View source for Resource depletion

{{short description|Depletion of natural organic and inorganic resources}}

{{other uses|Depletion (disambiguation){{!}}Depletion}}

{{essay-like|date=April 2024}}

[[file:tar sands in alberta 2008.jpg|thumb|335x335px|[[Athabasca oil sands|Tar sands in Alberta]], 2008. Oil is one of the most used resources by humans.]]

{{futures studies}}

'''Resource depletion''' occurs when a [[natural resource]] is consumed faster than it can be replenished. The value of a resource depends on its availability in nature and the cost of extracting it. By the law of [[supply and demand]], the [[Scarcity|scarcer]] the resource the more valuable it becomes.<ref>{{cite journal
 | bibcode        = 2014PSEP...92..849R
 | date           = 2014-11-01
 | doi            = 10.1016/j.psep.2013.06.001
 | first1         = Shaun
 | first2         = Andrew F. A.
 | first3         = David J.
 | issn           = 0957-5820
 | issue          = 6
 | journal        = Process Safety and Environmental Protection
 | last1          = Rimos
 | last2          = Hoadley
 | last3          = Brennan
 | pages          = 849–861
 | title          = Environmental consequence analysis for resource depletion
 | volume         = 92
}}</ref> There are several types of resource depletion, including but not limited to: wetland and ecosystem degradation, soil erosion, [[aquifer depletion]], and [[overfishing]].<ref>{{cite journal
 | article-number = 103531
 | bibcode        = 2023RePol..8303531X
 | date           = 2023-06-01
 | doi            = 10.1016/j.resourpol.2023.103531
 | first1         = Yi
 | first2         = Fang
 | issn           = 0301-4207
 | journal        = Resources Policy
 | last1          = Xu
 | last2          = Zhao
 | pmc            = 10132086
 | pmid           = 37128260
 | title          = Impact of energy depletion, human development, and income distribution on natural resource sustainability
 | volume         = 83
}}</ref> The depletion of wildlife populations is called ''[[defaunation]]''.<ref name="def ant">{{cite journal
 | access-date    = 2018-06-01
 | archive-date   = 2017-05-11
 | archive-url    = https://web.archive.org/web/20170511160501/uv.mx/personal/tcarmona/files/2010/08/Science-2014-Dirzo-401-6-2.pdf
 | author2        = Hillary S. Young
 | author3        = Mauro Galetti
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 | author5        = Nick J. B. Isaac
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 | bibcode        = 2014Sci...345..401D
 | date           = 2014
 | doi            = 10.1126/science.1251817
 | first          = Rodolfo
 | issue          = 6195
 | journal        = [[Science (journal)|Science]]
 | last           = Dirzo
 | pages          = 401–406
 | pmid           = 25061202
 | s2cid          = 206555761
 | title          = Defaunation in the Anthropocene
 | url            = https://uv.mx/personal/tcarmona/files/2010/08/Science-2014-Dirzo-401-6-2.pdf
 | url-status     = live
 | volume         = 345
}}</ref>

It is a matter of research and debate how humanity will be impacted and what the future will look like if resource consumption continues at the current rate, and when specific resources will be completely exhausted.

== History of resource depletion ==

The depletion of resources has been an issue since the beginning of the 19th century amidst the [[Industrial Revolution|First Industrial Revolution]]. The extraction of both renewable and non-renewable resources increased drastically, much further than thought possible pre-industrialization, due to the technological advancements and economic development that lead to an increased demand for natural resources.<ref name=":52">{{cite journal
 | date           = 2004
 | first          = Heike K.
 | issn           = 0171-8630
 | journal        = Marine Ecology Progress Series
 | jstor          = 24867655
 | last           = Lotze
 | pages          = 282–285
 | title          = Repetitive history of resource depletion and mismanagement: the need for a shift in perspective
 | volume         = 274
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
 | access-date   = 2024-03-22
 | archive-date  = 2024-03-23
 | archive-url   = https://web.archive.org/web/20240323022335/theconversation.com/earth-day-colonialisms-role-in-the-overexploitation-of-natural-resources-113995
 | date          = 2019-04-18
 | first         = Joseph
 | language      = en-US
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 | title         = Earth Day: Colonialism's role in the overexploitation of natural resources
 | url           = http://theconversation.com/earth-day-colonialisms-role-in-the-overexploitation-of-natural-resources-113995
 | url-status    = live
 | website       = [[The Conversation (website)|The Conversation]]
}}</ref>

Although resource depletion has roots in both colonialism and the Industrial Revolution, it has only been of major concern since the 1970s.<ref>{{cite thesis|last=Wood|first=Lawrence|date=2015|title=The Environmental Impacts of Colonialism|publisher=BSU Honors Program Theses and Projects|issue=119|url=http://vc.bridgew.edu/honors_proj/119}}</ref>{{better source needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable ([[WP:NOTRS]]).|date=April 2024}} Before this, many people believed in the "myth of inexhaustibility", which also has roots in colonialism.{{cn|date=April 2024}} This can be explained as the belief that both renewable and non-renewable natural resources cannot be exhausted because there is seemingly an overabundance of these resources. This belief has caused people to not question resource depletion and ecosystem collapse when it occurred, and continues to prompt society to simply find these resources in areas which have not yet been depleted.<ref name=":52" /><ref>{{cite journal
 | date          = 2010-07-01
 | doi           = 10.1057/jphp.2010.12
 | first         = Angela
 | issn          = 1745-655X
 | issue         = 2
 | journal       = Journal of Public Health Policy
 | language      = en
 | last          = Mawle
 | pages         = 272–277
 | pmid          = 20535108
 | title         = Climate change, human health, and unsustainable development
 | volume        = 31
}}</ref>

