Without natural resources there can be no development. Even so, today our society has difficulties considering the value of natural systems as the base of our development and wellbeing and, therefore, of our economy and future. For centuries resources appeared to be limitless. Water, air and land were fully “vital” and not polluted. The Earth was “full” and the world was “empty” (at the beginning of the 1800s, the human population had not yet reached its first billion). Today we have a “full” world and an “empty” Earth, and humanity lives in a highly precarious situation, where the need to assign value to nature is becoming a categorical imperative.
Reconsider the economy to create a new equilibrium.
For many economists, the time has come to rethink the logic and politics that have governed the economy thus far, to define a new economic setting capable of meeting the needs, with respect for the basic needs of each human being and the bio-physical limits of our planet. So it is necessary to consider the Natural Capital key, without which we cannot live. There is a limit to the environmental impact of our way of life, of producing and of creating progress, beyond which we cannot go, as there is a margin of destitution into which no one should fall. It is the balance between these two boundaries, as is well illustrated by Kate Raworth’s (Economist) donut economy metaphor and icon to redefine the filed in which action can be taken.
A commitment of capital importance.
The 17 Sustainable Development Goals, the reference framework for implementing Agenda 2030, aim to put an end to poverty, fight against inequality and to promote social and economic growth, remaining inside the limits of the planet’s biosphere, to avoid climate change, conserve forests and soil, and to protect biodiversity.
Specifically
the 15th UN objective – LIFE ON LAND
wants to protect, restore, and promote the sustainable use of Earth’s ecosystems, manage forests in a sustainable manner, fight against desertification, stopping and inverting soil degradation and stopping the loss of bio-diversity. A significant commitment, which requires consistent efforts by the various players – politicians, civilized society, and the world of business – to be able to address it suitably.
