Human Dependancy on Ecosystems

Question 1

What is natural capital and why is it important within ecosystems? + Citation

Answer 1

Wackernagel and Rees, 1997
- Natural capital refers to the importance of natural resources and ecosystems in supporting human well-being and economic activities.

Question 2

What are the perceptual barriers and what are the challenges?

Answer 2

Wackernagel and Rees, 1997
- The way individuals and societies perceive and value natural capital, the lack of awareness and understanding of ecological services provided by ecosystems.
- Soctieis may undervalue natural capital overlooking essential benefits - clean water, air etc
- Limited recognition of long-term consequences of deception natural capital can lead to unsustainable exploration of resources?

Question 3

Structural Barriers

Answer 3

Wackernagel and Rees, 1997
- Institutional, economic and policy structures favour short-term economic gains over long-term environmental sustainability.
- Prioritize immediate profits - neglecting environmental impact

Question 4

Economic Systems and Market Failures

Answer 4

• We are reliant on an economic model that provides us with these resources - but it is so vulnerable to breaking
• We interact with this economic model - we pay suppliers - don’t even think about how we generate these materials
• The current economic system often fails to account for the full cost of resource use and environmental degradation
• Market failures such as lack of property rights for common resources contribute to the undervaluation of natural capital

Question 5

Ecological Footprint

Answer 5

• The cost of economy and consumption
  + Impact on nature values and environmental damage
  + Cost of imports and exports
  = amount of surface area that the economy needs
• The more wealthy and affluent - the higher the consumption then leads to a greater imbalance in our ecological footprint.
• Humanity often consumes resources at a rate exceeding the Earth’s regenerative capacity - leading to an ecological overshoot.

Question 6

A fact from Oxfam 2023

Answer 6

• The richest 1% account for somewhere about 40% of emissions - generating more emissions than 60% of the rest of the world.