BRAINCAKESustainability
Sustainability means using resources in a way that meets the needs of people today without reducing the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. A sustainable resource is one that is renewed as fast as it is used, so it will not run out.
Sustainable management of an ecosystem aims to provide resources for humans (such as timber, fish or grazing land) while maintaining the biodiversity and the long-term health of the ecosystem.
For example, timber can be sustainable if trees are replanted or allowed to regrow at the same rate as they are harvested; fish stocks can be sustainable if fish are caught no faster than they can reproduce.
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Key terms in this lesson
- biodiversity
- The number of different species living in an area, sometimes also considering how evenly individuals are distributed among them.
More in Populations and Sustainability
- Interspecific Competition
- Intraspecific Competition
- Conservation
- Preservation
- Sustainable Timber Production - Coppicing
- Sustainable Fishing
- Managing Ecosystems - Masai Mara
- Managing Ecosystems - Terai Region
All 17 lessons in Populations and Sustainability · All OCR A-level Biology topics