Sustainability Significant ideas ● ● ● ● All systems can be viewed through the lens of sustainability. Sustainable development meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Environmental indicators and ecological footprints can be used to assess sustainability. Environmental impact assessments (EIAs) play an important role in sustainable development. Knowledge and understanding Application and skills Explain the relationship between natural capital, natural income and sustainability. Discuss the value of ecosystem services to a society. Discuss how environmental indicators such as MA can be used to evaluate the progress of a project to increase sustainability. Evaluate the use of EIAs . Explain the relationship between EFs and sustainability. What is sustainability Sustainability is the use of global resources at a rate that allows natural regeneration and minimizes damage to the environment. for example, a system of harvesting resources at a rate that allows replacement by natural growth The ability to be maintained at a certain level or rate Key Points considered 1. Earth’s resources are limited 2. It takes time for Earth’s resources to be replenished 3. We can only use resources at a rate that will prevent their depletion What are the main indicators of sustainability? Indicators - Sustainable development indicators ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● No poverty. Zero hunger. Good health and well-being. Quality education. Gender equality. Clean water and sanitation. Affordable and clean energy. Decent work and economic growth. How do the nations measure sustainability? To provide a transparent and objective means of measuring and demonstrating the environmental sustainability of a country, it is often beneficial to use environmental indicators and indices 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Environmental vulnerability index. ... Environmental performance index. Ecological footprint. ... Happy planet index Pollution How is sustainability policy measured? By measuring 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Carbon Footprint. Energy Consumption. Product Recycling Rate. Saving Levels due to conservation and improvement efforts. Supplier Environmental Sustainability Index. Supply Chain Miles. Water Footprint. Waste Reduction Rate. Measuring sustainability 2 ways Measuring local scale Measuring global scale Local scale Global scale Advantages Includes local culture/ ecosystem and species Many problem have worldwide impact Disadvantages Does not include interrelationships between systems Individual or small community action will be more effective Point source pollution sometimes affect only local area Some economists may view sustainable development as a stable annual return on investment regardless of the environmental impact, whereas some environmentalists may view it as a stable return without environmental degradation. Consider the development of changing attitudes to sustainability and economic growth, since the Rio Earth Summit (1992) leading to Agenda 21. Ecological footprint Natural Capital Natural capital is a term used for natural resources that can produce a sustainable natural income of goods or services There are three broad classes of natural capital. ● Renewable natural capital - living species and ecosystems. They are self-producing and self-maintaining. They use solar energy and photosynthesis. This natural capital can yield marketable goods such as wood fiber, but may also provide unaccounted essential services when left in place, for example, climate regulation. ● Replenishable natural capital - groundwater and the ozone layer, is non living but is also often dependent on the solar “engine” for renewal. ● Non-renewable capital - fossil fuel and minerals, are analogous to inventories: any use implies liquidating part of the stock. Natural capital is the goods and services that the environment provides humans with in order to provide natural income Eg. Forests Fish stocks Agriculture crops Services such as Erosion control Waste management Recycling waste Natural income Natural income is the yield obtained from natural resources EIA ( environmental impact assessment) Ecological overshoot Ecological overshoot occurs when human demand exceeds the regenerative capacity of a natural ecosystem. Sustainable indicators What are the major indicators of sustainable development? Resources, Biodiversity and Habitat, Productive Natural Resources, and Sustainable Energy Sustainable development https://sdgs.un.org/goals MA ( Millennium ecosystem Assessment) It is funded by the UN and started in 2001, is a research programme that focuses on how ecosystems have changed over the last decades and predicts changes that will happen. In 2005, it released the results of its rst four-year study of the Earth’s natural resources. The report said that natural resources (food, freshwater, sheries, timber, air) are being used in ways that degrade them so make them unsustainable in the longer term Key facts reported are: ● 60% of world ecosystems have been degraded. ● About 25% of the Earth’s land surface is now cultivated. ● We use 40–50% of all available surface freshwater and water withdrawals from underground sources have doubled over the past 40 years ● Over 25% of all fish stocks are overharvested. ● Since 1980, about 35 % of mangroves have been destroyed. ● About 20% of corals have been lost in 20 years and another 20% degraded. ● Nutrient pollution has led to eutrophication of waters and dead coastal zones. ● Species extinction rates are now 100–1,000 times above the background rate . ● We have had more effect on the ecosystems of Earth in the last 50 years than ever before. Some recommendations were to: ● Remove subsidies to agriculture, sheries and energy sources that harm the environment. ● Encourage landowners to manage property in ways that enhance the supply of ecosystem services, such as carbon storage and the generation of fresh water. ● Protect more areas from development, especially in the oceans. 