The 1992 earth summit agreed on the concept of sustainable development as the base standing on the three pillars of economic viability, environmental sustainability, and social equity. However, the pillar of economic has always been stronger compared to the other two pillars. The emerging discipline of environmental economics helps to design a much better base by giving equal importance to all the three pillars. The subject of environmental economics seek to capture the essence of environment and the various services, and intends to offer many sensible way of dealing with changing conditions. The ecosystem services provide stream of goods and services which are very much important in the maintaining the economic prosperity and other aspects of human welfare. Goods typically refers the natural harvest such …show more content…
Irrespective of them being less tangible than material services, they are highly valued by people in all societies. Recreational facilities and tourism, aesthetic aspiration, inspiration, a sense of place and educational value are the diverse form of non-material services that people derive from ecosystems. Many traditional cultural practices have been linked to ecosystem services as they play important role in developing social capital and enhancing social well-being. The good functioning of ecosystem services ensures the well-being of its people in terms of their joy, conviviality and mutual help among each others. (Millennium Assessment Report, linking ecosystem services and human well-being) The capacity of human communities to form stable societies, to generate formal economies, and to plan for the future is underpinned by environmental stability, reliable supplies of natural materials, and the adequate functioning of the cleansing and recycling processes of nature. Thus all people and their societies are fundamentally dependent on ecosystem
There is this feeling we all experience when we step away from the chaos of rushing cars, infrastructure, and artificial lights, and we step into nature. Some describe it as bliss, comfort, excitement, pleasure or just pure happiness. This is the answer to the question Paul Bloom asks “Why should we care about nature?” in his article “Natural Happiness.” Paul goes through this process in which he uncovers the fact that “real natural habitats provide significant sources of pleasure for modern humans”, regardless of our need for food, clean water, and air. There are 3 main arguments that Paul makes in this article that I find particularly interesting, they include: “Our hunger for the natural is everywhere. In many regards our species has already kissed nature goodbye, and we are better off for it. There is a considerable mismatch between
Whether an organization is domestic or international they have social responsibilities to the communities they operate within and to the shielding of the world. Caterpillar, Inc. is one such company that puts social responsibility at the top of their priorities. They have an abundance of engineers and technologists working on solutions to improve on sustainability. According to the 2012 Sustainability Report (2012), “at Caterpillar, we always ask ourselves, ‘What do our customers need? What does the world need?’ World Resources Institute (WRI) asks those same questions about the communities it serves, and truly delivers some amazing results” (p. 19).
There is no hesitation when it comes to whether humans impact the global environment. However, it is questioned in whether human’s ecological footprint is either negatively or positively impacting. In clear perspective, humans share from both sides and their ecological footprint is noted towards whether it will benefit or harm the environment around them. Topics such as overpopulation, pollution, biomagnification, and deforestation are all human impacted and can harm the environment, but some include benefits into helping the world around us with solutions to their problems.
* Daily, Gretchen C., ed. Nature’s Services: Societal Dependence on Natural Ecosystems. Washington, D.C.: Island Press, 1997.
People have been relying for their daily needs and well-being on nature. The natural ecosystem provides varieties of goods and services to us, for instance, fresh water, fisheries, timber, water purification etc. The benefits that people directly get from the natural systems are called ecosystem services (ES).
There is no doubt that human activity is having a significant impact on our environment. These environmental impacts include depleting our natural resources, air and water pollution, climate change, destruction of habitats, and loss of biodiversity. Because of these growing concerns, we need to learn how to live sustainably. Living sustainably will allow us to conserve our limited resources more wisely so they will be available for future generations (Withgott & Brennan, 2011, Chapter 1).
This approach to development rejects the idea that development aims simply at the fulfilling of basic needs, such as food and shelter. It argues, on the basis of human solidarity, that all people should be involved in the integral and authentic development of all. Development, in this sense, gives attention to economic justice, ecological sustainability, and other values that go beyond speaking of development only in terms of economic growth. This ecological sustainability begins with relationships taking place at the atomic and molecular level, between plants and animals, and among species in ecological networks and systems. For example, he points out, “We need only recall how ecosystems interact in dispersing carbon dioxide, purifying water, controlling illnesses and epidemics, forming soil, breaking down waste, and in many other ways which we overlook or simply do not know about”
For sustaining the humans need to fullfill their needs using the resources of nature .