== Depletion accounting ==

{{main|Depletion (accounting)}}

In an effort to offset the depletion of resources, theorists have come up with the concept of depletion accounting. Related to [[green accounting]], depletion accounting aims to account for nature's value on an equal footing with the market economy.<ref name=":9">{{cite journal
 | bibcode       = 2007EcoEc..61..716B
 | date          = 15 March 2007
 | doi           = 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2006.06.016
 | first         = James
 | issue         = 4
 | journal       = Ecological Economics
 | last          = Boyd
 | pages         = 716–723
 | title         = Nonmarket benefits of nature: What should be counted in green GDP?
 | volume        = 61
}}</ref> Resource depletion accounting uses data provided by countries to estimate the adjustments needed due to their use and depletion of the [[natural capital]] available to them.<ref name=":5">{{cite journal
 | bibcode       = 2000EDevE...5...13V
 | date          = February 2000
 | doi           = 10.1017/S1355770X00000024
 | first         = Jeffrey
 | issue         = 1
 | journal       = Environment and Development Economics
 | last          = Vincent
 | pages         = 13–24
 | s2cid         = 155001289
 | title         = Green accounting: from theory to practice
 | volume        = 5
}}</ref> Natural capital refers to natural resources such as mineral deposits or timber stocks. Depletion accounting factors in several different influences such as the number of years until resource exhaustion, the cost of resource extraction, and the demand for the resource.<ref name=":5" /> Resource extraction industries make up a large part of the economic activity in [[Developing country|developing countries]]. This, in turn, leads to higher levels of resource depletion and [[environmental degradation]] in developing countries.<ref name=":5" /> Theorists argue that the implementation of resource depletion accounting is necessary in developing countries. Depletion accounting also seeks to measure the social value of natural resources and [[Ecosystem|ecosystems]].<ref name=":10">{{cite journal
 | access-date   = 2020-08-29
 | archive-date  = 2017-09-23
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 | bibcode       = 2007EcoEc..63..616B
 | date          = August 2007
 | doi           = 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2007.01.002
 | first1        = Spencer
 | first2        = James
 | issue         = 2–3
 | journal       = Ecological Economics
 | last1         = Banzhafa
 | last2         = Boyd
 | pages         = 616–626
 | title         = What are ecosystem services? The need for standardized environmental accounting units
 | url           = http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/10586/files/dp060002.pdf
 | url-status    = live
 | volume        = 63
}}</ref> Measurement of social value is sought through [[ecosystem service]]s, which are defined as the benefits of nature to households, communities and economies.<ref name=":10" />

=== Importance ===

There are many different groups interested in depletion accounting. [[Environmentalist|Environmentalists]] are interested in depletion accounting as a way to track the use of natural resources over time, hold governments accountable, or compare their environmental conditions to those of another country.<ref name=":9" /> [[Economist|Economists]] want to measure resource depletion to understand how financially reliant countries or corporations are on non-renewable resources, whether this use can be sustained and the financial drawbacks of switching to renewable resources in light of the depleting resources.<ref name=":9" />

=== Issues  ===

Depletion accounting is complex to implement as nature is not as quantifiable as cars, houses, or bread.<ref name=":9" /> For depletion accounting to work, appropriate units of natural resources must be established so that natural resources can be viable in the market economy. The main issues that arise when trying to do so are, determining a suitable unit of account, deciding how to deal with the "collective" nature of a complete ecosystem, delineating the borderline of the ecosystem, and defining the extent of possible duplication when the resource interacts in more than one ecosystem.<ref name=":9" /> Some economists want to include measurement of the benefits arising from public goods provided by nature, but currently there are no market indicators of value.<ref name=":9" /> Globally, [[environmental economics]] has not been able to provide a consensus of measurement units of nature's services.

