Kristin PageIB ESS2015-2016

1.4 Sustainability

• 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 (EIA’s) play an important role in sustainable development.

Significant Ideas

• Define the terms; sustainability, natural capital, natural income, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), and ecological footprint (EF)

• Give examples of both goods and services that ecosystems provide

• List & explain factors that may be used as environmental indicators of sustainability

• Discuss the importance of the Millennium Development Goals

• Outline the EIA process

• Discuss how an EF indicates the sustainability of a population

Knowledge & Understanding

• Explain the relationship between natural capital, natural income, and sustainability.

• Discuss the value of ecosystem services to a society.

• Discuss how environmental indicators can be used to evaluate the progress of a project to increase sustainability, eg Millennium Ecosystem Assessment.

• Evaluate the use of EIA’s

• Explain the relationship between ecological footprint (EF) and sustainability.

Application & Skills

What is Sustainability?• The ability to maintained at a certain rate or level.

• All living things depend either directly or indirectly on Earth’s resources, therefore we can get more specific and state that sustainability means that we are able to maintain use of Earth’s resources as a rate that will prevent future generations from running out.

• This has several key points◦ Earth’s Resources are limited (finite amount of matter)

◦ It takes TIME for Earth’s resources to be replenished

◦ We can only use resources at a rate that will prevent their depletion

Sustainable Development• The original definition of Sustainable Development came from the Rio Earth Summit

• "Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." Bruntland Report for the World Commission on Environment and Development (1992)

Important Vocabulary• Natural Capital:  the source or stocks of resources and services that are derived from nature and can produce sustainable natural income. (examples: a forest, a kelp bed, mineral deposits, fisheries, fertile soil)

• Natural Income: the goods and services provided by the environment (examples: timber, grain, erosion prevention, oxygen, climate regulation, water purification)

Where Are We Now?• On August 13th we used up our resources for 2015• This means that we are currently using future

generations’ resources• Based on current demand on Earth, we need 1.6

Earth’s to support humanity• This Concept is called Ecological Overshoot

http://www.overshootday.org/

Where Are We Now?

http://ecobnb.com/blog/2014/10/earth-overshoot-day/

How Do We Know How We are Doing?

• We can measure sustainability on a range of scales, from individuals, to local communities, to global.

• Why is looking at these different scales important?

• Which scale will be most accurate (large or small)?

Millennium Development Goals• Presented at UN Millennium Summit in 2000

• 189 Nations signed the Declaration

• 8 Goals to be achieved by 2015:◦ Goal 1: Eradicate Extreme Poverty & Hunger

◦ Goal 2: Universal Primary Education

◦ Goal 3: Gender Equality and Empower Women

◦ Goal 4: Reduce Child Mortality

◦ Goal 5: Improve Maternal Healthcare

◦ Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases

◦ Goal 7: Ensure Environmental Sustainability

◦ Goal 8: Develop a Global Partnership for Development

http://www.undp.org/mdg

Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA)• Initiated in 2001 by UN

• Objective: “to assess the consequences of ecosystem change for human well-being and the scientific basis for action needed to enhance the conservation and sustainable use of those systems and their contribution to human well-being.”

General Findings:

• Humans are using natural resources unsustainably.

• 60% of the world’s ecosystems have been degraded

• This has resulted in a decrease of biodiversity on earth.

• Short term economic gains at expense of some social groups and the environment

• The degradation of ecosystem services could grow significantly worse during the first half of this century and is a barrier to achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

http://www.millenniumassessment.org/

Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA)

• An EIA is a report prepared BEFORE a development project or large change in the way an area of land is used.

Purpose:

• To aid in planning of development

• To understand the environmental impact that may occur from a project before it is put into place

• To help determine ways to minimize the damage done to the environment

If We Know This Why Don’t We Stop?

• Habits – it is hard to change

• Tragedy of the Commons – individuals act based on their own needs/wants without consideration of who it will affect the whole group

• $$$ - Do we have a value for soil? Water? Air?

Examples of Projects that would conduct an EIA

Examples of Projects that would conduct an EIA

Examples of Projects that would conduct an EIA

Examples of Projects that would conduct an EIA

Examples of Projects that would conduct an EIA

Examples of Projects that would conduct an EIA

EIA Process• Conduct a baseline study – what is the environment

like now

• Predict the positive and negative impacts of proposed development

• Possible impacts on human life and the environment

• Ways to reduce negative impacts

• Economic benefits and other benefits of the project

EIA Summary• Support the goals of environmental protection and

sustainable development

• Integrate environmental protection and economic decisions at the earliest stages of planning

• To predict environmental, social, economic and cultural consequences

• To mitigate any adverse impacts

• To provide involvement of the public and government agencies

Weaknesses of EIAs• Different standards in different countries• Where is boundary of impact zone?• Expensive!• EIA = a model

Ecological Footprint (EF)• The amount of land and water a given population

requires to produce all the resources they consume and take in all the waste they make.

• The space required to support all the inputs and outputs of a population.

• Using this model, it is possible to estimate how much of the Earth (or how many planet Earths) it would take to support humanity if everybody followed a given lifestyle. Currently estimated at 1.6 planet Earths.

Ecological Footprint (EF)• When humanity's ecological resource demands

exceed what nature can supply, we reach ecological overshoot

• The effects: carbon-induced climate change, species extinction, deforestation, dead coral reefs and the loss of groundwater

• The human footprint has more than tripled since 1960

Components of the Ecological Footprint(six human activities that require space)1. Growing Crops

2. Grazing Animals

3. Harvesting Timber

4. Catching Fish

5. Accommodating Infrastructure (housing, transportation systems, industry, built up land…)

6. Absorbing Carbon Dioxide Emissions (burning fossil fuels)

HOMEWORKEcological Footprint Calculations

Activity