Global Resources GLOBAL GOVERNANCE SERIES
Food supply and distribution> agriculture> horticulture> coastal and marine ecosystems> forests, grasslands and drylands> mountains>
minerals> non-renewable energy> renewable energy> sustainable consumption> energy security> habitat
Gold Mercury’s Global Governance Series is designed to offer an informative and invaluable insight into how our world works. The series is structured according to Gold Mercury’s Global Governance Model™ which identifies eight Global Governance challenge areas and a number of corresponding subareas. In each area we address where major policy discussion emanates from, who the key actors are, what developments and challenges we can expect the future to present and which actors are making a considerable contribution to finding global solutions to global challenges.
Global Governance Model ™
8
Global Governance Areas
Global Environment
Global Peace & Security
International Law & Humanitarian Affairs
Global Health
SYNERGY DESIGN
Global Economic & Social Policy
Global Science & Technology
Global Culture Global Resources
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Towards an Understanding of the Contemporary State of Global Resources Scientists have become increasingly more vocal about the concerns of limited resources and sustainable development for renewable resources. Warnings have emerged with increasing intensity regarding cultivation, production and consumption of both renewable and non-renewable resources.
As our global community becomes more interconnected it is important to understand resource flows around the world: where everything comes from, how much of it there is, and what kind of impact consuming it has on the earth and local community. Until the 1950s, in the aftermath of two World Wars, most natural resources seemed limitless, including fossil fuels. As the industrialization of the third world accelerated and consumption grew around the world, people began to look at the driving forces behind these processes, mainly the resource reserves. In 1972 the Club of Rome published an influential and highly prescient report entitled The Limits to Growth. While inaccurate in some respects, it >
4 GOLD MERCURY INTERNATIONAL Eight Global Governance Areas: Global Resources
represented one of the first warnings from the scientific community to society that continued consumption at the then-current rate would lead to resource scarcity in the future. The authors cite “five major trends of global concern - accelerating industrialization, rapid population growth, widespread malnutrition, depletion of non-renewable resources, and a deteriorating environment.” They also considered the interdependency of these factors and the impact that exponential growth, both population and industrial, would have on the world; if the status quo was maintained, the world would reach its growth limit in 100 years (Meadows et al., 1972). The only way to prevent or minimize this occurrence was to begin implementing a regime of sustainable development, a paradigm formally introduced at the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (UNCHE) in 1972. Scientists have become increasingly more vocal about the concerns of limited resources and sustainable development for renewable resources. Warnings have emerged with increasing intensity regarding cultivation, production and consumption of both renewable and non-renewable resources. These warnings gained particular gravity with the onset of two particular incidences: the oil shock of the 1970s and the publicity surrounding human-induced global warming. From desertification to pollution to an inability to access certain resources and achieve a higher standard of living, resource availability affects the daily lives of the world’s 6.77 billion-strong population. Increasing advocacy for sustainable living highlights the economic incentives for the individual and underpins efforts to protect the earth’s ecosystems and ensures the livelihood of people across the globe.
5 GOLD MERCURY INTERNATIONAL Eight Global Governance Areas: Global Resources
Food and Water: Supply and Distribution Both the supply and distribution of food and water, in the context of an ever-growing population and cross-national economic disparities, are fundamental to sustainable development. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has recognized the need for people to have access to suitable food and water supplies, the occurrence of which promotes food security when, “all people, at all times, have access to sufficient, Many children die of malnutrition and safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs rising food prices make it even more and food preferences for an active and healthy life” (FAO). In addition, The United Nations Millennium difficult to provide for families. Development Goals (MDGs) seek to address food supply and clean water. Individuals need access to both food and water as well as the buying power to make the purchase of goods that are not over-priced and serve to limit access to food transfers (especially where agriculture is heavily subsidized by the government). Water scarcity in particular has emerged as a potential global crisis with serious implications for food security, human health and socioeconomic development. The UN estimates that 2.7 billion people will face water scarcity by 2025. Food Supply, Agriculture and Horticulture Food supplies have generally grown to meet the increased demand for agricultural products. The FAO notes that there are favourable prospects for global food supplies yet pressure has increased on the agricultural industry because of a growing global population and increased standards of living. This is creating more competition for resources and causing prices for agricultural goods to rise. In 2008 the FAO reported the state of food security to be as follows: world hunger is increasing, high food prices share much of the blame and the poorest households are the most affected. >