The Problem of Optimal Exploitation of Natural Resources: The Need for Ecological Limiting Conditions

Abstract

The processes of production and consumption as developed by man affect the availability of natural resources for the subsequent processes of production and consumption. The effect takes the form of pollution of air, water and soil, the presence of noise, monocultures, erosion and “asphalted zones”, as well as the exhaustion of supplies of fossil fuels and minerals in the earth's crust. However, for production and consumption, man needs natural resources of reasonably good quality. Reasonably fresh air, reasonably clean water, well‐functioning soil, a certain degree of quietness, a variety of landscapes and the availability of a certain number of fossil fuels and minerals are all indispensable for human life, now and in the future.

Citation

Dietz, F. and van der Straaten, J. (1988), "The Problem of Optimal Exploitation of Natural Resources: The Need for Ecological Limiting Conditions", International Journal of Social Economics, Vol. 15 No. 3/4, pp. 71-79. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb014104