== Minerals depletion ==

{{main|Peak minerals}}

[[Mineral|Minerals]] are needed to provide food, clothing, and housing. A [[United States Geological Survey]] (USGS) study found a significant long-term trend over the 20th century for non-renewable resources such as minerals to supply a greater proportion of the raw material inputs to the non-fuel, non-food sector of the economy; an example is the greater consumption of crushed stone, sand, and gravel used in construction.<ref>''Materials Flow and Sustainability'', US Geological Survey.Fact Sheet FS-068-98, June 1998.</ref>

Large-scale exploitation of minerals began in the Industrial Revolution around 1760 in [[England]] and has grown rapidly ever since. Technological improvements have allowed humans to dig deeper and access lower grades and different types of [[ore]] over that time.<ref>{{cite journal
 | date          = 2011
 | doi           = 10.1111/j.1530-9290.2011.00334.x
 | first1        = J
 | issue         = 2
 | journal       = J Ind Ecol
 | last1         = West
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 | title         = Decreasing metal ore grades: are they really being driven by the depletion of high-grade deposits?
 | volume        = 15
}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite journal
 | bibcode       = 2016IJLCA..21...85D
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}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{cite journal
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 | first1        = Lawrence D
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 | issue         = 14
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 | title         = Mineral Resources: Reserves, Peak Production and the Future
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}}</ref> Virtually all basic industrial metals ([[copper]], [[iron]], [[bauxite]], etc.), as well as [[rare earth mineral]]s, face production output limitations from time to time,<ref>{{cite book
 | first         = M. T. 
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}}</ref> because supply involves large up-front investments and is therefore slow to respond to rapid increases in demand.<ref name=":0" />

Minerals projected by some to enter production decline during the next 20 years:

* Oil, conventional (2005)
* Oil, all liquids (2017). Old expectation: [[Gasoline]] (2023)<ref>{{cite book
 | date          = 2010
 | last1         = Valero
 | last2         = Valero
 | title         = Physical geonomics: Combining the exergy and Hubbert peak analysis for predicting mineral resources depletion
}}</ref>
* Copper (2017). Old expectation: Copper (2024).<ref name="sciencedirect.com">{{cite journal
 | bibcode       = 2010RCR....54.1074V
 | doi           = 10.1016/j.resconrec.2010.02.010
 | issue         = 12
 | title         = Physical geonomics: Combining the exergy and Hubbert peak analysis for predicting mineral resources depletion
 | year          = 2010
 | journal       = Resources, Conservation and Recycling
 | pages         = 1074–1083
 | last1         = Valero
 | first1        = Alicia
 | last2         = Valero
 | first2        = Antonio
 | volume        = 54
}}</ref> Data from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) suggest that it is very unlikely that copper production will peak before 2040.<ref name=":1" />
* Coal per KWh (2017). Old expectation per ton: (2060)<ref name="sciencedirect.com"/>
* [[Zinc]].<ref>{{cite web
 | access-date   = 2014-07-21
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 | archive-url   = https://web.archive.org/web/20170827162745/http://www.roperld.com/science/minerals/zinc.htm
 | title         = Zinc Depletion
 | url           = http://roperld.com/science/minerals/zinc.htm
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}}</ref> Developments in [[hydrometallurgy]] have transformed non-sulfide zinc deposits (largely ignored until now) into large low cost reserves.<ref>{{cite journal
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 | last6         = Wilkinson
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 | title         = Ore Deposits in an Evolving Earth
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 | volume        = 393
 | year          = 2014
}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal
 | bibcode       = 2003EcGeo..98..685H
 | date          = 2003
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 | first4        = C. R.
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}}</ref>

Minerals projected by some to enter production decline during the present century:

* [[Aluminium]] (2057)<ref name="sciencedirect.com"/>
* Iron (2068)<ref name="sciencedirect.com"/>
Such projections may change, as new discoveries are made<ref name="sciencedirect.com" /> and typically misinterpret available data on Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />
* [[Phosphor]] (2048). The last 80% of world reserves are only one mine.{{Cn|date=April 2024}}

=== Petroleum ===

{{excerpt|Oil depletion}}

== Deforestation ==

{{excerpt|Deforestation}}

=== Controlling deforestation ===

{{excerpt|Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation}}

== Overfishing ==

{{main|Overfishing}}

[[file:trawlers overfishing cod.jpg|thumb|A visualization of the depletion of fish stocks through overfishing and overconsumption.]]

