Chapter 6: Resources and the environment
Introduction: the search for sustainable development
Recent decades have been witnessed to a range of global environmental problems, many of
which are worsening and inter-related and are closely linked to patterns of human development
and human action. The concept of ‘sustainable development’ has been central in fostering a
more holistic and nuanced understanding of the complex linkages between environment and
human development.
What is sustainable development?
The most often quoted definition of sustainable development is: ‘Development that meets the
needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations.’ However, there are
multiple entry points into, and varied interpretations of, the concept of sustainable development
and many more ideas on how to put the concept into practice.
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): ‘Road to dignity by 2030: ending poverty, transforming
all lives and protecting the planet’.
Resources and development
Sections of the world’s population now live in a ‘post-industrial’ society that has seen a decline
in the traditional dependence on local or regional resources and environments. However, the
livelihoods of many more people around the globe remain very directly linked to immediate
survival needs secured substantially through their local environmental resources.
Resource ‘limits’ in development?
The predominant view of resources is that they are given value by society in respect of the
functions they can perform and according to the levels of development and aspirations of
society. If resources become more physically scarce, market forces would create the incentives
to innovate, develop substitutes, and expand frontiers of production or to increase efficiency for
example. ‘Human ingenuity’
However, there is also the view of environmental resources as stock of substance or material
found in the nature. Economic development is limited by the availability of resources. Insufficient
quantities of resources to meet demands. Also access may be difficult or there may be a lack of
sufficient capital or appropriate skills and technology to bring the location into production.
‘Geopolitical’ resource scarcity may also be produced in circumstances where a resource is
heavily localised.
The stocks of non-renewable resources continue to be relevant in shaping future development.
The concern is less that resources will run out, it is more about the relation to the detrimental
effects on human health and the operation of ecological systems, for example. This is most
readily seen in relation to climate change.
Planetary boundaries and a safe (and just) operating space for humanity
, ‘Planetary boundaries’ was developed on the basis of understanding the interactions and non-
linear dynamics of the complex components of the Earth System and mounting evidence that
human actions have become the main driver of environmental change.
‘Safe operating space for humanity with respect to the Earth System’.
Many subsystems of the Earth react in a non-linear, often abrupt, way, and are particularly
sensitive around threshold levels of certain key variables. On the basis of scientific
understanding of these thresholds, nine planetary boundaries were established at a ‘safe
distance’ from the risks of abrupt, non-linear shifts occurring and in turn triggering ‘unacceptable
environmental change’ (figure 6.3a).
Figure 6.3b: the nine Planetary Boundaries integrated with eleven social boundaries identified
as an inner ‘social foundation’ for humanity.
Ecosystem services and human well-being
Figure 6.4
Ecosystems are seen to underpin human well-being through provisioning services such as in
food production. The ‘ecosystem services’ were categorized in four ways. Some aspects of
ecosystem services can be influenced or ‘mediated’ by socio-economic factors to different
degrees to shape human well-being. This confirms that the strength of the relationship between
ecosystem services and human well-being will vary in different socio-economic and ecological
contexts.
60% of ecosystem services examined are being degraded and/or used unsustainably.
Water resources and development: scarcity for whom?
Water resources are central to human existence; they are the source of life itself and access to
water is a basic human need and a fundamental human right. Mounting demand for water and
competing uses of water are understood to have led to inequitable and unsustainable water
demands in many countries. Climate scenarios models have suggest that 1.8 billion people
worldwide may live in water-scarce environments as regional and local precipitation patterns
shift under climate change. The ‘mismatch’ between water demand and water supply can lead
to wars over water.
Water scarcity and equity at the household level
The situation of people without access to safe water provision has improved. However, there
remain large inequities between rural and urban areas and by wealth in relation to water access.
The target on access to improved sanitation was not met and remains a key challenge for more
sustainable development.
The persistent challenges of meeting the basic human needs lies largely in two regions, sub-
Saharan Africa and South Asia.
The improvements in water supply and sanitation could prevent the global disease burden.
Besides human health, the cost for health care systems are avoided, the time saved in
collection at household level (giving more time for other economic and social roles), and
enhanced dignity, privacy and safety at an individual level.
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