The world is rich in resources for food, energy and water. As technology advanced and accessibility to these resources grew, exploitation and overuse became more apparent. The Global Footprint Network calculates that we use 1.7 Earths to provide resources and absorb waste.¹
Reasons for an increased demand for resources
The increasing demand for resources is due to:
1. Rising population – as the global population rises, more people means a greater need for resources.
2. Economic development – as populations become wealthier, more disposable income leads to increased consumption of resources.
This has led to land use changes, which threatens terrestrial carbon stores and affects both carbon and water cycles.
How the demand for resources changes land use
Land use change is usually triggered by human activity and can transform the natural landscape. In particular, let's look at an example of how forests are affected by the growing demand for resources.
Forest loss
Forest loss has become a problem partly due to the rising demand for biofuels such as palm oil. To meet this demand, oil palm trees are grown on deforested land. Tropical rainforests in South-East Asia are being deforested to form large scale palm oil plantations. This process leads to huge amounts of carbon dioxide released because rainforests are carbon pools. Deforestation also destroys any biodiversity that the rainforest houses.
Deforestation for palm oil plantation, Indonesia. Image: Aidenvironment, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
Forest recovery
As a reaction to forest loss, in May 2011, Indonesia's president declared a 'forest moratorium' to try to reduce deforestation. With the help of funding from the UN and the Norwegian government, this stopped permits being issued to clear primary forests for peatland for timber, wood pulp, or palm oil. In May 2015, the moratorium was extended and led to a reduction of carbon dioxide emissions of 26% by 2020. However, there were many loopholes – such as not stopping projects that were given permits before 2011 – and illegal logging continues. Due to this, there was only a reduction of 15% in clearance.²
The Kuznets curve
The Kuznets curve is a hypothesis developed by Simon Kuznets in the 1950s and 1960s. It describes how as economic development advances, there is a point when human development, water, and food supplies are stable. Many people have started to realise that environmental care for the planet is important.
Fig. 2 - The Kuznet's curve
Effects of deforestation
Deforestation is when a long-established woodland is removed.
The opposite of deforestation is reforestation which means replanting a forest. Afforestation is planting a forest that hasn't existed for a significant amount of time.
Impact on carbon stores
Deforestation has a major impact on the size of terrestrial carbon stores. Removing forests affects both fluxes and stores as there's a reduction in carbon dioxide absorbed by the stores and the atmosphere. The amount stored in biomass above and below ground decomposes to release more carbon dioxide.
Fig. 3 - Carbon stores and deforestation
Impact on water cycles
Deforestation decreases infiltration and interception, which causes soil erosion and surface runoff. This means more eroded material is carried in the river, as bed load, silt, and clay in suspension. This increases discharge and the risk of flooding. In addition, annual rainfall is reduced without vegetation returning the water to the atmosphere by evapotranspiration.
Impact on the biosphere
Deforestation can reduce species diversity (e.g. less resilient forest plants die off), so fewer animal species survive when habitats decrease. This can lead to biomass loss due to reduced plant growth and photosynthesis. This can lower the absorption of carbon dioxide, reducing the carbon store.
Other impacts of the demand for resources
The atmosphere
Deforestation can increase turbulence as the ground is heated, inducing convectional air currents. It also decreases oxygen content as transpiration rates are lower. Evapotranspiration rates are lower, making the air dryer and less humid.
In the ocean
Ocean acidification results from the ocean absorbing the increased carbon dioxide from human activities. This acidity leads to coral not absorbing the alkaline calcium carbonate it needs to maintain its skeleton. The coral then begins to dissolve.
On land
The amplification of the greenhouse effect by increasing carbon emissions leads to global climate change. This causes rising sea levels, frequent and intense storms, hurricanes, floods, droughts and heatwaves. Arid areas and semi-arid areas will likely expand to continental areas of Asia as well as parts of northern and sub-Saharan Africa.
Strategies for the future
Climate scientists have warned that the rapid melting of the Arctic ice cap could cause uncontrollable climate change. As energy consumption continues to rise, it is expected that greenhouse gas emissions will rise as well. To tackle this situation, the IPCC outlines two approaches:
Adaptive strategies
Mitigation strategies
Adaptive strategies
Adaptive strategies are strategies to adopt a new way of doing things to live with the possible outcomes of climate change. They include water conservation and management, land use planning and flood risk management, resilient agricultural systems and conservation cropping and solar radiation management.
Mitigation strategies
Mitigation strategies are strategies that re-balance the carbon cycle and reduce the effect of climate change. Examples of mitigation strategies would be carbon taxation, energy efficiency, afforestation and reforestation, renewable switching and carbon capture storage.
Demand for Resources - Key takeaways
- Rising population and economic growth are driving factors for the growing demand for resources.
- This demand for resources causes land use changes, threatening terrestrial carbon stores and affecting carbon and water cycles.
- This demand for resources is influencing the earth. It is apparent in ocean acidification and drought.
- The IPCC suggests strategies for the future to tackle this situation with adaptive and mitigation strategies
1. https://www.footprintnetwork.org/our-work/ecological-footprint/
2. https://news.mongabay.com/2019/08/indonesia-forest-clearing-ban-is-made-permanent-but-labeled-propaganda/
Images
Deforestation: https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10605283
The Kuznets curve: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuznets_curve#/media/File:Environmental_Kuznets_Curve.png
Carbon stores: https://www.grida.no/resources/6948
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