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Preserving our Natural Capital | |
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| | From AESA Council’s Past Chair
by Bruce Beattie
Alberta Milk
‘Sustainable’ – a word used to describe many activities in today’s world, but often creating the most debate when combined with ‘development.’ For many years, leaders have been searching for policies that they hope will accommodate ‘sustainable development.’ Trying to find that delicate balance between sustainability and development can generate heated controversies and intense emotions between people with different views of humanity’s place and impact on the environment. But it’s clear that continued, rapid economic growth can potentially tip the balance too far toward development and too far away from sustainability.A 1987 report from the United Nations defined sustainability as:
“Meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.”
In meeting our present needs, we rely to a large extent on natural capital. Natural capital may be defined as the Earth’s plant, animal and mineral resources and the functions performed by natural ecosystems (like providing clean water and air), as well as the beauty of nature and the quality of life we draw from being in natural areas.
Alberta is blessed with an abundance of natural capital. Economists can put a monetary value on some types, like our oil and gas resources. Others are priceless. The protection of water, air, soil, biodiversity and the quality of life for our children and their children will depend on the foresight and dedication of the people who live here now and our commitment to future generations.
As Alberta’s population and economy grow, the pressures on ecosystems – and on those who live in and use them – will continue to mount. Forests that once protected steep slopes from erosion are cleared to make way for subdivisions that are prone to mudslides. Wetlands that once slowed the speed of spring runoff are filled in to make way for paved streets and parking lots that move water rapidly to rising rivers. These are small examples, but around the world, we see instances of serious and sometimes devastating social, economic and environmental consequences that occur when development overrides ecosystem health.
It is in response to increasing development pressures that landowners with common interests – like the health of their watershed – come together to ensure the sustainability of their farms. The Alberta Environmentally Sustainable Agriculture (AESA) Program is built on that concept of sustainability.
In this issue of Green Matters are stories of people working together to strike a balance between economic activity and preservation of the biosphere. They focus on the need for a coordinated effort linking all aspects of the biosphere into a common strategy. They emphasize planning on a broad landscape scale, as degradation of one part of a biosystem may have widespread consequences well beyond the immediate vicinity of the development. They recognize that, although government has key roles and responsibilities in managing our natural capital, it is also just one of the players at the table. Everyone has a part to play and a stake in the outcome.
In the years ahead, land use will doubtless be at the centre of debate between divergent and competing interests. We must do our best to protect what is truly essential, for the sake of those future generations who will pay the price if we fail. |
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For more information about the content of this document, contact Roger Bryan.
This document is maintained by Deb Sutton.
This information published to the web on November 15, 2005.
Last Reviewed/Revised on November 10, 2008.
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