On Natural Capital

by A.S. Cajes 

Foto by www.forumforthefuture.org

Human beings use the material resources of the planet for their subsistence. However, they do not only use the material resources in order to live. Human life, itself, is sustained by the fundamental ecological processes of nature, such as the natural capacities and services.

Natural capital is essential for the satisfaction of fundamental human needs. But the long-term fulfillment of fundamental human needs depends on the ability of people to sustainably use and manage the natural capital. The sustainable use of natural capital observes 5 principles:

• Consumption of renewable resources should not exceed their capacity to regenerate.

• Consumption of renewable resources must not degrade the biodiversity of the ecosystem.

• Consumption of nonrenewable resources should be minimal.

• A “proportion of nonrenewable resources should be set aside for the physical manufacture of renewable substitutes and the development of such substitutes should be given priority in resource consumption.”

• Consumption of nonrenewable resources should be within minimum strategic levels.

The sustainable management of natural capital observes four principles:

• The assimilative and regenerative capacity of the environment should not be degraded.

• The assimilative and regenerative capacities of the environment should not be used for the dispersal of stock wastes or non-biodegradable substances.

• The natural life-support systems must not be destabilized.

• Environmental quality must not be degraded (Reid, 1995: 105).

In other words, sustainable development implies that the environment

“should be protected in such a condition and to such a degree that environmental capacities (the ability of the environment to perform its various functions) are maintained over time: at least at levels sufficient to avoid future catastrophe, and at most at levels which give future generations the opportunity to enjoy an equal measure of environmental consumption (Jacobs, 1991: 80).”

Environmental protection, therefore, is indispensable to sustainable development. In fact, the idea of sustainability emerged “out of the need to define what is meant by environmental protection (Ibid.).”

References

Jacobs, Michael. The Green Economy: Environment,  Sustainable Development, and the Politics of the Future. London: Pluto Press, 1991.

Reid, David. Sustainable Development, An Introductory Guide. London: Earthscan Publications, Ltd., 1995.