Natural resources being depleted faster than meeting basic human needs, reveals new study

A recent study by the University of Leeds revealed that not a single country across the world has been able to meet the basic needs of its citizens without overusing natural resources in the last 30 years. It also warned that the alarming trend has the potential to harm ecosystems and create resource deprivation among disadvantaged people. The study, which was published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Nature Sustainability, is the first to track countries' development in terms of providing basic requirements and respecting environmental constraints. The study analyzed the samples of as many as 148 countries with a population of at least one million people. 

The study projected historical trends for each country's social and environmental indicators until 2050 and charted their performance on an annual basis. According to findings, no country has attained a neutral, sustainable level of natural resource, however, Costa Rica came closest among the 148 countries surveyed. The researchers believe that the global economic system will continue to drive ecological disintegration unless drastic reforms are made. Notably, the findings have also been displayed on an interactive website by the University of Leeds. 

Wealthy nations found to be increasing their environmental pressures

The study further noted that wealthy countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada are 'transgressing planetary boundaries while achieving limited social gains.' In other words, countries are increasing their environmental pressures without improving the quality of life for their populations. Meanwhile, poor countries like Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Malawi are living well within the boundaries but fall short of providing basic human needs to their citizens. 

It should be mentioned here that researchers analyzed the performance of countries on a set of 11 social priorities connected with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - a set of commitments countries agreed to in 2015 and promised to meet by 2030. Access to energy, democratic quality, and life expectancy was among the indicators used by the researchers. Simultaneously, the study also distributed six planetary boundaries to nations based on their percentage of the global population and then compared these boundaries to national resource usage. "Everyone requires a sufficient level of resources to be healthy and live a dignified life. But we also need to ensure global resource use is not so high that we cause climate and ecological breakdown," stated Dr Andrew Fanning, the lead author of the study.  

Image: Pixabay/Representative