ABSTRACT
Natural resources and their associated ecosystems are the foundation of sustainable development, providing the basic necessities of life and the raw materials that support major industries. A basic distinction is made between finite or non-renewable resources such as fossil fuels and minerals and renewable resources such as fisheries, forests and grazing lands (with inexhaustible resources such as solar energy and wind power as a special case). Other differences are introduced by the type of resource tenure or management system, for example, whether forest lands are privately or state owned and managed primarily for single resource production or for multiple uses. Land and water ‘commons’ are particularly important for the rural populations of developing countries. Despite this label, access to and use of such commons typically are subject to a variety of state or community tenure arrangements. In comparison, in true ‘open access’ resources such as ocean fisheries, use is subject only to international agreements that are largely unenforced.
