Directions: Read the following passage and answer the item that follow the passage. Your answer should be based on the passage only.
Passage - Maintaining an ecosystem just to conserve biodiversity will affect its commercial potential as well as the livelihoods dependent on the ecosystem. There is also a conflict between using an ecosystem only for livelihoods, for commercial exploitation, or strictly for conservation. Deforestation caused due to commercial exploitation will lead to indirect harm like floods, siltation problems and microclimatic instability, apart from adversely affecting livelihoods dependent on forests. These conflicts are particularly acute in developing countries where the dependence of people on the ecosystem is significant, and commercial exploitation has the potential to boost national income. With reference to the above passage, the following assumptions have been made:
Which of the above assumptions is/are valid?
Assumption 1 states, "No country needs to depend on ecosystems to boost national income." However, the passage explicitly mentions that "commercial exploitation has the potential to boost national income," particularly in developing countries. This directly contradicts the assertion made in assumption 1, rendering it invalid.
Assumption 2 states, "Resource-rich countries need to share their resources with those of scant resources so as to prevent the degradation of ecosystems." The passage focuses on internal conflicts within countries regarding ecosystem use for conservation, livelihoods, and commercial exploitation. It does not discuss or imply any international resource sharing obligations or mechanisms. Therefore, assumption 2 is not a valid inference from the provided text.
Since both assumptions I and II are not supported by the passage, option (D) is the correct answer.
Option (A) is incorrect because assumption I is invalid, as it contradicts the passage's statement regarding the potential of commercial exploitation to boost national income.
Option (B) is incorrect because assumption II is invalid, as the passage does not provide any basis for inferring international resource sharing.
Option (C) is incorrect because both assumption I and assumption II are unsupported by the passage.