1.

4 sustainability

Page 95-97
 ● All systems can be viewed
through the lens of
sustainability

● Sustainable development meets

the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of

Significant ideas
future generations to meet their
own needs.

● Environmental indicators and

ecological footprints can be
used to assess sustainability.

● Environmental impact assessments

(EIA’s) play an important role
in sustainable development.
Learning intentions:
Describe the concept of sustainability.

Apply concept of sustainability to various case studies

using their ecological footprints and biocapacity
indicators.
 Environmental
Impact Assessments
Concept of
Plenary
Sustainability

10 mins 15 mins 15 mins 30 mins 10 mins

Sustainable Three Gorges Dam -

Development EIA Case Study
 Natural capital Natural income
● is a term used for
● Natural income is the
resources that can
yield obtained from
produce a sustainable
resources.
natural income of goods or
services.

Wood

Fruit

Medicines
 What is sustainability? Chegg, Environmental Science
14th Edition page 39

Sustainability is the use of natural resources in ways that

do not degrade the resources, so that they are

available for future generations.

Sustainability means living within the means of nature.

What is sustainability?
s t he
d u ce
dr e
s a n t e ly
plo i t im a
e x u l t
o v er- bl e is
t h at v a ila
c tice i t a la
pr a l c a p
n y a
A n a tur
s of .
form ina b l e
us t a
u n s
 INPUTS OUTPUTS

H ow many fish can we sustainably harvest

from the pond?
● Input is 200 + 100 (300)
● Output is 100 + 50 (150)
● 300 - 150 = 150 fish in the pond that could be harvested as sustainable natural income.
 Ecological footprint (EF)
- represents the
hypothetical area of land
required to sustainably
support a society, group, or
individual.

DEPENDS ON:

1. current rate of resource

consumption
2. current rate of waste
generation
 CLASS WORK - 10 minutes
1. Research the ecological footprint of your chosen country
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_ecolog
ical_footprint
2. Multiply this by the current population of your chosen
country to determine the total number of global hectares
needed.
3. The earth is 12.2 billion gha biocapacity. How many
earths would it take to support your chosen country at
its current rate of consumption?
How does this impact sustainability of this
system?
 Country Population Ecological Biocapacity per Ecological
footprint per capita GHA* credit/deficit GHA*
capita GHA*

Australia 22,741,000 8.3 16.1 7.8

China 1,399,290,000 2.5 0.9 ?

Sweden 9,449,000 6.5 10.5 4.0

United Kingdom 62,672,000 4.2 1.4 -2.8

USA 314,912,000 6.8 3.6 -3.2

The millenium ecosystem assessment
Davis and Nagle ESS page 44
- The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA)
gave a scientific appraisal of the condition and
trends in the world’s ecosystems and the
services they provide using environmental
indicators, as well as the scientific basis for
action to conserve and use them sustainably.
- The United Nations Secretary-General at the
time, Kofi Annan, called for the MA in 2000,
and it was initiated in 2001, with the aim of
assessing the consequences of ecosystem
change for human well-being.
- The MA also looked at how the conservation
and sustainable use of those systems could be
implemented
 The millenium ecosystem assessment
●Humans have changed ecosystems more rapidly in the past 50
years than in any previous period in history => substantial
and largely irreversible loss in the diversity of life on
Earth.

●Changes that have been made to ecosystems have contributed

to substantial overall gains in human well-being and
economic development, but at the cost of many ecosystems and
the services they provide. They have also increased poverty
of some groups of people. Read about the current status of
the Kalahari bushmen. Restoring ecosystems while meeting
increasing demands for services can be achieved, but will
involve significant changes in policies and practices.
Reversible ecosystem degradation
●The problems caused by ecosystem degradation will, unless
addressed, substantially reduce the benefits that future
generations obtain from ecosystems.

●Overall, human actions are depleting Earth’s natural

capital at a faster rate than it is being restored, which is
putting such strain on the environment that the ability of
the planet’s ecosystems to sustain future generations can no
longer be taken for granted.

