Sustainable Practices in Local Ecosystems

Sustainable practices help protect ecosystems.

Ensuring ecosystem sustainability is one of the most important challenges the global community faces. Implementing sustainable practices at the local level helps protect the ecosystems to which local communities are linked.

Definition

The most referenced definition of sustainability, "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs," was adopted at the World Commission on Environment and Development in 1987.

A local ecosystem consists of all living organisms, such as plants, animals, humans, insects and microorganisms, as well as non-living factors such as rocks, water sources and the local atmosphere interacting together within an area.

Significance

Maintaining local ecosystem sustainability is essential for ensuring the continued ecological, social and economic well-being of a local area. The responsibility of ensuring local sustainability lies in the hands of local governments, industrial and agricultural entities, businesses and ultimately the people living in the community.

Geography

No single, concrete unit can define the term "local" in reference to sustainable practices. While human-derived political boundaries such as towns and counties are useful for creating policies, the natural environment often dictates other definitions of a local ecosystem.

Types

Local ecosystem sustainability practices include planning and managing for future sustainable development by local government service boards; the work of river watershed coalitions; efforts to support local agriculture; progressive waste management programs such as recycling; and sustainability education in community schools.

References

• The Dictionary of Sustainable Management
• Biology Online: Ecosystem
• Watershed Management Council