Description
This report is a socioeconomic and political analysis
of environmental sustainability in terms of the present state of the
environment, what we can do to reverse the negative trends, and what the
current and potential barriers are. First, it offers a background of the issue
through a historical perspective. How we got here has a lot to do with how previous
generations behaved towards the environment. Similarly, how we behave will
determine the kind of environment future generations will have to contend with.
It looks at the dynamics likely to impact the balance of nature. Also, because
understanding what is biodiversity and why is it important are essential in
order to grasp the concept of sustainability, this report looks at the types of
ecosystems that form the biosphere and brings an answer to this important
question, “Is the Maximum sustainable yield (MSY) concept a fallacy?” Moreover,
the importance of cities is a key factor in environmental sustainability. So, the
report shows the pros and cons of cities in both the preservation of the
environment and the conservation of its biodiversity.
The social, economic, and political analyses use the
latest data and views from experts, scientists, and scholars alike and also the
views of the common people. The result is that all three levels have positives
and negatives and so, none of them should be individually prioritized over the
other two. To tackle this dilemma, the report offers an alternative: an
inclusive, pluralistic, and global approach which aims at motivating all stakeholders
– from rich and poor countries – and people from all walks of life to work
together towards a common goal and common interests. Such an approach, says the
report should be bottom-up instead of top-down, that is, the needs of local
populations, especially those closer to biodiversity, must come first before
those of large corporations. However, while in the present and short terms,
this approach may be successful, in the long term or a distant future, there
are reasons to be skeptical for the environment is constantly changing and
generations are different from one another. And that is very important because what
constitutes the cornerstone of environmental sustainability is this: the
present use of natural resources should not be harmful to future generations.
Therefore, the report looks into the future. While acknowledging that, in terms
of environmental sustainability, predicting the future is a daunting task –
because it is better to think that the future is now – the report shows how we
can prepare a soft landing for our great grand-children by laying the
groundwork for them. We can accomplish this last task because we still have
time.
Abstract
The instrumental value of biodiversity has been the
cornerstone of major debates over its loss, which, without doubt, will
negatively impact our environment by either reducing or doing away with
ecosystems services that most of us relish, so much so that our well-being
depends on it. Nevertheless, all living things on this planet have been subject
to an unprecedented assault at the hand of humanity. The assault is both direct
and indirect. Direct because we drive vulnerable species to the brink of
extinction by overhunting and overfishing them. Indirect because some of our
activities causes the climate to change, thus affecting both land and marine
flora and fauna. And this has been going on for centuries – at least since the
start of the Industrial Revolution. Added to our insatiable desire to
continuously alter the environment, is population growth, which has been a
catalyst in the degradation of the environment for more people means more food,
thus, more land for agricultural use and more land needed for accommodation and
to build cities. The past century was marked by population size increase and
technological capabilities of our species, two factors that put the extinction
of other species on the fast track. That has prompted scientists to talk about
the sixth great extinction wave, which is, of course, different from the first
five because they were caused by natural events and not by intelligent species’
activities. This report has for goal to consider the chances that our
environment will be sustainable or viable in the future and the potential
obstacles it might encounter at three different levels: social, economic, and
political.
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