Overfishing refers to the [[Overconsumption (economics)|overconsumption]] and/or depletion of fish populations which occurs when fish are caught at a rate that exceeds their ability to breed and replenish their population naturally.'''<ref name=":02">{{cite web
 | access-date   = 2024-02-18
 | archive-date  = 2024-02-19
 | archive-url   = https://web.archive.org/web/20240219022635/msc.org/what-we-are-doing/oceans-at-risk/overfishing
 | language      = en
 | title         = What Is Overfishing
 | url           = https://msc.org/what-we-are-doing/oceans-at-risk/overfishing
 | url-status    = live
 | website       = MSC International - English
}}</ref>''' Regions particularly susceptible to overfishing include [[Arctic|the Arctic]], [[East Africa|coastal east Africa]], [[Coral Triangle|the Coral Triangle]] (located between the [[Pacific Ocean|Pacific]] and [[Indian Ocean|Indian]] oceans), [[Central America|Central]] and [[Latin America]], and [[Caribbean|the Caribbean]].<ref name=":15">World Wildlife Fund. (n.d.). ''What is overfishing? facts, effects and overfishing solutions''. WWF. Retrieved 2024-02-18 from <nowiki>https://worldwildlife.org/threats/overfishing</nowiki></ref> The depletion of fish stocks can lead to long-term negative consequences for marine ecosystems, economies, and food security.<ref name=":15" /> The depletion of resources hinders economic growth because growing economies leads to increased demand for natural, renewable resources like fish. Thus, when resources are depleted, it initiates a cycle of reduced resource availability, increased demand and higher prices due to scarcity, and lower economic growth.<ref>{{cite book
 |last=Steer
 |first=Andrew |chapter=Resource Depletion, Climate Change, and Economic Growth
 |date=2014-09-04 |title=Towards a Better Global Economy
 |pages=381–426
 |url=https://academic.oup.com/book/11948/chapter/161165975
 |access-date=2024-03-22
 |edition=1 |publisher=Oxford University Press
 |language=en
 |doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198723455.003.0006
 |isbn=978-0-19-872345-5
 |archive-date=2024-04-22
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240422061039/academic.oup.com/book/11948/chapter-abstract/161165975?redirectedFrom=fulltext
 |url-status=live
}}</ref> Overfishing can lead to habitat and biodiversity loss, through specifically habitat degradation, which has an immense impact on marine/aquatic ecosystems. Habitat loss refers to when a natural habitat cannot sustain/support the species that live in it, and biodiversity loss refers to when there is a decrease in the population of a species in a specific area and/or the extinction of a species. Habitat degradation is caused by the depletion of resources, in which human activities are the primary driving force.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia
 |last=Pons-Hernández |first=Mònica |title=Habitat Loss
 |date=2024-01-30 |encyclopedia=Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice
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}}</ref><ref name=":32">{{cite journal
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 |date=2006-11-03
 |title=Impacts of Biodiversity Loss on Ocean Ecosystem Services
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}}</ref> One major impact that the depletion of fish stocks causes is a dynamic change and erosion to marine food webs, which can ultimately lead to ecosystem collapse because of the imbalance created for other marine species.<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":4">{{cite book
 |last1=Jennings
 |first1=Simon
 |chapter=The Effects of Fishing on Marine Ecosystems
 |date=1998
 |title=Advances in Marine Biology
 |pages=201–352
 |publisher=Elsevier
 |doi=10.1016/s0065-2881(08)60212-6
 |isbn=978-0-12-026134-5
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}}</ref> Overfishing also causes instability in marine ecosystems because these ecosystems are less biodiverse and more fragile. This occurs mainly because, due to overfishing, many fish species are unable to naturally sustain their populations in these damaged ecosystems.<ref name=":32" /><ref name=":4" /> Common causes of overfishing include:<ref name=":02" />

* Increasing consumption: According to the [[Food and Agriculture Organization|United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)]], aquatic foods like fish significantly contribute to food security and initiatives to end worldwide hunger. However, global consumption of aquatic foods has increased at twice the rate of population growth since the 1960s, significantly contributing to the depletion of fish stocks.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Record fisheries and aquaculture production makes critical contribution to global food security |url=https://www.fao.org/newsroom/detail/record-fisheries-aquaculture-production-contributes-food-security-290622/en |access-date=2024-02-18 |publisher=FAO |language=en |archive-date=2024-02-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240219022634/https://www.fao.org/newsroom/detail/record-fisheries-aquaculture-production-contributes-food-security-290622/en |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[Climate change]]: Due to climate change and the sudden increasing temperatures of our oceans, fish stocks and other marine life are being negatively impacted. These changes force fish stocks to change their migratory routes, and without a reduction in fishing, this leads to overfishing and depletion because the same amount of fish are being caught in areas that now have lower fish populations.<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":22">{{Cite web |title=Climate change and fishing |url=https://www.msc.org/what-we-are-doing/oceans-at-risk/climate-change-and-fishing |access-date=2024-02-18 |website=MSC International - English |language=en |archive-date=2024-02-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240219022634/https://www.msc.org/what-we-are-doing/oceans-at-risk/climate-change-and-fishing |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing|Illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing]]: Illegal fishing involves conducting fishing operations that break the laws and regulations at the regional and international levels around fishing, including fishing without a license or permit, fishing in protected areas, and/or catching protected species of fish.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Illegal And Destructive Fishing |url=https://www.msc.org/what-we-are-doing/oceans-at-risk/illegal-unreported-unregulated-iuu-destructive-fishing |access-date=2024-02-18 |website=MSC International - English |language=en |archive-date=2024-02-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240219022636/https://www.msc.org/what-we-are-doing/oceans-at-risk/illegal-unreported-unregulated-iuu-destructive-fishing |url-status=live }}</ref> Unreported fishing involves conducting fishing operation which are not reported, or are misreported to authorities according to the International and Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs). Unregulated fishing involves conducting fishing operations in areas which do not have conservation measures put in place, and cannot be effectively monitored because of the lack of regulations.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-08-06 |title=Understanding Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing |publisher=NOAA Fisheries |url=https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/insight/understanding-illegal-unreported-and-unregulated-fishing |access-date=2024-02-18 |language=en |archive-date=2024-02-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240218103952/https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/insight/understanding-illegal-unreported-and-unregulated-fishing |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[Fisheries subsidy|Fisheries subsidies]]:<ref>{{Cite web |title=Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies |url=https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/rulesneg_e/fish_e/fish_e.htm |access-date=2024-02-18 |publisher=WTO |language=en |archive-date=2024-02-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240217092614/https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/rulesneg_e/fish_e/fish_e.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> A [[subsidy]] is financial assistance paid by the government to support a particular activity, industry, or group. Subsidies are often provided to reduce start up costs, stimulate production, or encourage consumption. In the case of fisheries subsidies, it enables [[Fishing fleet|fishing fleets]] to catch more fish by fishing further out in a body of water, and fish for longer periods of time.<ref>{{Cite web |title=4. WHAT IS A FISHERIES SUBSIDY? |url=https://www.fao.org/3/y4446e/y4446e0k.htm#:~:text=Fisheries%20subsidies%20are%20government%20actions,Box%201:%20WTO%20definition |access-date=2024-02-18 |publisher=FAO |archive-date=2024-02-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240219022634/https://www.fao.org/3/y4446e/y4446e0k.htm#:~:text=Fisheries%20subsidies%20are%20government%20actions,Box%201:%20WTO%20definition |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-05-10 |title=Fisheries Subsidies Agreement: What's the Big Deal? |url=https://pew.org/3pr0Eft |access-date=2024-02-18 |publisher=Pew Research |language=en |archive-date=2024-04-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240422061543/https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/fact-sheets/2023/05/fisheries-subsidies-agreement-whats-the-big-deal |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Wetlands ==

