C1 Managing Resources

Characteristics of EIs

1. Location specific → most non-renewable resources are location specific

2. Capital and technology intensive → needed to discover and process resources

3. Dominated by large and private state-owned firms → as it requires large investments, usually only these firms can support

Economic impacts of EIs

Good

• Job creation for local economy

• Establishment of new industries, creating employment

• Important source of finance for the government

Bad

• Overreliance on EIs even though they are sensitive

• Limited direct contribution to local economy as TNCs usually set up their own facilities

• Limited revenue to government due to weak tax systems, illicit financial flows etc

• Resource curse → where EI have high potential, but overreliance on resources causes country to be stuck in primary product export specialisation

Social impacts of EIs

Bad

• Increases socioeconomic inequality

• Displaces populations due to competing use of land, increase in expatriate workers

• Impacts on health from mining, disease spreading

Environmental impacts of EIs

Bad

• GHG emissions from fossil fuels

• Pollution from heavy metal, acid mine drainage, eutrophication etc

• Habitat destruction of terrestrial and marine ecosystems

• Geomorphological impacts like slope failure

Strategies to manage EIs

1. Revenue management (put money earned from EIs into sovereign wealth fund to ensure sustainability of economy)

2. Diversification of economy (reduce dependence on one EI esp when price is volatile)

3. Strict environmental regulations (through law, get companies to submit environmental impact assessment)

4. Joint ventures with TNCs (to reduce economic leakage, agreements)

Transboundary water conflicts (TWCs) occur when… is affected

1. Quantity of water (dams results in lower water supply downstream, affects food security)

2. Quality of water (caused by pollution from waste or pesticides, excessive levels of salt etc, affects water and food security and health)

3. Timing of water flow (affected by dams, downstream may not get water when they need + irregular release destroys natural seasonal flows for ecosystems)

Strategies to manage TWCs

1. International Water Agreements (legally binding documents that ensures equitable water distribution + benefits and costs sharing, but ineffective if not all riparian states are part of and honour the agreement)

2. Cooperative Management Mechanism (provides a forum for negotiations to reduce conflict, dispute settlement, formulate joint policies, but ineffective if not all riparian states are part of and honour the agreement)

3. Sustainable Water Management (payment for ecosystem services where consumers compensate money to suppliers of ecological services of river, but limited by subjective definitions of what should be compensated for)

TWC case studies

• Nile river (conflict over GERD, benefits Ethiopia by providing electricity to them, but problems to Egypt as it will affect flow of water)

• Mekong river (conflict over China and Xayaburi dams in Laos, benefits C&L by providing hydropower electricity, problems to rest as it affects quantity quality timing of flow)

Solar Energy potential

• Abundance and availability of sunlight globally

• Technology used can be deployed on different scales (indiv → regional)

• Decreasing costs of PVs due to technological advances

• Reduced air pollution and related illness

• Energy independence compared to fossil fuels

• Incentives to invest in solar

Solar Energy limitations

• Intermittency of solar power (daily, seasonal, geographical)

• High initial investment costs

• Demand on land use

Solar energy trade offs

• initial cost VS long term saving

• benefit for env VS economic implications on business / non renewable energy providers

• energy access VS land use

• sustainable energy VS land use

• clean energy VS toxic waste disposal

Hydropower potential

• Renewable and abundant source as water is continuously avail

• Lower GHG emissions due to high energy conversion rate

• Large storage capacity + generates power immediately

Hydropower limitations

• Geographical limitations, need dam and river

• Climate dependence, need high rainfall and water flow

• High upfront costs, dams expensive

• Political challenges, link back to TWC

Hydropower trade offs

• high investment costs VS long term savings

• improved energy access VS impacts on local communities

• reducing GHG globally VS local regional impacts on ecosystem (sedimentation, erosive water flow, eutrophication, movement of fish)