Management of natural resources is the frontline of the struggle for more sustainable and equitable development.

All our actions ultimately have consequences on the quality and quantity of natural resources on the planet. And environmental degradation is one of the first indications of unsustainable social and economic systems.

Many have concluded that non-renewable resources minerals and petroleum are unlikely to be depleted because as their costs rise, we will find substitutes, we will recycle, or we will make new sources accessible. Yet the extraction of these resources places a heavy toll on natural and social systems.

Indicators show, however, that renewable resources water, forests, topsoil, fisheries are under extreme pressure under our current practices, and their productivity is in decline. These resources are the basis for life on this planet, and their exploitation constitutes the primary source of livelihoods for most of the world's population. As human population doubles, and as we seek to improve the welfare of the three billion people who live on less than two dollars a day, pressure on these resources shall only increase.

Escaping this trap will require great ingenuity and cooperation across nations and cultures. For failure to manage these resources sustainably and equitably is in many cases already leading to conflict and disaster. Resolution of this challenge will be the key to sustainability.
Web: http://www.iisd.org/natres/