the original works named in the explanation (Geels, Ostrom, Arnstein, Ajzen, Rogers, Fisher and Ury, IPBES, Kotter)
Why did Elinor Ostrom argue for a polycentric approach to climate change?
C. Many-level action allows experiments without waiting for a global deal
Ostrom argued that cities, regions, firms and communities can act and learn while global negotiations proceed; the Paris Agreement's bottom-up design partly reflects this. Climate is global, global treaties are insufficient alone, and cooperation remains needed.
Further reading: See the manual sources: the original works named in the explanation (Geels, Ostrom, Arnstein, Ajzen, Rogers, Fisher and Ury, IPBES, Kotter)
According to FAO's State of Food and Agriculture 2010–11, giving women equal access to productive resources could raise yields on their farms by about
A. 20–30 per cent
FAO estimated 20–30% higher yields on women's farms, raising total developing-country agricultural output by 2.5–4%.
Further reading: See the manual sources: the original works named in the explanation (Geels, Ostrom, Arnstein, Ajzen, Rogers, Fisher and Ury, IPBES, Kotter)
In Moser's gender planning framework, which is an example of a strategic gender need?
D. Secure land rights and a voice in community decisions
Strategic needs challenge women's subordinate position, such as land rights and decision-making power; practical needs, such as water, stoves and clinics, meet immediate needs within existing roles.
Further reading: See the manual sources: the original works named in the explanation (Geels, Ostrom, Arnstein, Ajzen, Rogers, Fisher and Ury, IPBES, Kotter)
What does 'intersectionality', a term introduced by Kimberlé Crenshaw (1989), highlight?
B. Overlapping discrimination, such as gender combined with caste
Intersectionality refers to interacting social identities and systems of disadvantage. The other meanings are unrelated.
Further reading: See the manual sources: the original works named in the explanation (Geels, Ostrom, Arnstein, Ajzen, Rogers, Fisher and Ury, IPBES, Kotter)
The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) was established in which year?
A. 2012
IPBES was established in 2012 (Panama City). 1988 is the IPCC; 1992 the CBD; 2005 the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment.
Further reading: See the manual sources: the original works named in the explanation (Geels, Ostrom, Arnstein, Ajzen, Rogers, Fisher and Ury, IPBES, Kotter)
In Pielke's The Honest Broker (2007), which role clarifies and expands the range of policy options rather than advocating one?
B. The honest broker of policy alternatives
The honest broker expands options; the issue advocate argues for one; the pure scientist ignores decisions; the science arbiter answers specific questions.
Further reading: See the manual sources: the original works named in the explanation (Geels, Ostrom, Arnstein, Ajzen, Rogers, Fisher and Ury, IPBES, Kotter)
What concept did IPBES introduce to encompass ecosystem services alongside diverse cultural and Indigenous perspectives?
B. Nature's contributions to people
IPBES's 'nature's contributions to people' broadens ecosystem services to include diverse worldviews. The others are related but different concepts.
Further reading: See the manual sources: the original works named in the explanation (Geels, Ostrom, Arnstein, Ajzen, Rogers, Fisher and Ury, IPBES, Kotter)
What is 'stealth issue advocacy' in Pielke's terms?
B. Advocacy disguised as neutral scientific information
Stealth advocacy disguises value-based advocacy as pure science, undermining trust. Open advocacy and honest brokering are legitimate roles.
Further reading: See the manual sources: the original works named in the explanation (Geels, Ostrom, Arnstein, Ajzen, Rogers, Fisher and Ury, IPBES, Kotter)
Ten here, 38 in the app. The Laisha app has every practice question we have written to UGC NET in this subject, marked as you go, with timed papers, a jump-to-unanswered list and a certificate when you pass at 70 per cent.
Free for ten days, then one subscription of US$10 a month. We would rather say so here than have you find it later.
An AI operating system for agriculture: free guides, manuals and tools written for every country.