Learning objectives: To investigate the dynamic nature of resources

To understand the concept of natural capital Recap What we learnt How we learnt it Questions I have

Natural capital Natural capital is not manufactured but is useful to humans. This yields natural income e.g. fruit, fresh water, Use the examples on the next slide. Sort them into different categories.

Describe the trend. Add some figures to support this. Why are there 3 possible projections for 2300?

They provide 80% of all western foods- like pineapple, coffee They are a source of Illegal drugs like cocaine Many indigenous people in rainforests live the way they have lived for centuries they can teach us a lot They provide saleable commodities like Rubber and timber Rainforests are places we can visit on treks and holidays, increasingly as eco-tourists 25% of all cancer fighting drugs One rainforest drug, Rosie Periwinkle improved childhood leukaemia sufferers survival chance from 10 to 90% Plants from rainforests are used in the contraceptive pill One rainforest drug is used to help diabetics Small monkeys called marmosets from rainforests are used to test drugs before human tests Over 50% of the biological diversity on Earth is found in tropical rainforests They provide homes for many endangered animals species- such as Orang-Utans, Bonobos, Poison Arrow frogs, etc They are a unique biome They regulate the hydrological cycle They provide nutrients for soil to be productive They store carbon, a contributor to global warming Divide into renewable replenishable, non renewable

Economic Ecological Scientific Intrinsic

Are these resources valuable to everyone? How might the value of some of these resources have changed over time?

Value of the environment Consider the systems in this list: Your home The Amazon rainforest Great Barrier Reef School Tokyo Hong Kong Sai Kung Country Park The Sahara Desert Antarctica Shanghai Put them in order of increasing ecological value Now in order of economic value. Come up with a list of criteria to value the systems Exam style question Explain why the value of the environment can be difficult to quantify Start lesson 2

See p40 and 41 on the resource booklet (wisdom) Answer the questions on the sheet

Intrinsic value

intrinsic value The intrinsic value of an animal refers to the value it possesses in its own right, as an end-in-itself, as opposed to its instrumental value, its value to other animals. The phrase has been adopted by animal rights advocates. ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intrinsic_value_(animal_ethics)

Sustainability relies on living within the natural income generated by capital and not using the capital What would be the consequences of removing natural capital? Fish, trees, mangroves. Create a spiral of decline or flow diagram

Natural capital provides a wide variety of valuable ecosystem services including flood control, climate stabilization, maintenance of soil fertility, and even beauty and play. Globally, and within the bioregion, natural capital is being depleted through over-harvesting, development, poor agricultural practices, toxic contamination, and other causes. Human capture

3 categories of Natural Capital Renewable - living species and ecosystems which can be replaced by natural productivity (photosynthesis!) as fast as they are used (e.g. food crops, timber). Replenishable - non-living resources which are can be continuously restored by natural processes as fast as they are used (e.g stratospheric ozone layer, groundwater).

Any use of these resources implies depletion of the stock. 3. Non-renewable - Resources which cannot be replenished at the same rate at which they were used. Any use of these resources implies depletion of the stock. e.g. fossil fuels, minerals. If these resources are being depleted we must: 1) improve efficiency of use 2) develop substitutes or 3) recycle

How can the environment be valued Create a fact file on the UNEP’s system http://unstats.un.org/unsd/envaccounting/seea.asp

The concept of sustainability Find a definition