December 6, 2013 — Resource scarcity and pressure are complex issues, traversing borders and cultures. One country’s deforestation leads to booming economies elsewhere. A dam powers one city and floods another. Not to mention the security issues that come with resource acquisition — all the more heightened when paucity is a factor. Now the Earth Security Initiative is out with a report meant to help businesses, societies and governments respond to such issues and risks in a solutions-focused, collaborative way.
Looking at eight themes (land governance, water security, climate security, crop performance, population growth, food security, fiscal stability and energy security) across 17 countries, the ESI points to opportunities to move toward a more prosperous and secure future, such as viewing a transition from water-intensive coal-fired power to renewable energy in China as a way to improve the country’s water security, or using Brazil’s tropical rainforests as an insurance policy against adverse impacts of future weather extremes on agriculture.
“Understanding the risks, involving all sectors, considering the inter-connections and mutual interests are necessary conditions in order for leaders to identify the opportunities before them,” writes Michael Schaefer, chairman of the BMW Foundation and former ambassador of Germany to China, in the report’s foreword.
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