Week 2

• Sustainability


  Meeting the needs of the present, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs- UN 1987 Brundtland Report
• Natural resources


  • Renewable
  • Non-renewable, exhaustible, can't be regenerated
• Renewable resources


  • Can return and revive. NZ- water, wind, biomass, flora and fauna
• Non-renewable resources


  • NZ- oil, gas, coal, gravel and sand
• Freshwater case study


  1. Significant water resources, utilised for drinking water, irrigation, industry and hydro

  2. Problems of high demand, overallocation and pollution

  3. Irrigated land area doubled

  4. Shift from sheep and beef to dairy (water intensive farming)

  5. Decrease in average annual precipitation

  6. Influences water flow, sediment movement, and groundwater

  7. Alters ecosystems and reduces habitats

  8. Cultural impacts as reduced mahina kai (tuna)

  9. Decreases recreational use
• Sand and gravel case study

  1. Highest extraction values after water, needed for infrastructure and industry which will be critical for achieving the SDGs

  2. Huge demand with 50 billion tons of sand used globally

  3. Resulting in loss of biodiversity, impacted water quality, altered landscapes

  4. Transport emissions of products

  5. Socioeconomic and cultural impacts
• Strategies for sustainable consumption

  • Decoupling- doing more with less, reducing resource use
  • Circular economy- model of production and consumption, which involves sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing materials and products as long as possible
• Links to UN SDG goals- goal 12, responsible production and consumption is especially key
• Environmental limits


  • Critical points where if there is pressure on a natural resource or system, there is unreasonable and irreversible change
  • Tipping point: occurs when a system reaches a critical threshold, small changes result in large and abrupt changes in the function and structure of a system
  • Precautionary principle- introduced in 1970s, in several international treaties and resource management act nz, calls for a risk, management approach which minimises harms to people and environment
  • Planetary boundaries- creating a safe operating space for humanity, e.g. Climate change, Ocean acidification, Stratospheric ozone depletion, Nitrogen cycle, Phosphorous cycle, Global freshwater use, Change in land use, Biodiversity loss, Atmospheric aerosol loading, Chemical pollution
• Sustainable strategies such as decoupling and the circular economy are vital, as development and consumption continues to increase. This threatens our environmental limits which can have devastating impacts if crossed. Therefore, the precautionary principle is vital as it prioritises a risk management approach for the protection of people and the environment.