Resource depletion
Resource depletion is the consumption of a resource faster than it can be replenished. Natural resources are commonly divided between renewable resources and non-renewable resources. The use of either of these forms of resources beyond their rate of replacement is considered to be resource depletion.[1] The value of a resource is a direct result of its availability in nature and the cost of extracting the resource. The more a resource is depleted the more the value of the resource increases.[2] There are several types of resource depletion, including but not limited to: mining for fossil fuels and minerals, deforestation, pollution or contamination of resources, wetland and ecosystem degradation, soil erosion, overconsumption, aquifer depletion, and the excessive or unnecessary use of resources. Resource depletion is most commonly used in reference to farming, fishing, mining, water usage, and the consumption of fossil fuels.[3] Depletion of wildlife populations is called defaunation.[4]
For other uses, see Depletion.Resource depletion also brings up topics regarding its history, specifically its roots in colonialism and the Industrial Revolution, depletion accounting, and the socioeconomic impacts of resource depletion, as well as the morality of resource consumption, how humanity will be impacted and what the future will look like if resource depletion continues at the current rate, Earth Overshoot Day, and when specific resources will be completely exhausted.
History of resource depletion[edit]
The depletion of resources has been an issue since the beginning of the 19th century amidst the First Industrial Revolution. The extraction of both renewable and non-renewable resources increased drastically, much further than thought possible pre-industrialization, due to the technological advancements and economic development that lead to an increased demand for natural resources.[5][6]
Although resource depletion has roots in both colonialism and the Industrial Revolution, it has only been of major concern since the 1970s.[7] Before this, many people believed in the "myth of inexhaustibility", which also has roots in colonialism. This can be explained as the belief that both renewable and non-renewable natural resources cannot be exhausted because there is seemingly an overabundance of these resources. This belief has caused people to not question resource depletion and ecosystem collapse when it occurred, and continues to prompt society to simply find these resources in areas which have not yet been depleted.[5][8]
Overfishing refers to the overconsumption and/or depletion of fish populations which occurs when fish are caught at a rate that exceeds their ability to breed and replenish their population naturally.[46] Regions particularly susceptible to overfishing include the Arctic, coastal east Africa, the Coral Triangle (located between the Pacific and Indian oceans), Central and Latin America, and the Caribbean.[47] The depletion of fish stocks can lead to long-term negative consequences for marine ecosystems, economies, and food security.[47] The depletion of resources hinders economic growth because growing economies leads to increased demand for natural, renewable resources like fish. Thus, when resources are depleted, it initiates a cycle of reduced resource availability, increased demand and higher prices due to scarcity, and lower economic growth.[48] Overfishing can lead to habitat and biodiversity loss, through specifically habitat degradation, which has an immense impact on marine/aquatic ecosystems. Habitat loss refers to when a natural habitat cannot sustain/support the species that live in it, and biodiversity loss refers to when there is a decrease in the population of a species in a specific area and/or the extinction of a species. Habitat degradation is caused by the depletion of resources, in which human activities are the primary driving force.[49][50] One major impact that the depletion of fish stocks causes is a dynamic change and erosion to marine food webs, which can ultimately lead to ecosystem collapse because of the imbalance created for other marine species.[46][51] Overfishing also causes instability in marine ecosystems because these ecosystems are less biodiverse and more fragile. This occurs mainly because, due to overfishing, many fish species are unable to naturally sustain their populations in these damaged ecosystems.[50][51]
Most common causes of overfishing:[46]
Resource scarcity as a moral problem[edit]
Researchers who produced an update of the Club of Rome's Limits to Growth report find that many people deny the existence of the problem of scarcity, including many leading scientists and politicians.[75] This may be due, for example, to an unwillingness to change one's own consumption patterns or to share scarce natural resources more equally, or to a psychological defence mechanism.
The scarcity of resources raises a central moral problem concerning the distribution and allocation of natural resources. Competition means that the most advanced get the most resources, which often means the developed West. The problem here is that the West has developed partly through colonial slave labour and violence, and partly through protectionist policies, which together have left many other, non-Western countries underdeveloped.[76]
In the future, international cooperation in sharing scarce resources will become increasingly important. Where scarcity is concentrated on the non-renewable resources that play the most important role in meeting needs, the most essential element for the realisation of human rights is an adequate and equitable allocation of scarcity. Inequality, taken to its extreme, causes intense discontent, which can lead to social unrest and even armed conflict. Many experts believe that ensuring equitable development is the only sure way to a peaceful distribution of scarcity.
Another approach to resource depletion is a combined process of de-resourcification and resourcification. Where one strives to put an end to the social processes of turning unsustainable things into resources, for example, non-renewable natural resources, and the other strives to instead develop processes of turning sustainable things into resources, for example, renewable human resources.[77]