Page 17 - “GREENING” THE CONTENT IN CXC® SYLLABUSES

E-LEARNING MODULES AND LEARNING GUIDE FOR TEACHERS

Ecological Sustainability

Environmental sustainability relates to ecosystem integrity and carrying capacity of natural
environment (Brodhag & Taliere, 2006). It requires that natural capital be used sustainably as a

source of economic inputs and as a sink for waste (Goodland & Daly, 1996). Basically, the concept

implies that we are living within the limits placed on us by natural resources such as such as

materials, energy fuels, land, and water. To achieve such an aim, we must recognise that natural

resources are renewable, non-renewable, exhaustible, and non-exhaustible; as such we must
strive to consume natural resource at a rate that is not faster than their replenishment, or that

will lead to material scarcity, biodiversity loss or extinction, or degradation to the environment.

Environmental sustainability therefore aims to improve human welfare through the protection
of natural capital.

Importantly, Herman Daly, an early pioneer in environmental sustainability proposed three

fundamentals of being environmentally sustainable:

1. For renewable resources: That the rates of harvest should not exceed the rate of

regeneration – sustainable yield.

2. For pollution: That the rates of waste generation from a project should not exceed the

capacity of the environment – sustainable waste disposal.

3. For non-renewable resources: that the depletion of non-renewable resources should
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require comparable development of renewable resources in lieu .

5 https://www.futurefitouts.com.au/three-pillars-of-sustainability-
explained/#:~:text=Sustainable%20practices%20can%20be%20broken,social%20sustainability%20and%20economic%20sustain
ability.
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