Planetary boundaries revisited: a view through the ‘water lens’

Bogárdi, János J.; Fekete, B M; Vörösmarty, Charles J

doi:10.1016/j.cosust.2013.10.006

Cited by 47 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…It has been demonstrated that 90% of the green water availability throughout the world is required to maintain the operation of critical ecosystem services irrespective of human actions [39,40], and that a reference value for the green water availability is not yet available [12]. All this allows the blue water availability to be an approximation to the national water boundary, defined as annually renewable water supply minus environmental flow requirements for ecological health within the border of a country [41].…”

Section: Quantifying National Water and Land Boundaries On A Resourcementioning

confidence: 99%

The Environmental Sustainability of Nations: Benchmarking the Carbon, Water and Land Footprints against Allocated Planetary Boundaries

et al. 2015

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Growing scientific evidence for the indispensable role of environmental sustainability in sustainable development calls for appropriate frameworks and indicators for environmental sustainability assessment (ESA). In this paper, we operationalize and update the footprint-boundary ESA framework, with a particular focus on its methodological and application extensions to the national level. By using the latest datasets available, the planetary boundaries for carbon emissions, water use and land use are allocated to 28 selected countries in comparison to the corresponding environmental footprints. The environmental sustainability ratio (ESR)-an internationally comparable indicator representing the sustainability gap between contemporary anthropogenic interference and critical capacity thresholds-allows one to map the reserve or transgression of the nation-specific environmental boundaries. While the geographical distribution of the three ESRs varies across nations, in general, the worldwide unsustainability of carbon emissions is largely driven by economic development, while resource endowments play a more central role in explaining national performance on water and land use. The main value added of this paper is to provide concrete evidence of the usefulness of the proposed framework in OPEN ACCESSSustainability 2015, 7 11286 allocating overall responsibility for environmental sustainability to sub-global scales and in informing policy makers about the need to prevent the planet's environment from tipping into an undesirable state.

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Section: Quantifying National Water and Land Boundaries On A Resourcementioning

confidence: 99%

The Environmental Sustainability of Nations: Benchmarking the Carbon, Water and Land Footprints against Allocated Planetary Boundaries

et al. 2015

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“…This type of statement is not only inconsistent with a sixth great extinction event, but also promotes inertia when what the worlds needs most is vigorous action. Even though collapses associated with the excessive consumption of resources are not historically unprecedented, they previously occurred as isolated cases; now the threat of a breakdown affecting the entire planet constitutes a new challenge for humanity (Bogardi, Fekete and Vörösmarty 2013). In the words of Nicholson and Jinnah (2016: 1), we are living in 'an Earth 2.0 on which the human signature is everywhere, and in desperate need of humane and insightful guidance' .…”

Section: Water and The Anthropocenementioning

confidence: 99%

Cities and Water Security in the Anthropocene: Research Challenges and Opportunities for International Relations

Pereira

Freitas

2017

Contexto int.

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Abstract:Cities have become important actors in international relations, and integral to security and environmental politics. We are living in an increasingly urban world, dominated by human settlements and activities. The central role now played by humans in shaping the planet has led us into an uncertain, unstable, and dangerous geological epoch -the Anthropocene -that poses great and additional challenges to security. Local and global spheres are connected as never before, generating 'glocal' issues in which water plays a central role. Water is the element that interconnects the complex web of food, energy, climate, economic growth, and human security. In a rapidly urbanising world, cities influence the hydrological cycle in major but uncertain ways, affecting water resources beyond their boundaries. There is no doubt that these issues are highly relevant to the discipline of International Relations (IR). However, IR scholars have been slow to engage with them, and most academic studies of cities and water security still emanate from the natural sciences. This article examines the ways in which cities in the Anthropocene challenge water security, and why IR needs to reinvent itself if it wants to sustain its contribution to global security.

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“…Growing tensions between representatives from developed versus emerging economies are apparent at these international meetings regarding whether the emphasis should be on the development or on sustainability. While environmental concerns put development somewhat in the backseat in the last few decades, it is becoming increasingly clear that satisfying the needs of the unfortunate majority -who still lack access to basic services that people in the developed world take for granted -is necessary to secure a socially/politically sustainable world (Bogardi et al, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A recent paper published in a special issue of the Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability as a follow up to the aforementioned GWSP Water in the Anthropocene conference, attempted to offer a policy relevant conceptual framework to define the limits of sustainability via the balanced triangle of planetary (abiotic), ecosystem (biotic) and human societal (anthropic) resources (Bogardi et al, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Role of engineering in sustainable water management

Fekete¹,

Bogárdi

2015

Earth Perspectives

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The recognition of the limits of resources is almost as old as the realization that our planet is a sphere leading to concerns about sustainable resources management. Water resources in particular receive growing attention given its uneven distribution in many parts of the world. Engineering solutions to address water management challenges played significant roles in the past in areas such as access to clean water and sanitation, providing water for irrigation, offering protection against floods, allowing power generation, etc. Despite their proven benefits, engineering solutions are receiving increasing criticism due to their negative environmental and societal impacts and the high cost of their implementation and operation. More reliance on ecosystem services as an alternative is often advocated as a means to achieve more sustainable water management solutions. This paper examines key water services that human societies rely on and the feasible roles that ecosystems can play in lieu of engineering solutions. The paper applies the "balanced triangle" of the planetary (abiotic), ecosystems (biotic) and human societal (anthropic) resources and assets as a basis for evaluating different water management strategies. The ultimate goal of the paper is to offer guidance for finding a better balance in deploying ecosystem-based and engineering solutions together with satisfying the needs of human societies while minimizing the impacts on the ecosystems.

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Planetary boundaries revisited: a view through the ‘water lens’

Cited by 47 publications

References 24 publications

The Environmental Sustainability of Nations: Benchmarking the Carbon, Water and Land Footprints against Allocated Planetary Boundaries

The Environmental Sustainability of Nations: Benchmarking the Carbon, Water and Land Footprints against Allocated Planetary Boundaries

Cities and Water Security in the Anthropocene: Research Challenges and Opportunities for International Relations

Role of engineering in sustainable water management

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