Sustainable Natural Resources Management

The sustainability of natural resource management depends not only on appropriate technology and prices, but also upon the institutions involved in resource management at the local level. Heavy state involvement in natural resource management has been justified based on the prevalence of market failures, notably the positive and negative externalities and the strategic importance of the resources. Policies of devolving management responsibility from the state to users have become increasingly widespread in response to the performance deficiencies of government agencies, the fiscal crisis of the state, and broader policies of decentralization. The success of these policies depends upon the local capacity for collective action, but the factors that encourage or inhibit the collective action are insufficiently understood. Building resilience into our natural resources and ecosystems, so that these benefits are available now – and for our future generations – is vital. In managing our natural resources wisely we can provide solutions across all four pillars of sustainable development to support our economic, social, environmental and cultural well-being. This is the ‘sustainable management of natural resources’.