Sustainable Development of Natural Resources

Sustainable development has been in the news for quite a long time . From the Brundtland Commission report to the recent Paris agreement, its importance has been steadily growing. There is now an urgent need to educate students about the need of it. This book helps the reader to get a grasp of sustainable development (in what areas?). Various dimensions related to sustainable development are covered. This book is divided into chapters with each chapter discussing some dimension related to sustainable development. The initial chapters deal with the concept of natural resources, their importance in our day-to-day lives and the need to safeguard them. There is a complete chapter dedicated to how development and sustainability complement each other; there cannot be permanent progress until and unless sustainability supports it. This book also talks about various indicators that show how the human race is and industrial development is overusing these natural resources . The book sheds light on various technologies that are being developed to ensure sustainable development across countries and companies; in the advent of using natural resources in the most prudent way, economists, scientists and industrialists have pledged to unify their efforts to ensure sustainable development.Another chapter contains a detailed discussion on environmental integrity and economic efficiency with respect to sustainable development. That is, how can we integrate various aspects of the environment and ensure sustainable development. The concept of economic efficiency shows how and why natural resources are essential to maintain equilibrium in an economy and why an economy cannot prosper without taking care of its natural resources. A separate chapter on case studies is also included to give an idea of how various organizations have actually taken up sustainable development and harnessed natural resources as their contribution to corporate social responsibility (CSR). Such real-life examples of challenges and opportunities related to sustainable development will help students understand the concept in a much better way and build upon their insights. A chapter is also included about recent developments to give the reader an overview of the latest happenings in this field. Various contemporary resources of energy are increasingly helping to solve energy issues without harming natural resources. They include biomass, solar power, wind energy and Hydro-energy to name a few. These resources, along with their importance, have been discussed in detail in this book. Most of the concepts are supported by diagrams, tables, charts and live examples to enhance and strengthen students’ learning in this concept. This book intends to teach that we, as world citizens, need to individually take responsibility for our actions and make a concerted effort to ensure efficient, cost-effective utilization of natural resources. Local authorities, cities, organizations and hierarchal government set-ups are other important catalysts (apart from students) that have a big onus to implement policies among the citizens across various regions. If today you are educated about the concept and its importance, you will surely try to paint a better, resilient and sustainable picture for tomorrow.

Daniel completed his MSc in Environmental Science from the University of the Philippines Diliman in 2016. His primary interests are ecological monitoring using remote sensing and the effects of climate variability on vegetation. He is engaged in the University of the Philippines as a Senior Science Research Specialist working on LiDAR mapping of agricultural resources.