Economic valuation is an important component of environmental policy, although it is difficult to affix a cost on the environment and ecosystem services, it is a measurement that is relevant to most in society humans. Therefore, economic tools may be useful in reinforcing the importance of maintaining biodiversity and preserving fragile ecosystems.
Humans have always had a negative impact on the environment. The dependency on the environment has caused us to exploit it as natural resources. These resources are put in to product essential and non-essential goods for the human population. Many of these resources such as timber and fish stocks, are limited by time and can result to resource depletion (Field, 2008). The United Natios Millennium Ecosystem Assessment states that approximately 60% of the world’s ecosystems are uses at an unsustainable rate (David Suzuki Foundation, 2008). Restoration efforts and an adaptive sustainable (a balanced of environmental, social, and economical values) approach may allow for these resources to be replenished over time and be uses at a sustainable rate. The rate of replenished can also be called the rate of recovery in terms of ecosystem health and integrity. The practise of initiating or accelerating the recovery of an ecosystem is commonly referred to restoration ecology (Sager, 2012). The benefits of restoring degraded lands are the services that have been lost from resource extractions, these ecosystem services provide importance processes that are unrestricted to expenses, and are low maintenance (David Suzuki Foundation, 2008). The primary discussion of this report will be on the economic aspect relatively to ecosystem services of ecological restoration, the social, political, and technological aspects of ecological restoration will also be looked at will be discussed.
Ayres (2008) advances the concept of ‘sustainability economics’, which deals with the issue of maintaining economic growth while paying special attention to environmental concerns of energy utilization and resource exhaustion, especially carbon fuel consumption and its relation to climate change.
Social ecology is the conceptual principles for knowing the outcomes and relations of the many diverse individual and environmental factors. Social ecology is defined as the study of people within an environment, which have influence on one another. It’s believed to be the earth’s societies reflection upon itself, exploring, discovering, and considering its future (Gutkind, 1974). Factors of social ecology may include the infirmities of age, an increase of population, natural disasters, technology and the growth of society. Within social ecology it is important to notice which people are unable to see the environmental crisis. This movement is placing all the responsibility for destroying the earth on humans as they are overpopulating the planet. There is no possible way of convincing all humans to change their way of life (Bookchin, 1995). However, rather have humans distinguish and eliminate previous forms of control and destruction (Bookchin, 1995). The main standard of social ecology is the fact that problems occur from inherent social issues (Dogan, Rokkan, 1974). These problems cannot be understood without acknowledging the social issues. The development, of certain technologies, social characteristics, cities and science all has caused a vast majority of problems to the earth, which leads back to humans.
NEED AND PURPOSE FOR CONSERVATION OF BIODIVERSITY Biodiversity conservation is about saving life on Earth in all its forms and keeping natural ecosystems functioning and healthy. Biodiversity is being depleted by the loss of habitat, fragmentation of habitat, over exploitation of resources, human sponsored ecosystems, climatic changes, pollution, invasive exotic species, diseases, shifting cultivation, poaching of wildlife etc. Since the human beings are enjoying all the benefits from biodiversity, they should take proper care for the preservation of biodiversity in all its forms and should prevent the degradation as well as the destruction of the habitats, thereby maintaining the biodiversity at its optimum level which will ultimately conserve the biodiversity for the future generation. The United Nations designated 2011-2020 as the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity. In biodiversity, each species, no matter how big or small, has an important role to play in ecosystems.
Today biodiversity is being depleted by the loss of habitat, fragmentation of habitat, over exploitation of resources, human sponsored ecosystems , climatic changes, shifting cultivation, poaching of wild life etc. Biodiversity includes various other important things and services such as cultural, recreational, and spiritual nourishment that play a major role in maintaining our personal life as well as social life and since the human beings are enjoying all the benefits from biodiversity, they should take proper care for the preservation of biodiversity in all its form and good health for the future generation. We should conserve biodiversity because of its benefit for example services and biological resources which are essential to live our life on earth and maintain it at its threshold level and derive sustainable benefits for the present and future generation. Appropriate conservation and sustainable development strategies attempt to recognize this as being integral to any approach for preservation of biodiversity. Ever since the Conservation of Biodiversity has gained tremendous importance worldwide, steps have been taken for its
‘Development that meets the needs of the present with the ability for the future generation to meet their own needs.’ (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987) Sustainable development requires three key components: economy, society and environment, sustainable development can be success through striking balance in those factors. These three components are indispensible, they compel to depend on each other. On the other words, we can only gain a decent and energetic environment and society if the economy is strong with a healthy a stable growth rate.