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Earth
Environmental sustainability is defined as the ability of the
environment to continue to function properly indefinitely. This
involves meeting the present needs of humans without endangering
the welfare of future generations. The goal of environmental
sustainability is to minimize environmental degradation, and to
halt and reverse the processes they lead to.
An “unsustainable situation” occurs when natural capital (the
sum total of nature’s resources) is used up faster than it can
be replenished. Sustainability requires that human activity only
uses nature’s resources at a rate at which they can be
replenished naturally. Theoretically, the long term result of
environmental degradation would be local environments that are
no longer able to sustain human populations to any degree. Such
degradation on a global scale could imply extinction for
humanity
Water: The Middle East region has only 1% of the world’s
available fresh water, which is shared among 5% of the world’s
population. Thus, in this region, water is an important
strategic resource. By 2025, it is predicted that the countries
of the Arabian peninsula will be using more than double the
amount of water naturally available to them. According to a
report by the Arab League, two-thirds of Arab countries have
less than 1,000 cubic meters (35,000 ft3) of water per person
per year available, which is considered the limit. |
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