15.11.2022 EF definition the impact of a person or community on the environment, expressed as the amount of land required to sustain their use of natural resources. EF is affected by the following three factors: resource intensity in the production of goods and services, consumption of goods and services per person, and population size. If the EF is greater than the area available to the population, this is an indication of unsustainability EF ( Ecological footprint) https://www.footprintcalculator.org/home/en https://footprintcalculator.henkel.com/en https://data.footprintnetwork.org/?_ga=2.108035970.1635574184.1668513715-480280354.1668513715# https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/ecological-footprint-by-country Outline how the following factors relate to the ecological footprint of a country Cropland Grazing Land Forest Buildup land Fisheries Carbon(CO2) uptake Explain the link between EF and sustainability https://data.footprintnetwork.org/# Compare the EF of two countries chosen(2LEDC’s, 2MEDC’s, 2 Highly populated) and explain the differences. You may find data to explain the differences and/or you may use your own knowledge about lifestyle differences between the two countries. Way to increase EF Ecological footprints can be increased by: ■ greater reliance on fossil fuels ■ increased use of technology and energy (but technology can also reduce the footprint) ■ high levels of imported resources (which have high transport costs) ■ large per capita production of carbon waste (high energy use, fossil fuel use) ■ large per capita consumption of food ■ a meat-rich diet Way to decrease EF Ecological footprints can be reduced by: ■ reducing use of resources ■ recycling resources ■ reusing resources ■ improving efficiency of resource use ■ reducing amount of pollution produced ■ transporting waste to other countries to deal with ■ improving country to increase carrying capacity ■ importing resources from other countries ■ reducing population to reduce resource use ■ using technology to increase carrying capacity ■ using technology to intensify land • Explain the relationship between natural capital, natural income and sustainability. • Discuss the value of ecosystem services to a society. • Discuss how environmental indicators such as MA can be used to evaluate the progress of a project to increase sustainability. • Evaluate the use of EIAs. • Explain the relationship between EFs and sustainability. Millenium Ecosystem Assessment - Presented at UN Millennium Summit in 2000 - 189 Nations signed the Declaration 8 Goals to be achieved by 2015: - 1: Eradicate Extreme Poverty & Hunger - 2: Universal Primary Education - 3: Gender Equality and Empower Women - 5: Improve Maternal Healthcare - 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases - 7: Ensure Environmental Sustainability - 8: Develop a Global Partnership for Development Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a tool used to assess the significant effects of a project or development proposal on the environment. EIAs make sure that project decision makers think about the likely effects on the environment at the earliest possible time and aim to avoid, reduce or offset those effects. This ensures that proposals are understood properly before decisions are made. EIA has 5 main stages. If an EIA is required, an Environmental Assessment Impact Report will be written and submitted with the application for development consent. The public will have the chance to comment. This makes sure you're given a chance to be involved in decision making. Decision Making Competent authorities decide whether to grant consent for a project. Information from the EIA process must be looked at when making a decision. Comments from statutory consultees and the public are also taken into account. In Germany there is a broad range of EIA development. This ranges from small-scale agricultural projects to major infrastructure. Evaluate the use of EIA EIA: A baseline study that assesses the environmental, social and economic impacts of a project, predicting and evaluating possible impacts and suggesting mitigation strategies for the project. Advantages: - Provides an opportunity to learn from experience of similar projects to avoid the high costs of mitigating unforeseen negative impacts. - Improves long-term viability of projects. Disadvantages: - Lack of a standard practice for practitioners. - Lack of a clear definition of system boundaries. - Lack of inclusion of indirect impacts. An ecological footprint (EF) is the area of land and water required to sustainably provide all resources at the rate at which they are being consumed by a given population. If the EF is greater than the area available to the population, this is an indication of unsustainability. - When humanity's ecological resource demands exceed what natural can supply(Natural capital) we reach an ecological overshoot. Impacts: - Carbon-induced climate change - Species extinction - Deforestation - The human GF has more than tripled since 1960. Sustainability vs Sustainable development Meeting the need of present Generations without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs Enough for all forever The possibility of maintaining the natural capital ever
