Syllabus concepts to know

• 7.1.1 Natural resources are the raw materials and sources of energy used and consumed by society.
• 7.1.2 Natural capital is the stock of natural resources available on Earth.
• 7.1.3 Natural capital provides natural income in terms of goods and services.
• 7.1.4 The terms “natural capital” and “natural income” imply a particular perspective on nature.
• 7.1.5 Ecosystems provide life-supporting ecosystem services.
• 7.1.6 All resources are finite.
• 7.1.7 Natural capital has aesthetic, cultural, economic, environmental, health, intrinsic, social, spiritual and technological value.
• 7.1.8 The value of natural capital is dynamic in that it can change over time.
• 7.1.9 The use of natural capital needs to be managed in order to ensure sustainability.
• 7.1.10 Resource security depends on the ability of societies to ensure the long-term availability of sufficient natural resources to meet demand.
• 7.1.11 The choices a society makes in using given natural resources are affected by many factors and reflect diverse perspectives.
• 7.1.12 A range of different management and intervention strategies can be used to directly influence society’s use of natural capital.
• 7.1.13 The SDGs provide a framework for action by all countries in global partnership for natural resources use and management.
• 7.1.14 Sustainable resource management in development projects is addressed in an environmental impact assessment (EIA).
• 7.1.15 Countries and regions have different guidance on the use of EIAs.
• 7.1.16 Making EIAs public allows local citizens to have a role as stakeholders in decision-making.
• 7.1.17 While a given resource may be renewable, the associated means of extracting, harvesting, transporting and processing it may be unsustainable.
• 7.1.18 Economic interests often favour short-term responses in production and consumption which undermine long-term sustainability.
• 7.1.19 Natural resource insecurity hinders socio-economic development and can lead to environmental degradation and geopolitical tensions and conflicts.
• 7.1.20 Resource security can be brought about by reductions in demand, increases in supply or changing technologies.
• 7.1.21 Economic globalization can increase supply, making countries increasingly interdependent, but it may reduce national resource security.