Unit 1.4 Sustainability Flashcards
What is sustainability in the context of resource management?
Sustainability is the use and management of resources that allows full natural replacement of the resources exploited and full recovery of the ecosystems affected by their extraction and use.
What does sustainable development mean?
Sustainable development meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
What are environmental indicators and ecological footprints used for?
Environmental indicators and ecological footprints can be used to assess sustainability.
What is natural capital?
natural resources that can produce a sustainable natural income of goods or services. It includes both renewable resources (able to restock) and non-renewable resources (finite).
What is natural income?
the yield obtained from natural resources, similar to the interest earned on a savings account.
What is an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)?
An EIA is a process that evaluates the environmental, social, and economic impacts of a project, suggesting mitigation strategies and conducting ongoing monitoring.
What is an ecological footprint (EF)?
The ecological footprint (EF) is the amount of land and water that is required to support a human population at a given standard of living – providing all the resources and assimilating all the waste.If the EF exceeds the available area, it indicates unsustainability.
Non renewable resources
essentially irreplaceable except over geological timescales
Renewable resources
can be replaced as fast as they are used
Goods
marketable commodities that can be exploited by humans, like forests, fisheries, fertile soil and mineral deposits.
Services
natural processes that provide benefits for humans such as water replenishment, clean air and protection against erosion.
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MIA)
The MA was initiated by the UN in 2001 to:
Assess links between ecosystem change and human well-being.
Establish strategies for sustainable use of ecosystems.
What are ecosystem services, according to the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MIA)
Ecosystem services are “the benefits people obtain from ecosystems.
What are the four categories of ecosystem services?
Supporting – nutrient cycling, photosynthesis, soil formation.
Provisioning – food, water, timber, medicine, energy.
Regulating – clean air, water, carbon sequestration, climate regulation.
Cultural – recreation, knowledge building, cultural symbols.
