Exhaustion of natural resources

The earth’s ecosystems provide services to mankind. They are our natural resources. However, we are nearing exhaustion more and more.

With services in the form of concrete products it is easy to imagine their finite availability, like wood from the forests or fish from the sea. Their exhaustibility is conceivable: cut-down forests no longer provide wood, empty seas yield no fish. With other ecosystem services it is harder to imagine how they are finite. Waterpurification through wetlands or climate-regulation through forests. These services are generally taken for granted, as something free of charge and infinite. It would not occur to anyone to pay for these services.

Increase in problems
According to the authoritative Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) of the United Nations, 60% of all ecosystem services has become degraded. 40-50% of the freshwater on earth is used by humans; this use has doubled in the last decade. 25% of the total land surface is used for agriculture. Unsustainable agricultural methods are the main cause of soil erosion. In the last twenty years, some 35% of mangrove forests and 20% of the coral reefs have disappeared. Human activities on earth have caused the extinction of plant and animal species to occur at a pace that is one hundred to one thousand times quicker than it would have been without any human influence. These changes have consequences for the availability of ecosystem services. According to the MA, we will, if the use of ecosystems does not become sustainable, in the next few years have to deal with an increase in problems concerning food and water scarcity, floods and soil erosion.

Collective responsibility
The Tragedy of the Commons is a frequent phenomenon where ecosystem services are used: In the event of a common use of a free product that is ostensibly available in unlimited quantities so that no sustainability rules apply, this product will become exhausted. No one in particular is to blame, but a tragedy of the commons can only be averted if the responsibility is carried collectively. To prevent further degradation of ecosystem services and to promote a sustainable exploitation of natural resources, it is necessary that collective responsibility is taken. The government could set a normative framework, but other stakeholders, such as companies and consumers, can contribute too. It may be necessary to attach an economic value to ecosystem services, so that it is easier to market the services – their value is explicit, after all. The state of New York may serve as an example of how sustainable exploitation can be stimulated. The city council of New York City had to make a decision on safeguarding the future water supply of the city, either by building a new, expensive water treatment plant or by improving the protection of the upstream forest area. The latter – and eventually cheaper – option was chosen. The investment in protecting the forest that catches, holds and filters the rain-water, guarantees the sustainable supply of drinking-water of New York City

What does IUCN NL do?
The cross-border consequences of the Dutch economy on ecosystem services are identified by the Ecology and Economy Department of IUCN NL. The department tries to raise awareness among companies and policy-makers about the consequences of certain decisions on land use. For instance, IUCN NL uses frequently occurring land conversion scenarios to show how the supply of ecosystem services is changing. Furthermore, IUCN NL hosts the secretariat of the Guiana Shield Initiative (GSI), an ambitious regional plan for the Guiana Shield with its rich biodiversity, which covers Venezuela, Colombia, the Guyanas, Surinam and North Brazil. The aim of this plan is the initiation of a mechanism of sustainable financing for the conservation of nature, eg. paying for ecosystem services.

IUCN NL is also putting in efforts to set up other long-term funding structures. The conservation of nature requires structural financing of projects. As a result, the projects will depend less on donors, and the long-term conservation of biodiversity will be guaranteed. A more business-like approach is indispensable for bringing about such funding. IUCN NL plays a facilitating role by collecting and spreading scientific and practical knowledge and information.

• Millennium Ecosystems Assessment
• An easy version of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
• Online Database: Biodiversity and Economics
• The Nature Valuation and Financing Network
• Guiana Shield Initiative
• Report: 'Dealing with energy needs in humanitarian crisis response operations'