The stakeholder's unwillingness to make decisions that might lead to negative consequences indicates a tendency to avoid risk. This behavior is best described as risk averse, as risk-averse individuals prefer to minimize exposure to potential negative outcomes.

Risk management is a fundamental aspect of project management that helps in identifying, assessing, and mitigating risks associated with a project. Even small projects can benefit from risk management practices as they can help avoid potential issues that might arise and impact the project's success. Advising the stakeholder that risk management is a valuable undertaking and must be applied to all projects to some degree is the correct approach, as it underscores the importance of risk management without undermining the senior stakeholder's concerns.

A project issue is a negative effect on a project objective arising from the occurrence of a threat. This means that the issue is an inherent problem that has already manifested itself and is adversely impacting the project's goals.

The purpose of mitigating negative risks as part of the risk response process is to reduce the probability of a risk happening, and/or reduce the severity of the impact. Mitigation involves taking steps to lower the likelihood of occurrence or to lessen the consequences if it does occur.

In this scenario, the customs procedures are complex and frequently changing, and the project team has identified that equipment delays are likely. The word 'likely' indicates a high probability of the risk occurring. Additionally, given that these equipment delays could lead to the cancellation of the project, the impact is also high. Therefore, the risk should be characterized as having high probability and high impact.