{{main|Wetland}}

[[Wetland]]s are ecosystems that are often saturated by enough [[surface water|surface]] or [[groundwater]] to sustain [[vegetation]] that is usually adapted to saturated soil conditions, such as [[cattails]], [[bulrush]]es, [[red maple]]s, [[wild rice]], [[blackberries]], [[cranberry|cranberries]], and [[peat moss]].<ref name="ncsu">{{cite web|url=http://www.water.ncsu.edu/watershedss/info/wetlands/wetloss.html|title=Major Causes of Wetland Loss and Degradation|publisher=NCSU|access-date=2016-12-11|archive-date=2018-07-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180727220532/http://www.water.ncsu.edu/watershedss/info/wetlands/wetloss.html}}</ref> Because some varieties of wetlands are rich in minerals and nutrients and provide many of the advantages of both land and water environments, they contain diverse species and provide a distinct basis for the [[food chain]]. Wetland habitats contribute to environmental health and biodiversity.<ref name="ncsu" /> Wetlands are a nonrenewable resource on a human timescale and in some environments cannot ever be renewed.<ref name=":11">{{Cite journal|last=Davidson|first=Nick C.|date=January 2014|title=How much wetland has the world lost? Long-term and recent trends in global wetland area|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/266388496|journal=Marine and Freshwater Research|volume=60|pages=936–941|via=ResearchGate|access-date=2019-04-09|archive-date=2019-12-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191223083611/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/266388496|url-status=live}}</ref> Recent studies indicate that global loss of wetlands could be as high as 87% since 1700&nbsp;AD, with 64% of wetland loss occurring since 1900.<ref name=":11" /> Some loss of wetlands resulted from natural causes such as erosion, [[sedimentation]], [[subsidence]], and a rise in the sea level.<ref name="ncsu" />
[[File:Sign at an intermittent wetland in Pilliga National Park -5.jpg|thumb|Sign at a wetland in Pilliga National Park which is trying to reduce resource depletion and wetland degradation through prohibiting certain activities.]]
Wetlands provide [[Ecosystem service|environmental services]] for:

# Food and habitat
# Improving [[water quality]]
# [[Commercial fishing]]
# [[Floodwater]] reduction
# [[Shoreline]] stabilization
# Recreation

=== Resources in wetlands ===

{{further information|Wetland conservation}}

Some of the world's most successful agricultural areas are wetlands that have been drained and converted to farmland for large-scale agriculture.<ref name="ncsu" /> Large-scale draining of wetlands also occurs for [[real estate development]] and [[urbanization]].<ref name=":12">{{Cite book|title=Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation|last=Keddy|first=Paul A.|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2010|isbn=978-0-521-73967-2}}</ref> In contrast, in some cases wetlands are also flooded to be converted to recreational lakes or [[hydropower]] generation.<ref name="ncsu" /> In some countries ranchers have also moved their property onto wetlands for grazing due to the nutrient rich vegetation.<ref name=":12" /> Wetlands in Southern America also prove a fruitful resource for [[Poaching|poachers]], as animals with valuable hides such a [[jaguar]]s, [[Maned wolf|maned wolves]], [[caiman]]s, and [[snake]]s are drawn to wetlands.<ref name=":12" /> The effect of the removal of large predators is still unknown in South African wetlands.<ref name=":12" />