However, the MA indicates that it may be possible to reverse

changes as long as appropriate actions are taken quickly.
 Environmental impact assessments
RELEVANCE
● EIAs provide decision-maker with information
in order to consider the environmental impact
of a project.
● Make predictions about the negative
consequences of a development project
● Can lead to changes in the project that will
avoid environmental impact
● Some countries incorporate EIA’s within their
framework: non-compliance leading to
penalties and measures
Guinness and
Walpole, ESS 2nd
Edition page 34
LIMITATIONS:
● There is not necessarily a requirement to
implement an EIA’s proposals and many
socio-economic factors may influence
the decisions made.
● Predictions can be argued against - stake
holders may argue that impact may not
be as dire as EIA’s report
● Some countries may just consider them
as guidelines or in some they may often
be ignored in favour of economic concerns
 ● habitat type and abundance –
record total area of each
habitat
Variables measured as part ● species list – record number
of a baseline study should of species (faunal and flora)
present
include: ● species diversity – estimate
the abundance of each species
and calculate diversity of the
community

● list of endangered species

 ● land use – assess land use
type and use coverage

Variables measured as part ● hydrology – assess

of a baseline study should

hydrological conditions in terms
of volume, discharge, flows, and

include: water quality

● human population – assess

present population

● soil – quality, fertility, and

pH.
 Sustainable development Chegg, Environmental Science
14th Edition page 40

Sustainable development means ‘meeting the needs of the

present without compromising the ability of future generations
to meet their own needs’.

Three pillars: economic development,

social development and
environmental protection
 ENVIRONMENT
ECONOMICS

SOCIETY

Page 96 ess essentials

 Home LEARNING Environment Impacts Assessment (EIA) of Three Gorges Dam
(TGD), China

Was the Three Gorges Dam The Three Gorges Project: Development and
an example of sustainable Environmental Issues 2007
development? https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/46721776.pdf

Research this and prepare for a

Environmental Impact Assessments of the Three
Harkness on this next week
Gorges Project in China: Issues and
Interventions
Questions:
-this article compares the original EIA with
the actual measured impacts.
1. What is sustainable development?
2. Why was the TGD built? Benefits of the TGD?
3. What were the Environmental Impacts of TGD
compared to the Environmental Impact Assessments?
4. To what extent should environmental concerns
limit development projects?
EIA CASE STUDY: three gorges dam, yangtze river,
china - positive impacts
- The largest hydroelectric power generating dam in the world is located at Three Gorges on the Yangtze River.
- reduces coal consumption by 31 million tonnes per year, avoiding 100 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions,[74] millions
of tonnes of dust, one million tonnes of sulfur dioxide, 370,000 tonnes of nitric oxide, 10,000 tonnes of carbon monoxide, and
a significant amount of mercury.[75] Hydropower saves the energy needed to mine, wash, and transport the coal from northern
China.
- ANTHROPOCENTRIC: 1.2 million have to be resettled, many historical sites will eventually be buried in the reservoir, local
residents were disproportionately affected by the TGP, 28,938 farmers lost their land and were resettled in the urban areas.
Consequently, 77,800 rural residents could not be resettled in the agricultural sector in terms of the threshold (0.17ha) of land
needed to resettle a farmer
- Control flooding
- Provide energy→ hydroelectric power
- Boost agriculture→ The reservoir is so large that it raises temperatures and affects humidity, wind
patterns and agriculture in the area. This may help farmers by bringing more rainfall.
- Provides a stable source of drinking water
- Boost trade and transportation→ create job opportunities→ tourism
EIA CASE STUDY: three gorges dam, yangtze river,
china - Negative impacts
- A number of species will be adversely affected by the construction of the dam. There are
300 species of fish in the Yangtze River. The dam will create a barrier in the river that these
species will not be able to cross. Fish will not be able to travel upstream to spawn, so the
populations of the species will decrease.
- Towns and forests located in areas that will be inundated will have to be demolished and
removed in order to increase navigability on the river. The loss of forests and agricultural
lands will lead to erosion and the buildup of sediment at the base of the river and reservoir.
- This could lead to increased flooding upstream.
- The blocking of sediments behind the dam means that these nutrients may not reach fertile
farmland downstream of the dam. This could reduce the fertility of the land.

three gorges dam has been in operation since 2003