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Related Concept Videos

Sustainable Development01:43

Sustainable Development

As the human population continues to grow and use resources, we must be mindful of our planet’s natural limits. Sustainable development provides a pathway to maintain and improve human life now while also ensuring that future generations will have the resources that they need. The long-term success of sustainability efforts rests on understanding the interplay between human actions and ecological systems.
Biodiversity and Human Values01:24

Biodiversity and Human Values

Human civilization relies on biodiversity in many ways. Sudden changes in species biodiversity result in environmental changes that can modify weather patterns and therefore human civilizations.
The Soil Ecosystem02:23

The Soil Ecosystem

Plants obtain inorganic minerals and water from the soil, which acts as a natural medium for land plants. The composition and quality of soil depend not only on the chemical constituents but also on the presence of living organisms. In general, soils contain three major components:
Overview of Fungi01:29

Overview of Fungi

Fungi are a diverse group of eukaryotes more closely related to animals than other eukaryotes. Fungal cell walls comprise chitin, a polysaccharide that provides structural strength, and glucans, which contribute to flexibility and integrity. Other polysaccharides, such as mannans and galactosans, may supplement or replace chitin in some fungi. These adaptations, along with their preference for acidic environments and tolerance for high osmotic pressure, enable fungi to thrive in various...
Environmental Applications of Microorganisms01:30

Environmental Applications of Microorganisms

Microorganisms play a pivotal role in maintaining ecosystem balance by recycling essential elements such as carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus, as well as supporting processes like bioremediation, wastewater treatment, and biofuel production.Microbes in Elemental CyclesIn the carbon cycle, microorganisms decompose organic matter, releasing carbon dioxide via aerobic respiration. This carbon dioxide is subsequently used by photosynthetic organisms to synthesize organic compounds, closing the...
Soil Microbial Ecology01:29

Soil Microbial Ecology

Soil microbial ecology is defined by highly diverse, spatially structured communities that drive nutrient cycling, organic matter turnover, and overall ecosystem stability. Although a gram of soil can contain thousands of bacterial and archaeal taxa, the ecological processes they mediate are even more crucial for sustaining terrestrial life.Microhabitats and NichesSoil is a heterogeneous mixture of minerals, organic matter, water, and air. Microbes inhabit distinct microhabitats formed by...

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Nature's role in sustaining economic development.

Partha Dasgupta1

  • 1Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK. partha.dasgupta@econ.cam.ac.uk

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences
|December 17, 2009
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Sustainable development requires increasing comprehensive wealth per capita, which includes natural capital. Current indicators like GDP and HDI can mask declining wealth, hindering true progress assessment.

Related Experiment Videos

Area of Science:

  • Environmental Economics
  • Development Economics
  • Sustainability Science

Background:

  • Sustainable development is often assessed using indicators like GDP and HDI.
  • These indicators may not fully capture long-term well-being or resource depletion.
  • Intergenerational well-being is a key concept for defining sustainable development.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To formalize sustainable development using intergenerational well-being.
  • To demonstrate the link between intergenerational well-being and comprehensive wealth per capita.
  • To evaluate the adequacy of current development indicators.

Main Methods:

  • Formalization of sustainable development in terms of intergenerational well-being.
  • Argument for comprehensive wealth per capita as a measure of intergenerational well-being.
  • Analysis of data from developing countries (1970-2000) comparing wealth, GDP, and HDI.

Main Results:

  • Intergenerational well-being increases if and only if comprehensive wealth per capita increases.
  • Comprehensive wealth per capita can decline despite rising GDP per capita and HDI.
  • Wealth per capita declined in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa (1970-2000) while HDI improved.

Conclusions:

  • Current development indicators (GDP, HDI) are insufficient for assessing sustainability.
  • National statistical offices and international organizations should routinely estimate comprehensive wealth.
  • Accurate measurement of comprehensive wealth is crucial for informed policy decisions.