Humans benefit from wetlands in indirect ways as well. Wetlands act as natural water filters, when runoff from either natural or man-made processes pass through, wetlands can have a neutralizing effect.<ref name=":13">{{cite news
 | url=https://cbc.ca/news/technology/don-t-drain-the-swamp-why-wetlands-are-so-important-1.3962917
 | title=Don't drain the swamp! Why wetlands are so important
 | last=Kachur
 | first=Torah
 | date=2 February 2017
 | publisher=CBC
 | access-date=8 April 2019
 | archive-date=7 June 2019
 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190607205903/cbc.ca/news/technology/don-t-drain-the-swamp-why-wetlands-are-so-important-1.3962917
 | url-status=live
}}</ref> If a wetland is in between an agricultural zone and a [[freshwater ecosystem]], fertilizer runoff will be absorbed by the wetland and used to fuel the slow processes that occur happen, by the time the water reaches the freshwater ecosystem there will not be enough fertilizer to cause destructive [[Algal bloom|algal blooms]] that poison freshwater ecosystems.<ref name=":13" />
[[File:Bramiana Wetlands Ierapetra.JPG|thumb|Bramiana Wetlands]]

=== Non-natural causes of wetland degradation ===

* Hydrologic alteration<ref>{{cite web
 | archive-date = 2024-02-02
 | archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20240202010045/epa.gov/sites/default/files/2021-01/documents/threats_to_wetlands.pdf
 | date         = September 2001
 | publisher    = United States Environmental Protection Agency
 | title        = Threats to wetlands
 | url          = https://epa.gov/sites/default/files/2021-01/documents/threats_to_wetlands.pdf
}}</ref>
** [[drainage]]
** [[dredging]]
** [[stream channelization]]
** [[ditching]]
** [[levee]]s
** deposition of [[fill material]]
** [[Diversion dam|stream diversion]]
** [[groundwater drainage]]
** [[Dam|impoundment]]
* [[Urbanization]] and [[urban development]]
* [[Marina]]s/boats
* Industrialization and [[industrial development]]
* [[Agriculture]]
* [[Silviculture]]/Timber harvest
* [[Mining]]
* [[Atmospheric deposition]]

To preserve the resources extracted from wetlands, current strategies are to rank wetlands and prioritize the conservation of wetlands with more environmental services, create more efficient irrigation for wetlands being used for agriculture, and restricting access to wetlands by tourists.<ref name=":12" />

== Groundwater ==

[[file:Groundwater flow.svg|thumb|upright=1.75|Groundwater flow paths vary greatly in length, depth and travel time from points of recharge to points of discharge in the groundwater system.]]

{{main|Overdrafting}}

Water is an essential resource needed for survival. Water access has a profound influence on a society's prosperity and success.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Peterson|first1=Erik|last2=Posner|first2=Rachel|date=January 2010|title=The World's Water Challenge|journal=Current History|volume=109|issue=723|pages=31–34|doi=10.1525/curh.2010.109.723.31|doi-access=free}}</ref> [[Groundwater]] is water that is in saturated zones underground, the upper surface of the saturated zone is called the water table.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web|url=https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/what-groundwater?qt-news_science_products=0#qt-news_science_products|title=What is groundwater? |publisher=USGS |language=en|access-date=2019-04-02|archive-date=2019-04-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403231526/https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/what-groundwater?qt-news_science_products=0#qt-news_science_products|url-status=live}}</ref> Groundwater is held in the pores and fractures of underground materials like sand, gravel and other rock, these rock materials are called aquifers.<ref name=":6" /> Groundwater can either flow naturally out of rock materials or can be pumped out. Groundwater supplies wells and aquifers for private, agricultural, and public use and is used by more than a third of the world's population every day for their drinking water. Globally there is 22.6 million cubic kilometers of groundwater available; of this, only 0.35 million of that is renewable.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/groundwater-study-1.3318137|title=Most Groundwater is Effectively a Non-renewable Resource, Study Finds|last=Chung|first=Emily|publisher=CBC News|access-date=2017-07-08|archive-date=2017-06-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170615151405/http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/groundwater-study-1.3318137|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Groundwater as a non-renewable resource ===

Groundwater is considered to be a non-renewable resource because less than six percent of the water around the world is replenished and renewed on a human timescale of 50 years.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/groundwater-study-1.3318137|title=Most groundwater is effectively a non-renewable resource, study finds|access-date=2020-03-19|archive-date=2019-09-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190929020604/https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/groundwater-study-1.3318137|url-status=live}}</ref> People are already using non-renewable water that is thousands of years old, in areas like Egypt they are using water that may have been renewed a million years ago which is not renewable on human timescales.<ref name=":2" /> Of the groundwater used for agriculture, 16–33% is non-renewable.<ref name=":7">{{Cite journal|last1=Wada|first1=Yoshihide|last2=Beek|first2=Ludovicus P. H. van|last3=Kempen|first3=Cheryl M. van|last4=Reckman|first4=Josef W. T. M.|last5=Vasak|first5=Slavek|last6=Bierkens|first6=Marc F. P.|date=2010|title=Global depletion of groundwater resources|journal=Geophysical Research Letters|language=en|volume=37|issue=20|pages=n/a|doi=10.1029/2010GL044571|bibcode=2010GeoRL..3720402W|issn=1944-8007|url=https://dspace.library.uu.nl/bitstream/1874/209122/1/2010GL044571.pdf|hdl=1874/209122|s2cid=42843631|access-date=2019-09-02|archive-date=2024-04-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240422061543/https://dspace.library.uu.nl/bitstream/1874/209122/1/2010GL044571.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> It is estimated that since the 1960s groundwater extraction has more than doubled, which has increased [[groundwater depletion]].<ref name=":7" /> Due to this increase in depletion, in some of the most depleted areas use of groundwater for irrigation has become impossible or cost prohibitive.<ref name=":8">{{Cite journal|last1=Konikow|first1=Leonard F.|last2=Kendy|first2=Eloise|date=2005-03-01|title=Groundwater depletion: A global problem|journal=Hydrogeology Journal|language=en|volume=13|issue=1|pages=317–320|doi=10.1007/s10040-004-0411-8|bibcode=2005HydJ...13..317K|s2cid=21715061|issn=1435-0157}}</ref>

