Sustainable development and its importance in natural resource management
editSustainable development has been defined by the World Commission on Resources and Development to mean development that meets the needs of the present without compromising future generations [1]
The concept of sustainable development is important in natural resources management, in that it encourages a pattern of living that favours the preservation of habitat, the conservation of non-renewable resources, and the increased use of renewable energy resources (Renewable Energy, is generally a form or forms of energy that are not based on fossil fuels but are either renewable or sustainable without depleting a finite resource. Examples of renewable energy resources are Bio fuel; Geothermal Energy; Solar Energy; Tidal Energy; and Wind Energy.) Resources so that Earth’s ecosystems are not harmed beyond repair. Sustainable development favours the principle that polluters should pay for the right to pollute, when polluters are charged for polluting they would find alternative ways of producing, cleaner means of production. For example instead of producing cars that have high pollutants emissions, cars are produced with catalytic converters to reduce the engine's emission of pollutants (Microsoft Encarta, 2009), through this cleaner atmospheric air is maintain. Roger .P, et al(1996) state that to prevent the forests or any other natural resource from being over exploited sustainability have to be implemented, sustainability is maintained through interactions between natural resources / the environment, society and the economy, Jeffrey .S, et al (2004) states that Sustainable development aims at environmental protection, economic growth and social equity.
Environmental protection-: this is the act of protecting the environment from degradation, for example by recycling and by using recyclable material; Recycling conserves natural resources by reducing the need for new material. Some natural resources are renewable, meaning they can be replaced, and some are not. Paper, corrugated board, and other paper products come from renewable timber sources. Trees harvested to make those products can be replaced by growing more trees. Iron and aluminium come from non-renewable ore deposits. Once a deposit is mined, it cannot be replaced. Economic growth-: increase in the total amount of production (good & services) and wealth in an economy overtime. For example the use solar energy would be a costly investment for a nation but in the long run it means that a nation does have to spend a lot on power generation. Social equity-: people within a specific society or isolated group have the same status in a certain aspect. People from a society that recycles and uses renewable energy such solar energy to power the society, live in harmony as they in a relatively cleaner environment, with cheaper electricity. It is through sustainable development that policies like ecotourism are in place; ecotourism is defined by oxford dictionary as a form of tourism that encourages travellers to learn more about the tourist attraction and to respect the environment in the course of their exploration. Little or no harm is done to the natural resource; Namibia is a good example of a country with the policy of ecotourism, before the policy was implemented, tourist used to overexploit the Namib desert with quad bikes and 4×4’s, many organisms that live on the desert floor and dunes are killed some organisms lose their habitat through off road driving, off road in the desert also leaves the desert floor with an unattractive scenery of quad and 4×4 tracks, after the ecotourism policy was implemented biodiversity has been conserved in the Namib as only certain areas are restricted from off road driving. Conclusion In order to avoid depletion of the earth’s natural resources, natural resources have to be properly managed, managing natural resources is best done through the concept sustainable development which is based on environmental protection, economic growth and social equity. Environmental protection entails the following ways of managing natural resources; conservation and preservation of natural resources, taxing polluters heavily in order to restrain them from polluting, using renewable energy instead of fossil fuels and recycling.