=== Environmental impacts ===

Overusing groundwater, old or young, can lower subsurface water levels and dry up streams, which could have a huge effect on ecosystems on the surface.<ref name=":2" /> When the most easily recoverable fresh groundwater is removed this leaves a residual with inferior water quality. This is in part from induced leakage from the land surface, confining layers or adjacent aquifers that contain saline or contaminated water.<ref name=":8" /> Worldwide the magnitude of groundwater depletion from storage may be so large as to constitute a measurable contributor to sea-level rise.<ref name=":7" />

=== Mitigation ===

Currently, societies respond to water-resource depletion by shifting management objectives from location and developing new supplies to augmenting conserving and reallocation of existing supplies.<ref name=":8" /> There are two different perspectives to groundwater depletion, the first is that depletion is considered literally and simply as a reduction in the volume of water in the saturated zone, regardless of water quality considerations.<ref name=":8" /> A second perspective views depletion as a reduction in the usable volume of fresh groundwater in storage.<ref name=":8" />

Augmenting supplies can mean improving water quality or increasing water quantity. Depletion due to quality considerations can be overcome by treatment, whereas large volume metric depletion can only be alleviated by decreasing discharge or increasing recharge.<ref name=":8" /> Artificial recharge of storm flow and treated municipal wastewater, has successfully reversed groundwater declines.<ref name=":8" /> In the future improved infiltration and recharge technologies will be more widely used to maximize the capture of runoff and treated wastewater.

== Resource depletion and the future ==

=== Earth Overshoot Day ===

{{main articles|Earth Overshoot Day}}

Earth Overshoot Day (EOD) is the date when humanity's demand for ecological resources exceeds Earth's ability to regenerate these resources in a given year. EOD is calculated by the Global Footprint Network, and organization that develops annual impact reports, based on data bout resource use in the previous year. EOD is announced each year on June 5, which is World Environment Day, and continues to get earlier each year. For example, Earth Overshoot Day 2023 was August 2, compared to in 2010 where it fell on August 10 and in 2000 where it fell on September 17.<ref name=":62">{{cite web
 | title=About Earth Overshoot Day - #MoveTheDate of Earth Overshoot Day
 | url=https://overshoot.footprintnetwork.org/about-earth-overshoot-day
 | access-date=2024-04-10
 | website=Earth Overshoot Day
 | language=en-US
 | archive-date=2024-04-12
 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240412152119/overshoot.footprintnetwork.org/about-earth-overshoot-day
 | url-status=live
}}</ref> The Global Footprint Network calculates Earth Overshoot Day by dividing world biocapacity by world ecological footprint and multiplying that by 365 days (366 days during a leap year).<ref name=":62" /> World biocapacity refers to the total amount of natural resources that Earth can regenerate in a year.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Wackernagel|first1=M.|last2=Beyers|first2=B.|date=2019|title=Ecological footprint: Managing our biocapacity budget|publisher=New Society Publishers}}</ref> World ecological footprint refers to the total amount of resource that society consumes in a year, including things like energy, food, water, agricultural land, forest land, etc.<ref>Moore, D., Cranston, G., Reed, A., & Galli, A. (2012). Projecting future human demand on the Earth's regenerative capacity. ''Ecological Indicators'', ''16'', 3-10.</ref> Earth Overshoot Day can be calculated for Earth as a whole, but also for each country individually. For example, in a middle income country like Morocco, their 2023 country specific overshoot day was December 22, compared to a high income country like the United States of America which consumes a lot more resources, their 2023 country specific overshoot day was March 14.<ref name=":62" /> The goal is to push Earth Overshoot Day back far enough to where humanity would be living within Earth's ecological means and not surpassing what it can sustainably provide each year.<ref name=":62" />

=== The World Counts ===

According to The World Counts, a source which collects data from a number of organizations, research institutes, and news services, and produces statistical countdown clocks that illustrate the negative trends related to the environment and other global challenges, humanity is in trouble if current consumption patterns continue. At society's current consumption rate, approximately 1.8 Earths are needed in order to provide resources in a sustainable capacity, and there is just under 26 years until resources are depleted to a point where Earth's capacity to support life may collapse. It is also estimated that approximately 29% of all species on Earth are currently at risk of extinction. As well, 25 billion tons of resources have been extracted this year alone, this includes but is not limited to natural resources like fish, wood, metals, minerals, water, and energy. The World Counts shows that there is 15 years until Earth is exhausted of freshwater, and 23 years until there are no more fish in the oceans. They also estimate that 15 billion trees are cut down every year, while only 2 billion trees are planted every year, and that there is only 75 years until rainforests are completely gone.<ref>{{cite web
 | title=The World Counts
 | url=https://theworldcounts.com/challenges/state-of-the-planet/the-end-of-the-world
 | access-date=2024-04-10
 | website=theworldcounts.com
 | archive-date=2023-08-19
 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230819024919/theworldcounts.com/challenges/state-of-the-planet/the-end-of-the-world
 | url-status=live
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
 | last=Kilgore
 | first=Georgette
 | date=2022-07-19
 | title=How Many Trees Are Planted Each Year? Full List By Country, Type, Year
 | url=https://8billiontrees.com/trees/how-many-trees-are-planted-each-year
 | access-date=2024-04-10
 | website=8 Billion Trees: Carbon Offset Projects & Ecological Footprint Calculators
 | language=en-US
 | archive-date=2024-04-22
 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240422061632/8billiontrees.com/trees/how-many-trees-are-planted-each-year
 | url-status=live
}}</ref>

== Resource scarcity as a moral problem ==

[[file:Greed Isn't Green - RNC Tampa 2012.jpg|thumb|Protestors carry sign stating "Greed isn't green, Earth is not for sale" against resource depletion and climate change]]<!--actually {{smallcaps|GREED isn't GREEN Ⓐ EARTH isn't for $ALE}}-->

Researchers who produced an update of the [[Club of Rome]]'s [[The Limits to Growth|''Limits to Growth'']] report find that many people deny the existence of the problem of [[scarcity]], including many leading scientists and politicians.<ref>{{cite blog
 | archive-date   = 2010-12-27
 | archive-url    = https://web.archive.org/web/20101227213430/mnforsustain.org/meadows_limits_to_growth_30_year_update_2004.htm
 | date           = 2004
 | first1         = D.
 | first2         = J.
 | first3         = D.
 | last1          = Meadows
 | last2          = Randers
 | last3          = Meadows
 | title          = Limits to growth, the 30-years update: A synopsis
 | url            = https://mnforsustain.org/meadows_limits_to_growth_30_year_update_2004.htm
 | url-status     = dead
}}</ref> This may be due, for example, to an unwillingness to change one's own consumption patterns or to share scarce natural resources more equally, or to a psychological defence mechanism.

The scarcity of resources raises a central moral problem concerning the distribution and allocation of natural resources. Competition means that the most advanced get the most resources, which often means the developed West. The problem here is that the West has developed partly through colonial slave labour and violence, and partly through protectionist policies, which together have left many other, non-Western countries underdeveloped.<ref>{{cite book
 | date           = 2005
 | first          = S.
 | last           = Hall
 | place          = Tampere, Finland
 | publisher      = Vastapaino
 | title          = Identiteetti
}}</ref> 

In the future, international cooperation in sharing scarce resources will become increasingly important. Where scarcity is concentrated on the non-renewable resources that play the most important role in meeting needs, the most essential element for the realisation of human rights is an adequate and equitable allocation of scarcity. [[Economic inequality|Inequality]], taken to its extreme, causes intense discontent, which can lead to social unrest and even armed conflict. Many experts believe that ensuring equitable development is the only sure way to a peaceful distribution of scarcity.{{cn|date=April 2024}}

Another approach to resource depletion is a combined process of de-resourcification and resourcification. Where one strives to put an end to the social processes of turning unsustainable things into resources, for example, non-renewable natural resources, and the other strives to instead develop processes of turning sustainable things into resources, for example, renewable human resources.<ref>{{cite journal
 | article-number = 107703
 | bibcode        = 2023EcoEc.20507703C
 | date           = 2023-03-01
 | doi            = 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2022.107703
 | doi-access     = free
 | first1         = Hervé
 | first2         = Alexander
 | issn           = 0921-8009
 | journal        = Ecological Economics
 | language       = en
 | last1          = Corvellec
 | last2          = Paulsson
 | s2cid          = 254388285
 | title          = Resource shifting: Resourcification and de-resourcification for degrowth
 | volume         = 205
}}</ref>

== See also ==

{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
* [[Ecological economics]]
* [[Holocene extinction]]
* [[Jevons paradox]]
* [[Malthusianism]]
* [[Overexploitation]]
* [[Overfishing]]
* [[Overpopulation]]
* [[Peak coal]]
* [[Peak copper]]
* [[Peak gas]]
* [[Peak gold]]
* [[Peak minerals]]
* [[Peak phosphorus]]
* [[Peak uranium]]
* [[Peak water]]
* [[Peak wheat]]
* [[Planetary boundaries]]
* [[Progress trap]]
* [[Resource war]]
{{div col end}}

{{Wiktionary|Depletion}}

== References ==

{{reflist|2}}{{human impact on the environment}}{{population}}{{natural resources}}{{portal bar|Environment}}{{Doomsday}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Resource Depletion}}

[[category:environmental issues]]
[[category:peak resource production|*]]
[[category:resource economics]]